Opponent Profile: NFC East Rivals Eagles And Giants Battle For First Place On MNF
By Kevin McGuire
First place in the NFC East, or at least a share of it, will be on the line on Monday night when the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants add one more chapter to their storied rivalry. The Giants currently sit in first place in the division and the Eagles cannot afford to lose any more ground to NFC East opponents after dropping games this season to Dallas and Washington.
Season Record
The New York Giants are coming off a Sunday night victory over the San Franciso 49ers, which moved them to 3-2 on the year and cemented their possession of first place in the division. The Giants are already halfway to their 2014 win total of six games and hope to take advantage of early struggles by the Eagles and injury concerns of the Cowboys. The Giants are currently riding a three-game winning streak after opening the season with back-to-back losses to Dallas and Atlanta.
The Eagles swept the Giants in the two games played in 2014, including a 27-0 victory in Lincoln Financial Field in October. The last time either team swept the season series before last season was 2010, which also went in favor of the Eagles. The Giants do own the edge in the all-time series though, with a head-to-head record of 85-79-2 dating back to 1933.
Giants on Offense
The Giants have found their scoring touch, it would seem. No team in the division has scored more points than New York's 132 points. Against a bad defense, Eli Manning and the Giants were able to march down the field against the 49ers to escape with a win on Sunday night. Manning has armed the NFL's seventh best passing offense, averaging 282.4 yards per game and NFL's 7th best scoring offense, averaging 26.2 points per game. Having Odell Beckham Jr. catching the football is incredibly nice for Manning. The young phenom receiver with hands of gold has caught 31 passes for 428 yards and three touchdowns so far. Beckham did suffer a hamstring injury on Sunday night, although he was able to return.
The Giants running game is far from what it used to be, and this should be an area the Eagles can shut down rather quickly. The Giants are averaging just 91.2 rushing yards per game, good for 26th in the NFL at this point in the season. Rashad Jennings has been the team's leading rusher, with 180 yards on 53 rushing attempts. He has one rushing touchdown.
Giants on Defense
The Giants will enter the Monday night matchup with the worst passing defense in the NFL. They are the only team allowing more than 300 yards through the air per game, with an average of 304.2 passing yards allowed on average. If the Eagles cannot get their yards through the air against this secondary, there will be some problems.
The Giants have been able to stop the run rather well, though. Only three teams have a better rushing yards allowed average than the Giants, and the Eagles have played two of them (New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons). The Giants have allowed just 403 yards in five games, although they have allowed eight rushing touchdowns. Big runs are rare against the Giants, with just two runs of 20 yards or more allowed thus far. If the Eagles running game has started to take form, it will be put to the test this week.
Giants Players to Watch
WR Odell Beckham Jr.: Though only in his second season, few receivers are as highly regarded as Odell Beckham Jr. In two games last year against the Eagles, the rookie caught two passes for 28 yards in one early-season game and 12 catches for 185 yards in his 12th game. The growth was clear as he found his role in the offense.
CB Prince Amukamara: Amukamara will be put to work Monday night as the Eagles attempt to find a rhythm through the air. This season, Amukamara is the second-leading tackler and he has forced and recovered one fumble. He has also picked off one pass.
Outlook
The Eagles looked really good against a weak New Orleans team on Sunday afternoon, and the Giants managed to escape with a win later that night against another poor team in San Francisco. Playing at home may be a critical factor in the Monday night game as the Eagles look to establish themselves as the NFC East contenders many predicted they would be before the season.
On paper, Philadelphia has the offensive pieces in place to have some success against the Giants, but there have been many ugly and close calls between these two teams. Chip Kelly has enjoyed coaching against Tom Coughlin since entering the league, owning a 3-1 record against the Giants.
Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on Examiner.com.