NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the New York Giants in the NFC Divisional Round this week with a berth to the NFC Championship Game on the line. The Eagles are clear favorites but beating a team 3 times in a single season is a hard task to do. The Eagles beat the Giants twice already and with the stakes higher and them expected to win, the pressure is squarely on their shoulders. Can they handle it?
The Giants are coming off an impressive upset win over the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Game and are looking to send their rival home earlier than expected. Can Daniel Jones continue his hot streak or will the pass rush of the Eagles be too much for him?
Here are 3 keys to victory for the Philadelphia Eagles against the New York Giants.
Spread The Ball Around
The All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams have been named. Whoever is going to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, is already selected. What happened in the regular season is over. The Eagles know they have weapons on offense and now it’s time to unleash everyone. It doesn’t matter how many yards Miles Sanders or AJ Brown has, whoever is open, gets the ball. At receiver, the Eagles have two players with over 1100 yards receiving and a TE with over 50 catches. Hurts must spread the ball around.
Although the Eagles and Giants have faced off twice this year, this is different. There is no reason to keep things hidden, both coaches must pull out all the stops. For the Eagles, that means getting everyone involved. This is not the game against the Tennesee Titans where they wanted Brown to crush his former team. This has to be a total team effort if the eagles are to advance to the NFC Championship Game.
Stop The Giants On 3rd Down
In their Wild Card win over the Vikings, the Giants’ offense converted 7 of 13 3rd downs. While it may not seem like an important stat, the playoffs are all about possessions. The Giants held the ball for 33 minutes against the Vikings which helped them win the game. What the Eagles must do is force Daniel Jones to revert back to the shaky QB most NFL enthusiasts know him to be.
On the Year, the Giants converted 78-212 3rd downs, and against the Eagles in their 2 games, they converted 8 of 27. The Eagles’ defense must not allow Jones, Barkley, or even Darius Slayton to go unchecked on either 3rd and short or 3rd and long. The name of the game is to get the Giants’ offense off the field and keep them on the sidelines. The Philadelphia Eagles cannot allow them to gain any confidence.
Philadelphia Eagles Must Unleash Jalen Hurts
Not sure if Jalen Hurts was hurt during the regular season finale against the Giants, but now is the time to let Hurts be Hurts. There were moments in their last game where you could tell that Hurts was playing it safe. He would take off around the corner but instead of going for the extra yardage as usual, he would just slide. Hurts would throw the ball and immediately turn to protect himself. Even with the NFC East and No. 1 seed on the line that game, the Eagles played safety ball instead of putting their foot on the Giants’ necks against their second and third units.
Now is not the time to play it safe. If Hurts is not 100 percent and is not capable of playing at that MVP-type level, he should not be on the field. The Eagles and Hurts have waited for this moment all season and they need their QB to be at the top of his game. When Hurts is cooking, the Eagles are the best team in the NFL. It’s win or go home. Which Jalen Hurts will the New York Giants face?
