Statschecker: Giants At Eagles: 5 Things To Consider
Just a reminder to all you football fans out there. Monday Night Football games are all selected prior to the start of the regular season. The idea of a late season Giants-Eagles match-up seemed like an intriguing play back in the summer. Of course, now we know it’s a game between two teams that have no business being anywhere near the playoffs.
The Eagles, however, do have an outside shot of crashing the postseason. Even with an ugly record of 5-7, Carson Wentz and his teammates are only one game behind the Cowboys for the division lead. They may not deserve to make the postseason, but that doesn’t change the reality of their situation.
The Giants know they aren’t going anywhere. They sport an ugly 2-10 record and they will be without starting quarterback Daniel Jones in this one. The fact that Eli Manning will start this game is a contributing factor to the Eagles being 9.5-point favorites despite their mediocre record.
Unless you are an Eagles fan or Manning is your favorite quarterback of all-time, betting is the only thing that will make this game watchable. If you’d like to profit on the match-up then you need to check out our exclusive Statschecker Site. I’ll give you five interesting nuggets from the site in this piece, but you need to dive all the way in to extract maximum value.
1. The Eagles own this series
It’s no secret that the Giants haven’t been the most successful franchise in the NFL recently. The Eagles, in sharp contrast, have been pretty good. That’s why Philadelphia has won nine of the last ten match-ups in this NFC East series.
Past results aren’t always a great indicator of future success, but everything fits with this game. The Eagles aren’t playing good football, but New York is a perfect cure for that issue. The question of whether or not the Giants might be able to cover is legitimate. Expecting them to pull off a massive upset is not.
2. The Giants stink on the road
A normal characteristic of bad teams is that they’re unable to win games on the road. The Giants fit that description perfectly. They sport an ugly 1-5 record away from home this season. Then again, that record also happens to mirror their mark at home.
Nonetheless, the atmosphere in Philadelphia on Monday Night should give the Giants some serious problems. Eagles’ fans know this is a must win for their favorite team if they have any hope of crashing the playoff party. Expect a weird, but frenzied environment in the City of Brotherly Love.
3. 28.3 points is hideous
There’s been a lot of attention paid to the Giants’ offensive struggles this season, but their defense has been much worse. Giving up 28.3 points per game is a great way for any franchise to make sure they will have a high draft pick to work with in the offseason.
If the G-Men have any hopes of stopping the Eagles, it will be as a result of turnovers. Wentz is a terrific quarterback, but he is prone to the occasional interception. New York needs several of them if they want to spring the upset.
4. Both teams are horrible against the spread
No team likes being 4-8 against the spread through 12 games. Both Philadelphia and New York are sporting that record coming into Monday Night football. That’s good for a tie for 30th place in the NFL.
9.5 is a big number for Philadelphia to cover. However, the Giants with Manning at the controls might be one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Add that up with a horrible defense and it’s easy to see how the Eagles might be able to orchestrate a blowout.
5. The Eagles do struggle as favorites
Part of the reason why Philadelphia finds their record at 5-7 is their inability to win games they should win. The Eagles are only 3-3 as favorites this year. That record should give you a little bit of pause before you lay big money on Doug Pederson’s team.
Bet on the Eagles to fly
The Eagles are the only reasonable play for this game. Don’t get caught up in any sort of romantic idea that Eli Manning’s return is going to buoy the Giants to an improbable victory.
The spread is too big for this to be one of my best bets of the weekend, but leaning towards the Eagles is the way to go.