The Philadelphia Eagles (14-3), and New York Giants (9-7-1) will meet for a third and final time on Saturday in the NFC Divisional Round.
A win in this game will get the Eagles a spot in the NFC Championship Game, while the Giants have never lost three games to Philadelphia in a single season and will enter this contest loose and relaxed.
It’ll be the second time in three weeks that Jalen Hurts has faced his division rival and he’ll look to wipe away the disastrous performance from the 2022 Wild Card round loss to the Buccaneers.
With kickoff a little over 12 hours away, here are five keys to the Eagles defeating the Giants on Saturday night.
1. Win the turnover battle
Philadelphia spent three-quarters of the season leading the NFL in turnover differential, but as we enter the divisional round, they’re now third in the NFL (+8).
The Eagles were tied for fourth in the league with 27 takeaways.
The Giants (+3) were 11th in the league in turnovers and the team that dominates this statistic on Saturday night will likely end up the winner.
2. Score touchdowns not field goals
The Giants are ranked seventh defensively in the red zone in terms of touchdown efficiency, and that was without Leonard Williams or Adoree’ Jackson down the stretch.
The Eagles will get opportunities inside the red zone and they must come away with points.
3. Stop the Giants running game
Cornerbacks get paid a lot of money to slow down pass catchers and Philadelphia has two of the best in the NFL.
The Giants ran the ball 30 times for 142 yards against the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Wild Card Round, and averaged 148.2 yards on the ground in the regular season, good for fourth in the NFL.
The Eagles’ defense allowed 121.6 yards per game which ranked 16th in the NFL.
Saquon Barkley led the Giants with 295 carries for 1,312 yards this season and it’ll be on Jonathan Gannon to contain the running game, forcing Daniel Jones to beat Philadelphia.
4. Feed Miles Sanders
Even if Sanders isn’t the focal point of the offense, Philadelphia has to get back to the ground and pound mentality.
The Eagles were fifth in the NFL with 147.6 yards per game on the ground, and they’ll need an energize rushing attack against a Giants defense that allowed 144.2 yards per game.
Running the football keeps the Giants’ offense off the field, and prevents the pass rush of Leonard Williams, and Kayvon Thibodeau from getting home.
5. Start fast and strong
Being the No. 1 overall seed has its perks, but Philadelphia and Kansas City are the only two playoff teams remaining that missed a week of action.
Momentum is key and the Eagles need to start this contest off fast and strong, eliminating any form of doubt, while knocking the rust off before the Giants can jump out to some sort of lead.
The longer the Giants are in the game and the more success they have in the first half, the more difficult this contest could become.
