The Giants will face a tough crowd in Philly tonight - Preview, Pick and Props

The Giants visit Philadelphia on Saturday night and will face MVP-favorite Jalen Hurts, who was able to return to action in Week 18 after missing two games due to a shoulder injury.

These two teams faced each other on Jan. 8 and Eagles held on for a 22-16 win as Jalen Hurts returned from his shoulder injury and completed 20-of-35 passes for 229 yards, no touchdowns and one interception against a Giants team that was resting guys in preparation for the playoffs. He also rushed just nine times for 13 yards in that one, but has had a bye week to rest on, so he should come into this game a little more healthy than he was a couple weeks ago. The Eagles went 2-0 against the Giants this season, are 14-3 on the year and will have a hearty home-field advantage on Saturday. 

The Eagles are the No. 1 seed and the last No. 1 seed to win a Super Bowl was the 2018 Eagles, when they beat the Patriots in the big game. Hurts played in 15 games, completed 66.5 percent of his passes and threw for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns with six interceptions. He also did a lot of work on the ground, rushing for 760 yards and 13 more touchdowns. Miles Sanders is the lead running back and finished the season with 1,269 rushing yards, 11 TDs and just one fumble. A.J. Brown led the receivers with 1,496 yards despite DeVonta Smith catching seven more passes. Brown had 11 touchdowns and Smith ended up with seven of his own. Tight end Dallas Goedert caught 55 balls and scored three touchdowns on the season and WR Quez Watkins also saw the end zone three times for the Eagles.

Running back Boston Scott, for some unknown reason, eats against the Giants. Not only did two of his three rushing TDs this season happen against them, but 10 of his 17-career touchdowns have come against the Giants. His only other TD this season came in Week 1 against the Lions and he never carried the ball more than nine times in any game this year.

Philadelphia scored 59 touchdowns this season, just two back of league-leading Kansas City, who scored 61 TD. Their potent offense will face a Giants defense that ranked 18th in the league this season.

The Giants went 10-7-1 in the regular season, are coming off a 31-24 win over Minnesota last weekend, and had their first winning season in six years under first-year coach Brian Daboll. The Eagles beat the Giants 48-22 on Dec. 11, clinching a playoff berth and Philly won the second metting in Hurts’ return on Jan. 8. The second game was somewhat meaningless, but the first one featured both teams at full strength, which could be an ominous sign for the Giants tonight.  

Quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He also rushed for seven scores and 708 yards. Running back Saquon Barkley returned to form and finally lived up the hype this season, racking up 1,312 yards with 10 rushing TDs. He also caught 57 passes out of the backfield for 338 yards, but never managed to get one of those into the end zone. The Giants’ vanilla offense didn’t produce a 1,000-yard receiver and Darius Slayton, who led the team with 724 yards, scored just two touchdowns. Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins each scored four times through the air, while tight end Daniel Bellinger had two scores. 

In last week’s win over the Vikings, Jones threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns with Hodgins and Bellinger being the recipients. Barkley also rushed for two scores and 53 yards, and also had five catches for 56 yards in that one. 

The 15th-ranked Giants’ offense will face an Eagles defense that ranked No. 8 in the league this season. The Giants are already playing with house money after a winning season and anything more would just be icing on the cake. An Eagles loss, however, would be devastating for Philadelphia with Super Bowl expectations so high, a possible MVP quarterback and a rough loss to Tampa in last year’s playoffs. The home crowd should be in a frenzy tonight after a day-long tailgating party and the Eagles should feed off that energy. It’s also going to be tough for Jones and his mates to hear much when the Giants have the ball tonight. 

Top performing Oddscrowd bettors moggy_doggy and tomwhitthauer both like the Eagles minus the points and we do too. If Hurts’ shoulder is feeling good this could be a blowout. 

Pick: Eagles -8

Prop 1: Jalen Hurts Over 51.5 rushing yards

Prop 2: Saquon Barkley anytime TD 

Prop 3: A.J. Brown anytime TD