For a second week in a row, the New York Giants (7–5) will face another NFC East archrival at the Meadowlands as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles (8–4) Sunday night.

Speaking with www.giants.com, Giants quarterback Eli Manning knows this matchup is a huge one. He said, “Last week was a big game, but we’ve got four big ones left, no bigger than this one versus Philly.”

With both teams coming off of impressive wins last week, a win for the Giants would give them a chance to contend for the leading spot in the division alongside the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. A win for the Eagles would certainly put them in very good shape to make the playoffs and it may put the nail in the Giants’ coffin.

The Giants victory last week over Dallas breathed new life into the team and proved to each player that if they come together as a cohesive unit they can win against any team in the league.

Against the Eagles, the Giants defense will have to continue playing as they did last week and really concentrate on putting plenty of pressure on Philly quarterback Donovan McNabb. It is important that New York contains him in the pocket and prevents him from rolling out, where he likes to find open receivers downfield.

Receiving Talent

Should McNabb be able to do so, he has some weapons on this team that New York must account for—wide receivers Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, and tight end Brent Celek.

A 2009 first-round selection out of Missouri, Maclin is becoming a very good receiver for “the Birds” and is second on the team in receiving with 623 yards and four touchdowns.

Jackson, the leading receiver for Philadelphia, has 769 yards receiving and is averaging 69.9 yards per game.

He is recovering from a concussion but figures to play against the Giants and has been turning heads this season hauling in six touchdowns of 50 yards or more. If he gets three more such touchdowns, Jackson will set a new NFL record.

Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan commented on the talented receiver and knows his players must prevent him from breaking open a big play. He said, “DeSean Jackson is probably as explosive a player as there is in the NFC. They [Eagles] have had their most success on big plays so that will be a huge emphasis for us.”

As for Celek, the 6-foot-4-inch 255-pound tight end is a very reliable pass catcher and a favorite red zone target of McNabb. Like Jackson, he also has six touchdown receptions.

In last week’s game, Dallas tight end Jason Witten had an All-Star performance against the Giants defense. Whether or not that was due to mismatches, the Giants must do better against Celek.

As for their ground game, the Eagles have solid players in rookie running back LeSean McCoy (530 yards, 3 touchdowns) and bruising fullback Leonard Weaver who is averaging 6.0 yards per carry.

Weaver has been a quiet surprise for Philly after being acquired through free agency in the off-season from the Seattle Seahawks. He was a big part of the Eagles 40–17 annihilation of the G-Men earlier this season and had a 41-yard touchdown run.

However since that time, New York has improved its run defense. They held a very talented Cowboys running attack to only 45 total yards last Sunday. If they can play that same way against Philly, they should be able to prevent either runner from doing significant damage.

Coach Sheridan knows what has to be done, “We definitely have to stop the run. We are not anticipating them disregarding the run and throwing the ball every play, absolutely not. We know they will run the ball.”

Head coach Tom Coughlin agreed. He said, “We have to try to keep them from making the big plays. It starts with us stopping the run. They have made big plays. So we have to stop the run and try to prevent the big plays.”

When New York has the ball, they have to continue feeding it to wide receivers Steve Smith and rookie Hakeem Nicks. The Giants also have to keep talented, tight end Kevin Boss involved in the passing game.

In their previous matchup, Boss burned the Eagles with three catches for 70 yards and one touchdown.

If the Eagles try to concentrate on shutting down the Giants running game, look for Eli Manning to throw short dump-off passes to Brandon Jacobs all game long. Jacobs has the ability to do some serious damage after the catch, as he demonstrated last week rumbling 71 yards down the sideline off a screen pass to score a touchdown.

If the G-Men can build on its success from last week, they should have a good chance to win this game. But it won’t be easy. Philadelphia has won the last three meetings against the Giants and seems to have New York’s number as of late.

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