For a team with an 11-5 record and an appearance in last season's Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles are what the kids would call down bad at the moment. An Eagles Week 18 win over the hated New York Giants will not solve this team's problems, but a loss would be another alarming entry in this season's second half.
The Eagles hit their Week 10 bye with a record of 8-1. They continued rolling in Week 11 with wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, but luck was too prominent in those victories. Sure enough, four losses in five games followed, with a win over these very Giants the exception. Even then, an eight-point win over a Tommy DeVito/Tyrod Taylor-quarterbacked team was hardly worth bragging about.
Meanwhile, there's nothing but pride on the line for the Giants this Sunday. And while a loss would only help in terms of draft pick positioning, judging by Week 17's nail-biter against the Los Angeles Rams, Big Blue has not quit on head coach Brian Daboll. In a late season NFC East battle, expect New York to fight hard regardless.
With the stage set, let's get into some Eagles Week 18 predictions to ring in the New Year.
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A.J. Brown gets back over 100 yards…
The Philly receiver had a torrid stretch earlier this season, hitting 125+ receiving yards in six straight games. But as Philly's offense has sputtered, Brown's numbers predictably have fallen.
Twice in the last three weeks, Brown has failed to even hit 60 yards, and he hasn't touched the century mark since Week 13. But if the Eagles have any hope of advancing far in the postseason, Brown needs to heat up again.
New York's pass defense already ranks in the bottom half of the NFL, and now it's banged up. Starting cornerback Deonte Banks and strong safety Jason Pinnock are both questionable to suit up in Week 18, making an enticing matchup even more so for Brown.
Tearing up the Giants won't mean the Eagles are bound for Vegas on February 11th, but it might give the team a much needed jolt of confidence as the regular season wraps up.
So does D'Andre Swift
Swift nearly hit triple-digits rushing against the Giants on Christmas, taking 20 carries for 92 yards. There's a strong chance this Sunday, he gets over the hump.
This is a bad Giants run defense — only three teams give up more yards on the ground than Daboll's outfit. It makes sense for the Iggles to target the Giants in the run game to exert some dominance and control the game flow.
Another consideration might be a clearly injured Jalen Hurts and how to handle him in Week 18. Putting Hurts in positions to take punishment should be minimized if you are coach Nick Sirianni. As Hurts goes, so goes this team, and you don't want him even more banged up for a playoff push.
If the Eagles can secure a lead in this matchup, it would behoove them to lean heavily on the rushing attack to shorten the game and get out with a result, no matter what it looks like.
With a 10-point lead or better, Swift should get the call again and again in order to wear down the Giants' defensive line and milk the clock. If that happens, he'll have the chance to put on another strong performance.
Eagles beat Giants, lose NFC East
Of course, first thing's first — the Eagles cannot be considered a shoo-in and need to handle their business against the Giants.
We think they'll do that. The Giants are a mess at quarterback and along the offensive line, and the defense is generous in giving away points to other teams. Sure, the Eagles are limping into this matchup, but they cannot afford to drop this one.
Unfortunately for them, their hope for wearing the NFC East crown lies in the Dallas Cowboys losing to the Washington Commanders.
Maybe the Cowboys won't get another Christmas present from NFL officials on Sunday, but they probably won't need much help to knock off a dead in the water Commanders team either. For Dallas, a win means a NFC East title. You can book that.
The Eagles will control what they can and knock off the Giants. It simply won't be enough to get them any better than a wild card berth in the NFC bracket.
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