January 02, 2016
Michael Perez/AP
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews is unable to catch the ball as New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) applies a hit. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
When is a win not really a win?
Well, when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the New York Giants Sunday in their season finale, the victor receives nothing more than a notch in the win column, a guaranteed road game in Seattle next season, and a significantly lower pick in this spring's draft.
The loser, on the other hand, gets a third-place schedule and "neutral" road game against the Rams in London next year -- not to mention a possible top-10 draft pick.
That being said, both teams will likely follow Herm Edwards instructions and "play to win the game" despite what's at stake for them next season. But with Chip Kelly no longer calling the shots on the sideline, it will be interesting to see if Pat Shurmur leaves his starters in the entire game like the Eagles did when faced with a similar scenario last season.
Either way, this game is nearly impossible to analyze.
Both teams have been maddeningly inconsistent this season -- their 6-9 records should be telling enough there. Now, add in the fact that one coach (Shurmur) is in charge for the first time all season while the other (Tom Coughlin) could be coaching his last game ... ever. As is tradition this time of year, the Giants coach is on the hot seat -- and this year, his team won't be making a late-season, job-saving run to the Super Bowl. If New York opts for a new coach next season, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see Coughlin chose retirement over another coaching job. Unless, of course, Coughlin beats them to the punch.
Still, both these teams have one more game to get through before reaching the offseason. And if you believe what you've been hearing from both sides leading up to Sunday ...
Here's what you need to know about the Eagles' final game of the year.
TV: FOX (Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston) | RADIO: 94.1 WIP
SPREAD: Giants -4 | TOTAL: 51.5 (via topbet.eu)
There's no point whatsoever in analyzing matchups for this wholly useless season finale. However, the Eagles have every incentive to lose this game for draft position, a more favorable schedule in 2016, and a handful of other reasons. Naturally, that means that they'll play their best game of the season and win by 60.
Tom Coughlin's last game feels like a loss for an Eagles team that got destroyed the last two weeks. In many ways, I think this could be a replay of the 42-7 Giants win that ended the Eagles' disastrous 2012 season.
Well, my dad's run of five-straight correct predictions came to an end last week against Washington, so he's no longer allowed to pick games for me. Truthfully, it's a combination of that and the fact that he's in St. Maarten right now chugging Carib's on a topless beach and I didn't feel like listening to him brag about that again.
The more I think about it, however, the more likely it seems that someone like that -- someone who's been completely detached from everything that's gone on this week around the Eagles -- would actually be more likely to correctly predict the outcome. I know that I certainly don't have a clue how this one is going to play out. Therefore, I went with exactly what Vegas is predicting -- the Giants by four and a total around 51 or 52 points.
In other words ... a win for the Eagles.
Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin
