NFL Week 14: New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The NY Giants & Eli Manning welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to the Meadowlands for a key NFC East showdown.

NY Giants vs. Eagles Overview:
In their previous meeting, the New York Giants hammered the Philadelphia Eagles in a 36-31 victory. The physical nature of the New York Giants seemed almost like a mugging against the finesse Philadelphia Eagles, and the two great defenses both failed to show up. Much to the delight of fans with New York Giants tickets, the NY Giants are atop the NFC with an 11-1 record and the No. 3 defense in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles have 6-5-1 record that does not reflect their awesome talent. Fans with New York Giants tickets will welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to the rowdy confines of the Meadowlands.

New York Giants Offense:
With the No. 1 rushing offense in the NFL, fans with New York Giants tickets do not expect a blazing aerial attack but love the tough offense anyways. New York Giants tickets will feature mammoth RB Brandon Jacobs, who is a rare athletic specimen with speed to go along with his giant frame. The power of Brandon Jacobs is complimented by the speed of Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward behind him on the depth chart. The New York Giants offensive line could be the best in the NFL and always opens holes for the runners. The running game almost distracts from excellent QB Eli Manning.

New York Giants Defense:
While the offense pounds the rock, the defense prefers to pound quarterbacks with complex stunts from the defensive line. Fans with New York Giants tickets have watched DE Justin Tuck make a name for himself with 11.5 sacks to lead the most athletic front four in football. DE Mathias Kiwanuka is the bookend to Justin Tuck and is a terror off the edge. The defensive tackles are also great pass rushers, and the many stunts either get sacks or pressure the QB. MLB Antonio Pierce leads the run defense. Fans with New York Giants tickets see the future of their secondary in young DBs Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross.

Philadelphia Eagles Offense:
After dueling with the injury bug most of the season, RB Brian Westbrook showed why he is the centerpiece of the Philadelphia Eagles defense as he scored four times against the Arizona Cardinals. A threat to catch or run, Brian Westbrook sets the tempo for the whole offense. QB Donovan McNabb is also firmly in the driver’s seat after being benched for a short time. Rookie WR DeSean Jackson has broken out and leads the team in receiving. Veteran OTs John Runyan and William Anderson hold down one of the underrated lines in football.

Philadelphia Eagles Defense:
Instead of using stunts out of a base defense, the Philadelphia Eagles prefer to assault opposing quarterbacks with a constant flow of blitzes from a varying collection of alignments. DEs Trent Cole and Darren Howard lead the sack machine that has the Philadelphia Eagles defense third in the NFL in sacks. DT Broderick Bunkley is a force of nature in the center of the line and disrupts the pass and run. Safeties Quintin Mikell and Brian Dawkins also love to blitz the QB, and both deliver monster hits. CB Asante Samuel is out with injury, but Lito Shepherd and Sheldon Brown are good in coverage.

New York Giants Keys to Victory:
The New York Giants pounded the Philadelphia Eagles for over 200 yards rushing in their previous meeting and steamrolled their way to the end zone. Since the New York Giants have not changed this attack all year, they will not do so against the Philadelphia Eagles. Look for the RB trio led by Brandon Jacobs to stomp through the defense thanks to the great offensive line. Eli Manning should not have to throw much but needs to move the chains and protect the ball. The absence of Asante Samuel opens up the field deep to WRs like Steve Smith.

In their previous meeting, the New York Giants shutdown Brian Westbrook, and they will look to do so again. The New York Giants must stop the screens between Brian Westbrook and Donavan McNabb in order to get their pass rush and stunts going to full effect. The WRs of the Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of vertical speed so a pass rush is a must to cut their routes short. Donavan McNabb can scramble so the New York Giants must stay true to their contain assignments. Fans with New York Giants tickets can help with their bellowing crowd noise.

Philadelphia Eagles Keys to Victory:
If the Philadelphia Eagles hope to win, they must get the ball to Brian Westbrook early on the screen in order to slow the rush down. The Philadelphia Eagles veteran OTs will not be fooled by the various looks and stunts of the New York Giants, but the middle of the line could be exploited. Donovan McNabb will have to keep his head on a swivel and be aware of pressure from the inside. WR DeSean Jackson had success against the New York Giants thanks to his speed and the return of WR Kevin Curtis should give him more opportunities one on one.

The Philadelphia Eagles must stop the New York Giants running game at all costs. The pounding attack of Brandon Jacobs sealed the fate of the Philadelphia Eagles in their last meeting, and they cannot let it happen again. The patented blitzes of Jim Johnson will be coming straight up the middle behind DTs Mike Patterson and Broderick Bunkley. The loss of Plaxico Burress means that the New York Giants do not have a game-breaking WR, and the safeties can come up into the box. Gang tackling Brandon Jacobs is a must as the beast cannot be allowed to crush DBs.

NY Giants vs. Eagles Outlook:
Fans with New York Giants tickets and many NFL pundits think that the New York Giants are the best team in football. The devastating running attack and lights-out defense hearkens back to the days of Bill Parcells and the Big Blue. This sledgehammer approach to football is the exact opposite of the finesse and brainy offense of the Philadelphia Eagles and should make for an interesting game. Even with all their advantages on paper, the New York Giants had to fight tooth and nail to beat the Philadelphia Eagles on the road.

Controlling the line of scrimmage is the name of the game in the NFL, and the New York Giants will certainly do that. The intangibles of Donovan McNabb are always a wildcard, and he will have his team in the thick of it, even if their record says otherwise. The powerful offensive line and the three-headed monster at running back means the New York Giants will milk the clock and protect the football. The swirling winds and thousands of cheering fans with New York Giants tickets in the Meadowlands make the prospect of the Philadelphia Eagles winning even smaller.