STAR NFL PREVIEW Sun: New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles

All of the Week 18 NFL games are interdivisional contests but this could be a very one-sided game as although both teams are in the playoffs the Giants cannot improve on their seeding position as they are locked and loaded as the 6th seed in the NFC. For the Eagles there is rather more on the line as they need to win to seal the deal of being the No1 seed in the NFC.

If the Eagles lose, they’d need a Dallas loss to win the division and an additional 49ers loss to still take the conference’s top seed so as far as the Eagles are concerned there is plenty to play for.

The Eagles will be glad to have their starting quarterback Jalen Hurts back in the fold and Hurts looks likely to play for the first time since December 18th since when he has been sidelined with a sprained shoulder. I’m expecting the Eagles to attack New York with an extremely run-heavy game plan, curbing the pressure on Hurts recovering throwing arm while taking advantage of the Giants second-string defence.

In Week 14, the Eagles were 7.5-point favourites and pounded the Giants 48-22 to clinch a playoff berth. Jalen Hurts threw for 217 yards and two scores and rushed for 77 yards and a TD. Miles Sanders had his best game of the season with 144 yards and two TDs on 17 carries. Philly gouged New York for 253 yards and four TDs overall on the ground. We could see a very similar scenario this time around although it should be pointed out that Sanders has been a little banged up and the Eagles do have other options at running back. One of those options would be Kenneth Gainwell who has seen his usage slip this year due to the workhorse role that Sanders has taken on along with the Hurts being an active runner at quarterback.

Though Sanders carries no official injury designation ahead of this contest, it stands to reason that head coach Nick Sirianni might not want to push his star tailback too hard ahead of the postseason especially if the Eagles get a comfortable lead. Therefore, Gainwell and Boston Scott, effectively the backup running backs for the Eagles may see a little more game time than usual against a second-string Giants defence. Three of the four touchdowns Gainwell has scored this year have been from inside the five-yard line. This is a good place to potentially sit Sanders and not have him endure a huge hit or a pile-up from a defense trying to make a goal-line stand.

This is an extremely difficult game to handicap and it could well be that the Eagles just need to create enough space against the Giants backups (as it seems likely they will rest most of their key skill players in this contest) to win the game and then we could see the Eagles pulling their starters. We are looking at some large handicaps here but that may not prove too far off the mark if the Eagles hit the offensive heights that they did when winning the first meeting of the two sides by 26 points.

ANDY RICHMOND

ANDY RICHMOND is a lifelong punter and sports enthusiast who now writes extensively on horse racing and the NFL. His CV includes long spells on Timeform Radio and Racing UK having previously held several positions at the then-fledgling Betfair Exchange where he worked for six years. He has a particular love for the statistical and analytical side of sports which fits in well with the NFL. He writes all the NFL content on Paul Jones subscription service as well as having his own betting advisory service.

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