The last time these two teams met it was in the 2008-2009 NFL playoffs, where the Giants’ quest for a repeat was cut short by the Eagles. Will this New York Giants team be looking for revenge? Will the Eagles be able to run their offense efficiently without Brian Westbrook? Will the Eagles defense be able to stop the two headed running back combo in Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw? These are all questions that will decide which team comes out on top Sunday afternoon.
The New York Giants (5-2) come into Philadelphia (4-2) holding just a half game lead over their division rivals, making this game as important as a Week 8 game can be. The Giants came out to start the season clicking on all cylinders, going 5-0 in their first five games but then fell back to earth by losing their last 2 games. As many can see the performance of the Giants can be tied to the performance of their quarterback Eli Manning, during their 5-0 stretch to start the season, Manning threw 10 touchdowns with only 2 interceptions. Meanwhile during this two game losing streak he has thrown for 2 touchdowns and 4 picks. If the Eagles defense can get pressure on Eli early this could be a long day for him.
The key for the Eagles will be establishing the run and protecting Donovan Mcnabb. With Brian Westbrook being a game-time decision, the Eagles may have to play this entire game with Lesean Mccoy as their only real running threat. Although Mccoy has not dissapointed to this point in the season, this stellar Giants defense will be the first real test for him and the entire Eagles offense as a whole. It is going to be a tough task for this Eagles Offensive line to keep Mcnabb off the ground. With the relentless pass rush of Osi Umenyora and Justin Tuck they have combined to be one of the top pass rushing duos in the NFL. As many Eagles fans painfully remember, Umenyora thoroughly abused Winston Justice on national television en route to 6 sacks against Mcnabb and disrupting any sort of gameplan for the offense.
This game all comes down to protecting the QB and whichever team keeps their QB off the ground will most likely win this football game. Both Eli Manning and Donovan Mcnabb do not deal with pressure very well and in Mcnabb’s case, especially pressure up the middle. The lowly Oakland Raiders relentlessy blitzed right up the middle on Mcnabb and the offense struggled the entire afternoon.
Although this game will be overshadowed by Game 4 of the World Series, this should be a very exciting game to watch. Don’t forget to Chat live with other Eagles fans on Talksportsphilly.com in the live chat section of the site!
Tags: ahmad bradshaw, brandon jacobs, brian westbrook, Donovan McNabb, Eagles, Football, game losing streak, Giants, lesean mccoy, new york giants, nfl playoffs, osi umenyora, time decision
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