Eagles need to beat the Giants and hope Dallas stumbles at Washington to win the NFC East

Updated Jan. 5, 2024 5:46 p.m. ET
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (11-5) at NEW YORK GIANTS (5-11)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, CBS

OPENING LINE: Eagles by 5 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Philadelphia 8-7-1; New York 7-8-1.

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SERIES RECORD: Eagles lead 93-87-2.

LAST MEETING: Eagles beat Giants 33-25 at Philadelphia on Christmas Day.

LAST WEEK: Eagles lost to the Cardinals 35-31 in Philadelphia; Giants lost 26-25 to the Rams.

EAGLES OFFENSE: OVERALL (8), RUSH (9), PASS (16), SCORING (7).

EAGLES DEFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (11), PASS (28), SCORING (29).

GIANTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (30), RUSH (16), PASS (32), SCORING (30).

GIANTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (28), RUSH (29), PASS (20), SCORING (28).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Eagles minus-7; Giants plus-9.

EAGLES PLAYER TO WATCH: Haason Reddick. The New Jersey linebacker/edge rusher has always been a pain against the Giants. Two weeks ago, he had four quarterback hits and a fourth down stop on Saquon Barkley on a fourth-and-1 from the Eagles 21. In the NFC playoff game against New York last season, he had five tackles, 1 1/2 sacks, three QB hits and a TFL. His 11 sacks are tied for seventh best in the league.

GIANTS PLAYER TO WATCH: Darius Slayton. The five-year veteran has emerged as a deep threat the past two games. He caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from Tyrod Taylor on Christmas Day against Philly and less than a week later combined with the veteran quarterback on an 80-yarder against the Rams. He had four catches for 106 yards last week.

KEY MATCHUP: The Giants defense needs to slow down Jalen Hurts and the Eagles. In the playoff game last season and the matchup on Christmas Day, Philadelphia has combined for 881 yards and 71 points. Hurts has not put up huge stats, but he has thrown for three touchdowns and rushed for two more. In the Christmas Day game, Philly was 10 of 17 combined on third and fourth down attempts.

KEY INJURIES: Eagles: WR DeVonta Smith (ankle) and CB Darius Slay (knee surgery) are out. LB Zach Cunningham (knee) may play for the first time in four games. ... Giants: RT Tyre Phillips (torn quad tendon) is out. Matt Peart replaces him. S Jason Pinnock (toe) also is out. Dane Belton will start. CB Deonte Banks (shoulder) is doubtful after sitting out last week. C John Michael Schmitz (shin) is questionable.

SERIES NOTES: The Eagles have won the past five and 13 of 15.

STATS AND STUFF: The Eagles are in the playoffs for the third straight year and 18th time under owner Jeff Lurie. ... They have won 11 games in consecutive seasons for the third time in team history. ... Philadelphia is an NFL best 18-7 on the road since 2021. ... Philadelphia lost four of five in December. ... Hurts ranks second in the league with a franchise-record 38 total TDs, including an NFL QB record-tying 15 rushing. He has career highs in passing yards (3,803). ... D'Andre Swift has had his first 1,000-yard season rushing with 1,049. ... WRs A.J. Brown (1,447) and Smith (1,066) each have reached 1,000 yards receiving for the second straight season. ... LB Nicholas Morrow had a career-high 14 tackles against Arizona. ... Kevin Byard has a career-high 113 tackles and fellow S Reed Blankenship has 108 tackles. ... PK Jake Elliott is third in the league with 131 points. ... P Braden Mann's 44.0 net punting averaging is third in the NFL. ... Giants: A year after getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, New York will be watching again. The Giants have lost three in a row. … QB Tyrod Taylor threw for 319 yards and the offense gained 389 yards, its second-highest output this season. He is the first Giants quarterback since Eli Manning in 2015 to have multiple scoring passes of at least 65 yards or more in a season. ... RB Saquon Barkley is 84 yards shy of a second straight 1,000-yard rushing season. ... ILB Bobby Okereke and S Xavier McKinney have played every defensive down. Okereke has a team-high 142 tackles and McKinney is No. 2 with 110. ... LB Kayvon Thibodeaux has a team-high 11 1/2 sacks. .. Pro Bowl DT Dexter Lawrence leads New York with 19 quarterback hits. ... Gunner Olszewski's 94-yard return Sunday was the second-longest punt return in Giants' history. ... New York had three takeaways last game pushing its total to 27, tied for third in the league. ... Belton had his first two interceptions of the season and recovered a fumble after replacing Pinnock against Los Angeles. ... PK Mason Crosby missed a potential game-winning 54-yard field and a PAT in the loss to the Rams.

FANTASY TIP: D'Andre Swift. The Giants have allowed opponents to score 24 rushing touchdowns. They gave up three to the Rams' Kyren Williams last week.

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