Eagles-Giants player matchups to watch in Week 18

Eagles-Giants player matchups to watch in Week 18 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles (11-5) travel to North Jersey to face the Giants (5-11) in the regular season finale before their playoffs begin.

Here are some key matchups to watch:

Eagles vs. Eagles

I thought about skipping this week’s matchups for a few reasons. One is that there’s a good chance this game doesn’t matter. The Eagles are likely going to end up as the No. 5 seed and have to start their playoffs on the road. In order for them to win the division, the Cowboys would have to go to Washington and lose to the Commanders in a game that also starts at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday. But because there’s still a chance the Eagles can win the division and earn the No. 2 seed, this game still matters. And the Eagles will have to play their starters, at least at the beginning of the game. If the Cowboys are up 28-0 at halftime, though, then it would be wise for the Eagles to pull their players and get ready for the wild card round on the road.

The other main reason I thought about skipping these matchups is because it doesn’t seem to matter who the Eagles play. They’re their own biggest opponent. If the Eagles lost to the Cardinals last week, there’s not a layup in the NFL for them. It really starts with them correcting their own issues. And even when they beat the Giants a couple weeks ago, they nearly lost that game because of a couple huge and weird turnovers. Dallas Goedert slips and Adoree’ Jackson gets a pick-6 and Olamide Zaccheaus gets launched into Boston Scott to force a fumble on a kickoff. The Eagles outplayed the Giants on Christmas Day but still almost blew it.

But we’ve done matchup all year and this week will be no different. The Eagles have to treat this as the next game on the schedule and we will too (at least right here).

Eagles’ secondary vs. Darius Slayton

One of those big mistakes against the Giants a couple weeks ago was the 69-yard touchdown bomb to Slayton…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/eagles-giants-player-matchups-watch-120000303.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-01-05 12:00:00

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