***TNF IN THE SWAMP - NYG @ PHI***
***NEW YORK GIANTS @ PHILADELPHIA EAGLES***
Oooohhhh baby! We got a tasty one on deck tonight as the NFC East takes center stage when the Playoff hopeful New York Giants head into Philadelphia to take on an already eliminated Eagles team looking to play spoiler. The Giants are coming off of two big back to back wins at home against Dallas and Detroit and now head on the road where they can sometimes have trouble, especially in Philly. Historically the GMen do not play so well at "The Linc" but will look to change that and clinch a playoff spot with a big road win tonight. The Eagles are eliminated from playoff contention but without a doubt will play with maximum effort tonight to try and stop their rival from celebrating with a playoff promising win on their home field. Not to mention, it is a Prime Time game in Philadelphia against the Giants, therefore I have no doubt that the Birds will be up for this one and will look to avenge an early loss against NYG the first time around earlier this year. It has been an up and down season for Philly thus far and after a hott start, it has been all down for the Birds recently, losing their last 5 games. Although they currently sit with an ugly 5-9 record, their season has been a promising one considering the fact that they chose to start their Rookie QB Carson Wentz from day one. I think most Philly fans wouldn't chalk this year up as a total loss and maybe even agree that the Eagles exceeded expectations when looking at their situation coming into 2016. With a new QB, a new Head Coach, and a ton of roster movement, they faired pretty well. I think they would love nothing more than to try and put an exclamation point on their season with two home games coming up against the Giants and Cowboys to finish the year. Of course it remains to be seen if they will be able to even pull off an upset in either of the current top two teams in the NFC, but I do like their chances in doing so tonight!
Since their loss in Cincy when they had a Prime Time hangover after the Packers whooped them on MNF, Philly has been playing much better. They competed hard in games against the Redskins and Ravens and nearly beat both. It is easy to see that they have not given up and want to finish strong and on a positive note. Offensive Tackle Lane Johnson is back in the lineup tonight after serving a suspension and his presence alone is a HUGE help to the young QB in the passing game. RB Darren Sproles will also return and suit up tonight after being out last week with a concussion which also helps Wentz with dump off passes and in the running game in general mixing it up with RB Ryan Matthews and allowing him to take a breather. Long story short, I like Wentz and the Birds to play very well tonight offensively at home and think they keep up with the Giants here. I think the ball-hawking secondary of Philly led by Safety Malcom Jenkins will benefit off of the amped up pass rush that Philly will surely bring Giants QB Eli Manning's way tonight and get a big time turnover or two. That being said I really think the Eagles get to Manning tonight and rattle his cage. The Giants have no running game and the Eagles know it. There is also no stopping WR Odell Beckham Jr., so he will undoubtedly get his touches but I believe Wentz will have a great outing against a tough defense without their shutdown CB in Janoris Jenkins who's absence will prove to be costly. NYG was lucky last week to benefit off some Lions mistakes and that game was a lot closer than it appeared to be. Basically I think the Eagles defense led by Graham, Cox, and Barwin, get to Eli tonight and eventually force him into some poor decisions and think Wentz shines and this Eagles team feeds off the home field energy and comes together as a complete unit to get a big time team win to be proud of. EAGLES PK
