NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The 13-3 Philadelphia Eagles will fave the 9-6-1 New York Giants in their Week 18 regular season finale with much at stake. The Eagles have a chance to win the NFC East and take the No. 1 seed in the NFC which includes a much-needed Bye Week for the playoffs. If they fail to win this game, the division and No. 1 seed could fall into the hands of the Dallas Cowboys or the San Fransisco 49ers.
The Eagles are coming off 2 straight losses and the Giants are coming off an impressive against the Indianapolis Colts which earned them a playoff berth. Will the Giants rest their starters against a desperate Eagles team that would see the return of Jalen Hurts after he missed the last 2 games? This is a big one going down at Lincoln Financial Field Sunday.
Here are 3 keys to victory for the Philadelphia Eagles against the New York Giants.
No Scoreboard Watching For The Philadelphia Eagles
This is why the NFL changes games on the last day of the regular season, it’s all about the drama. The Philadelphia Eagles and Cowboys will both play at 4:25 pm with major playoff implications on the line. If the Eagles win, they will win the NFC East and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. If they lose, that will go to the Cowboys if they beat the Washington Commanders. If they both lose, the No. 1 seed will go to the San Fransisco 49ers. What the Eagles can’t afford to do is watch the scoreboard and check in on other games around the league.
All season, I’ve preached that the Eagles must remain focused. While they should have wrapped up the division and conference 2 weeks ago or last week, they may be feeling a tremendous amount of pressure. This is what the NFL wants. Their only goal is to control what they can and that is their own game.
Correct The O-Line Mistakes
The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the best O-Lines in the NFL and yet, that has been an area of concern as of late. Against the Saints, it all just blew up in the Eagles’ faces. False starts, holding calls, and injuries did the Eagles in. Jason Kelce took the blame for his mistakes and as a veteran with much on the one this week, you should expect a bounce-back game. However, with Lane Johnson still out, they can’t afford to continue to shoot themselves in the foot as they did in Week 17.
False starts halted drives and this is a veteran group. The line must not let the Giants get to Hurts or Minshew. Against the Saints, the Eagles allowed 6 sacks. In their first meeting against the Giants, the O-Line surrendered 4 sacks. With so much on the line this week, the Eagles’ O-Line must do a better job of communicating and protecting whoever is under center.
Run The Damn Ball
Never thought this would have to be said about the Eagles’ offense. But they have lost a bit of their identity in the last few weeks. For most of the season, the Eagles have been a top 3 team as far as rushing the ball. In their last 2 losses, the offense got away from that. While Gardner Minshew had a surprising game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16, he followed that up with a complete dud against the New Orleans Saints in Week 17. A big reason for their collapse has been their inability or lack of execution at running the ball.
The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t topped 100 yards rushing in their last 2 games and if they are to beat the Giants, they will need to right that ship. In their Week 14 victory, the Eagles gained 253 yards on 31 carries and 4 Rushing TDs. Hurts was a huge reason for that as he accounted for 77 yards but it was Miles Sanders with most of the damage as he finished with 144 yards on 17 carries.
