Our Eagles vs. Giants predictions for Week 14 of the NFL season

The Eagles (11-1) are on the road to face the Giants (7-4-1) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

To the predictions:

Reuben Frank (10-2)

All year I had this one earmarked for a loss. I was sure about it. The Giants kept finding ways to win, and I just didn’t like the matchup between the Eagles and a team with an exceptional running back and a quarterback who doesn’t make mistakes and is also a big-time running threat. The way the Giants were running and the Eagles were struggling against the run had me planning to pick the Giants as recently as a few weeks ago. But then things started changing. The Giants were second with a whopping 173 rushing yards per game through eight weeks and tied for third at 5.2 yards per carry. Since then? They’re 24th at 116 rushing yards per game and 24th at 3.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, the Eagles through eight weeks were 29th with 5.2 yards allowed per carry and 18th with 121 allowed per game. Since then? They’ve held their last four opponents to 3.8 yards per carry, shutting down Jonathan Taylor and Derrick Thomas, two of the league’s best. The Giants are extremely well coached, but they don’t have a ton of talent, and when they’ve won games it’s been because of their running game. Which has dropped off significantly. So the one matchup that would have favored the Giants much of the year now favors the Eagles. I still think it’s a tough game. The Giants are smart, well-coached, don’t beat themselves and play hard. But if the Eagles can slow down Barkley they’ll win, and I expect they will.

Eagles 26, Giants 17

Dave Zangaro (10-2)

I’ll give the Giants credit. I really thought they would stink this year and they do not stink. In fact, they were on quite a run there for a while. But I still don’t think this is a very good roster in New York, which means the Giants’ coaching staff has done a tremendous job maximizing their talent. That’s especially evident on offense, where they’ve gotten the most out of Daniel Jones. The problem for the Giants this week is that Saquon Barkley is banged up and his number have already begun to dip. After what the Eagles did to Derrick Henry last week, there’s way more confidence they’ll be able to stop another top back.

A year ago, a heavy-blitz team like the Giants would be scary against Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offense. But the Eagles have been much better against blitzes this season and Hurts specifically has improved a ton in that area. The answer against the Cardinals’ blitzes in Week 5 was a heavy screen game but I think the Eagles have found even more answers since then. The Eagles have won in two very different ways the last two weeks and they shouldn’t have any trouble moving the football against the Giants defense.

I already thought the Eagles were clearly the more talented team coming into this matchup and now there are several significant injuries on the New York sideline. I have a lot of respect for how far the Giants have come this year but I don’t think they have what it takes to win this one.

Eagles 28, Giants 16

Barrett Brooks (10-2)

 

The Giants are the walking wounded at key positions that the Eagles can take advantage of. On the Birds’ defensive side of the ball, Darius Slayton is their big play weapon on offense. Of course hobbled Saquon Barkley is the key that opens the offense. Barkley will be where DC Jonathan Gannon will allocate resources to stop the Giants’ offense. Daniel Jones' athletic prowess has hurt the Eagles’ defense the pass few years. Last year Jones was clocked over 21 miles per hour on long runs that help beat the Eagles. But in order to stop the Giants, you must stop Barkley.

Offensively, the Eagles should dominate the blitzing attack of DC Wink Martindale's defense. Up front, the offensive line should overpower the smaller pass rushers at the end positions. Jalen Hurts should have no problem passing on the injured secondary of this Giants defense. Shane Steichen should have the entire playbook open to beat up on this NFC East competitor.

Eagles 28, Giants 17

Mike Mulhern (11-1)

NFL defenses are still trying to figure out the best path to slowing down Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense. After he torched the Packers on the ground, the Titans weren’t going to let MVP candidate beat them with his legs. As Nick Sirianni said this week, there’s no doubt watching Hurts run for 157 yards against Green Bay influenced how Tennessee tried to defend Hurts. They stayed disciplined in their rush lanes and tried to keep him contained in the pocket rather than trying to get upfield after the QB. That completely backfired, as Hurts had all kinds of time to throw. The result? 380 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Now the Giants’ uber-aggressive defense will take a crack at it. Coordinator Wink Martindale has dialed up more blitzes than any team in the league, but Hurts has been elite against extra pressure. As our own Ron Jaworski pointed out on twitter, Hurts has thrown 9 touchdowns and just 1 interception when defenses send a blitz. Good luck with that plan.

Eagles 34, Giants 17

Adam Hermann (11-1)

The Giants have all the makings of frauds. Despite a .625 winning percentage their point differential sits at -7. They made a living beating up on bad teams, and not by a lot: the six wins in their 6-1 start came against teams with a combined current record of 31-43, and they won those games by a measly average of 4.5 points.

Since that surprising — and unsustainable — start New York has just one win since Oct. 23 and has revealed itself as a perfectly mediocre football team.

None of this is to say the Eagles should take the Giants lightly this weekend, but it is to say that Eagles fans should not feel threatened by the Daniel Jones Brigade.

After a pass-first approach against the Titans, the Eagles should turn back to the ground game this week against a Giants team that ranks third-worst in rush yards per attempt allowed, seventh-worst in total rush yards allowed, and has allowed four individual rushers this season to hit the 100-yard mark. Jalen Hurts, Miles Sanders, and the Birds' beastly offensive line should feast against the Giants' front seven.

In terms of defending the Giants, Daniel Jones is still a dual-threat quarterback who is turning the ball over far less than he did in his first three seasons... but he's not exactly carving up opposing offenses through the air, with just 11 passing touchdowns to show for his first 12 games of the season. Outside of Darius Slayton, who is fine, the Giants basically have no one at wide receiver or tight end who should make Jonathan Gannon's defense sweat.

The question then becomes, can the Eagles stop Saquon Barkley like they did Derrick Henry? Because without a productive Barkley, this Giants offense is patently unremarkable. Barkley was electric to start the season but his last five weeks on the ground tell a different story: he's averaging just 3.3 yards per carry on 99 attempts. Sounds like a prime target for the beefed-up defensive line.

I don't think it'll be a total breeze, but I do think the Eagles win by multiple scores because they're contenders and the Giants are pretenders.

Eagles 27, Giants 17

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