January 04, 2023
It's a heavy week for everyone in football, but the NFL schedule is still locked in and the Eagles have work left to do.
After two failed attempts via back-to-back losses for the first time all season, the Eagles will once again try to nab the NFC East title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with a win.
They're down to their last week and a matchup with a New York Giants squad with not much to play for to do it.
The expectation is Jalen Hurts will play and New York will rest its starters.
Do the Eagles have this in the bag?
Here's what our writers thinking...
TV: CBS (Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn)
RADIO: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick)
| Book | Spread | Money Line | Total (O/U) |
| DraftKings | PHI -14 | NYG +675 PHI -975 | 42.5 |
| FanDuel | PHI -13.5 | NYG +560 PHI -800 | 41.5 |
| BetMGM | PHI -14 | NYG +650 PHI -1000 | 42.5 |
| UniBet | PHI -14 | NYG +600 PHI -1000 | 42.5 |
| PointsBet | PHI -14 | NYG +500 PHI -750 | 40.5 |
When this 14-point spread came out earlier this week, it was clear that Vegas knew that the Giants would be resting their starters, which of course makes sense since they are locked into the 6 seed. That line has not moved since.
The Eagles are limping down the stretch, and they have had opportunities to lock up the 1 seed in the NFC in each of their last two games, but failed. The third time should be the charm against a team they dominated a month ago that now also has nothing to play for.
Ok, let's try this again. The Eagles are better than the Giants. The Eagles starters are far better than the Giants back ups. Every way you break it down, this game is a win for the Eagles and finally locks up home field, a bye and NFC East title.... right?
We're still in the dark a bit in regards to how much the Giants will play their starters on Sunday, but this should be an Eagles win either way. I'll say the Birds get up to a big first-half lead, ease off the pedal a bit in the second half and we're seeing their own backups in there by the end of the fourth quarter.
I predict little rust for Jalen Hurts. How about a textbook 3 total touchdowns performance in his first game back?
Trying to make sense of a Week 18 game is pretty much a waste of time, as I’m not sure what will win out — New York’s motivation to rest their guys and stay healthy for the playoffs, or New York’s motivation to settle some petty score as a result of the Eagles (smartly) ignoring the stakes in the final game of the year when Doug Pederson tanked against Washington.
I lean toward the Giants not being idiotic. So that should mean an Eagles win.
The Eagles win this because they kind of have to, but I have a sinking feeling that this one is going to be way more difficult than it really needs to be. Jalen Hurts will be the difference maker and the Eagles will get their No. 1 seed, but it's going to be an anxious couple of weeks leading up to that playoff game if the Eagles don't put the Giants away quick.
A must-win game for a team in the top spot of the NFC doesn't normally come at the end of the season. Add on the Giants basically playing for nothing and you have the easiest Eagles win of the season, right?
Just the addition of Jalen Hurts alone should make this team better, even if they continue to make mistakes. They have a failsafe net in Hurts, who can make up for anyone's mistakes, including his own. But this is the NFL.
The Giants can knock the Eagles down in the standings, and more importantly, can secure the Coach of the Year award for Brian Daboll – two things that will motivate the Giants and keep it close.
Bottom line, neither team is going to run it up or show anything major here, especially with the reality that they will play again.
There's so much uncertainty when it comes to Eagles-Giants in Week 18, starting with Jalen Hurts' availability. The bigger issue, however, is will the Giants even try to play spoiler when it comes to Philadelphia's inside track to the NFC East title and the No. 1 seed in the conference. Judging by the betting markets, the answer to that is an emphatic no with the belief New York, which is locked into the No. 6 seed, will coast to the finish line by resting most of its key players.
And let's be honest, even at full strength, the Big Blue roster isn't equipped to deal with a Hurts-led Philadelphia team even if Brian Daboll convinced GM Joe Schoen to go all-in. This is very similar to last season when the Eagles were locked into the No. 7 seed and decided to mail it in, resulting in a blowout loss to Dallas before the one-and-done in Tampa. The difference is that the COVID-19 rules were still in effect last season. Philadelphia had 12 players test positive before the game, which required them to elevate that many from the practice squad.
That kind of roster movement doesn't happen anymore so the most the Giants can do now is keep active the usual inactives, along with adding the allowed two practice squad elevations.
In other words, certain players will have to dress and play. That said, the Giants were expected to be in a complete rebuild this season and will probably be the least-talented team in the postseason.
The Eagles would have liked to take care of business with Gardner Minshew and were unable to do so over the past two weeks but this is a nice safety net and with an opponent already thinking about a banged-up Minnesota team come wild-card weekend, something that will result in a division crown for the Eagles and the NFC's path going through Lincoln Finacial Field.
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