Sunday’s Eagles at Giants pick is a tough one to call. These two teams met in week 7, but Philadelphia needed two TDs in the final five minutes to score a 22-21 win as -5 point home favorites. The Giants are +4 home underdogs in a divisional matchup, is taking the points the route to go?
The betting total for this matchup is 44.5, up from a 41 open. In the October 22nd matchup, New York was leading 14-10 with a little over six minutes remaining, and three late TDs still kept the total under 44.5. The win was still Philadelphia’s eighth straight in the series however, and five of those have gone over the total.
Eagles Getting Some Reinforcements
Philadelphia has had to battle a significant amount of injuries all season long, but they’ve weathered the storm to two straight wins and 1st place in the NFC East with a 3-4-1 record. Doug Pederson’s team has somewhat uncharacteristically struggled in the passing game this season, ranking 27th in the NFL with 211.4 ypg, but will get Alshon Jeffrey back for his season debut on Sunday.
Philadelphia is still without Zach Ertz and Desean Jackson, but last week’s bye allows Miles Sanders, Lane Johnson, Darius Slay, and Fletcher Cox to all return to action in the Eagles at Giants pick. When we last saw the Eagles they were trudging out to a 9-7 halftime deficit to Dallas, but scored two second half TDs to secure the 23-9 win as -10.5 home favorites.
The win over the Cowboys didn’t do much to expect a huge offensive showing against the Giants as Carson Wentz threw for just 123 yards with 2 TD and 2 INT. Wentz did throw for 359 yards in the first game against New York, but Philadelphia is hoping for a more diverse offensive showing on Sunday.
Giants Showing Mini Momentum?
All things considered, it hasn’t been a bad last four games for New York. Over that span the Giants have posted two wins over Washington, and have losses to the Eagles and Buccaneers by a combined 3 points. Since week one, five of the Giants six losses have been by one score.
New York keeps things close, but they also have a hard time actually winning against teams not named Washington. New York was up 21-10 with under 7 minutes left in the previous meeting with Philadelphia, but the Giants defense had a meltdown to close out the game. Daniel Jones was 20/30 in that meeting, but had just 187 yards passing. Jones also had an 80-yard run though.
The X-factor on Sunday is the Giants defense, which is a top 15 unit in the league. New York has held 5 of the last 6 opponents to 25 points or less, and held the Eagles to 96 yards rushing on 26 carries in the first meeting.
Free Eagles at Giants Pick
It’s hard to know just how good Philadelphia is – or can be- with all the injuries they’ve faced this season. The loss of Ertz still hurts, but the Eagles are getting healthier and the bye last week is a huge advantage. This feels like a grind-it-out conference matchup though, and either team could win by a field goal. In that case, take the points.
Eagles 21 – Giants 20
Free Pick: Giants +4
