Copyright Wilmington News Journal
PHILADELPHIA − You gotta give the Giants credit for their moxie. They stunned and embarrassed the Eagles 34-17 in the first meeting on Oct. 9 behind rookies at quarterback and running back in Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo, respectively. Neither rookie was intimidated by the Eagles' pedigree as defending Super Bowl champions. And it's safe to assume they won't be again in the second meeting in just 17 days. Sure, the Eagles are coming off a 28-22 win against the Vikings in Minneapolis while the Giants blew a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Broncos in Denver in their 33-32 loss. Buy Philadelphia Eagles tickets But as Dart starts his fifth NFL game, you can bet that he hardly cares that the Eagles are 12-0 against the Giants at Lincoln Financial Field since the start of the 2014 season, including playoffs. And you can also bet that Dart got the full attention of the Eagles after his performance in the first game. He certainly got the attention of Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio after Dart went 17-for-25 for 195 yards and ran for 58 yards and another TD. Fangio was asked what the lesson learned was against Dart after the first game. "One lesson is learned, and the teams that need quarterbacks that bypassed (Dart), they're going to regret that," Fangio replied. "Obviously, very athletic, an elite scrambler. I think their coaches have done a great job with him. They've developed the offense around him. (He) throws the ball very well, intermediate and deep, and he's a good player." So is Skattebo. He ran for 98 yards and three TDs against the Eagles. Keep in mind that's better than any game that Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley has had this season. Barkley ran for 2,005 yards last season. Here's how we see the game going: Our prognosticators are Martin Frank (Eagles beat writer/columnist, Delawareonline.com), Greg Giesen (sports strategist, Delawareonline.com), Tom McGurk (sports editor, Courierpostonline.com), Tom Moore (sports columnist, Phillyburbs.com), Bob Jordan (sports editor, app.com), Bert Bainbridge (sports betting analyst & columnist, Northjersey.com), Tom Haines (Pennsylvania state planning), Brad Myers (high school sports writer, Delawareonline.com), Kevin Tresolini, (college sports reporter, Delawareonline.com), Michelle Ganassi (audience director & die-hard Steelers fan, Delawareonline.com), Tom Rimback (sports writer, Courierpostonline.com), Brandon Holveck (high school sports reporter, Delawareonline.com) Martin Frank Some perspective is needed. If the Vikings weren't a putrid 1-for-6 in the red zone, and if Carson Wentz wasn't, well, Carson Wentz, the Vikings would have beaten the Eagles. As for the Giants, their fourth-quarter collapse vs the Broncos can't completely overshadow how they dominated Denver for the first three quarters in building a 19-0 lead. And yet, the Eagles are home, they want revenge, and the key factor above all: Jalen Carter is playing this time. The pick: Eagles 32, Giants 27 Greg Giesen It's safe to say the New York Giants are a lot better than they were last year. The G-Men were two missed extra points away from upending Denver and improving to 3-4. Alas, they lost and sit at 2-5. One can forgive the Eagles in the first match up. It was a trap game after facing four straight playoff teams from last year and Jalen Carter was out. This time there's no trap. Philly won't destroy the Giants, but they will do more than enough to win. The pick: Eagles 27, Giants 13 Tom Rimback Did the Eagles solve all of their problems with a win over Carson Wentz and the Vikings? Don't count on it. The Iggles still need to get a whole lot healthier and their offense has to figure out a way to run the ball. The Giants with their matinee idol QB and gymnastic running back confounded the Eagles once. Can they do it again? The pick: Eagles 40, Giants 0 TRADER HOWIE: Has Howie Roseman lost his fastball? Ranking 8 trades Eagles GM made before NFL deadline Bob Jordan It's crazy the amount of hand-wringing taking place among Giants' fans after the loss to Denver. But the only thing that went wrong was not forcing the Broncos to use up their timeouts, leading to a senseless Jaxson Dart interception with less than five minutes to go. It was overall a big effort by Big Blue. The Giants last swept both games against the Eagles in the 2007 season, so, yeah, it can happen. The pick: Giants 24, Eagles 21 Brad Myers Even at 5-2, it doesn't feel like the Eagles have hit their stride yet. This would be a good week to hit it, because Jaxson will be throwing darts and Cam Skattebo will be Skattebo-ing over people. The pick: Eagles 31, Giants 30 Brandon Holveck The Eagles are closer to finding a winning formula, and it might look a lot different than last year when Saquon Barkley ran all over the Giants. Trade the meat-and-potatoes ground game for a spicy downfield passing attack. It feels like there will be more week-to-week variance, but I think they win at least one more before another midseason swoon. The pick: Eagles 28, Giants 20 Kevin Tresolini Rare that rematches between division rivals come so fast this early in the season. But the Eagles will welcome the chance to avenge that atrocious 34-17 stinger on Oct. 9. Being back home certainly helps, though it didn't save the Birds against the Broncos. The win at Minnesota also serves as a positive omen for an offense struggling to find its form. The pick: Eagles 31, Giants 27 Celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl win with our new book Bert Bainbridge Regardless of who the Giants had on the schedule, it was going to be hard to overcome the disaster in Denver last Sunday. But they're facing the Eagles for the second time in three weeks − this time in Philly, and with a healthy Jalen Carter. And the G-Men could be without one of the best edge rushers in the league in Brian Burns, who's tied for the league lead in sacks with nine. That spells big trouble for Big Blue. The pick: Eagles 30, Giants 20 Tom McGurk A shot at revenge against a bitter rival plus a home game with the Kelly green uniforms, and the Giants coming off a heart-wrenching loss will all add up to a blowout win for the Birds over Big Blue. Look for the team to put up some big numbers and head into the bye on a roll. The pick: Eagles 34, Giants 13 Michelle Ganassi With a stellar 108.9 passer rating this season, Jalen Hurts is set to lead the Eagles into a divisional showdown against the Giants at the Linc. And the Eagles have every reason to feel confident. The Giants, meanwhile, have struggled to find consistency, making a Philly victory the likely outcome. I expect a certain Hard Knocks scene to end up on our social media feed after Hurts and the offense deliver another electric performance. The pick: Eagles 27, Giants 16 Tom Haines The Eagles running game looked pretty good in its first series at Minnesota but went into hiding thereafter. The injury to center Cam Jurgens might have had something to do with that and his status for Sunday hasn't been determined. But I get the feeling Saquon breaks out vs. his old team. The pick: Eagles 31, Giants 20 Overall records 5-2: Rimback, Holveck, Haines, Giesen, Ganassi, Myers 4-3: Moore, McGurk, Tresolini 2-4: Bainbridge 2-5: Jordan, Frank
