The New York Giants secured their playoff berth in Week 17 with a win over the Colts. In Week 18, they face the Eagles, which is not a must-win since they have already clinched their goal for the end of the season. On the other hand, the Eagles look to clinch the NFC East.
What’s at Stake
In this game, the Giants have already announced that they won’t be playing their star players. This means Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones along with other stars like Dexter Lawrence, Andrew Thomas, Leonard Williams, and Azeez Ojulari will not be playing. The Giants don’t have anything at stake in this game, so they plan to rest all of these stars for the playoffs.
The Eagles would like to win this game for home-field advantage in the playoffs. There hasn’t been mention of any stars resting for the playoffs on their side. The number one seed seemed easy to obtain when the Eagles were sitting at 13-1, but since their star quarterback, Jalen Hurts, has been out with an injury, they have lost two straight games. Up to this point, he is still marked questionable for Week 18.
The Impact of Jalen Hurts
Jalen Hurts has been a big part of the Eagles’ offense this season. Through Week 15, he was atop the list as a favorite for the MVP. That is at stake with his absence in the last two games.
Hurts has been extremely efficient on the season with only 5 interceptions on the season. He has also thrown for 3,472 YDS, 22 TD along with 747 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
Gardner Minshew has not lived up to expectations while filling in for Hurts. He has thrown 3 TD and 3 INT at only a 54.1 completion percentage.
Even with the underperformance of Minshew in the last two games, the Eagles are home favorites to win this NFC matchup. This matchup is a crucial one as the Eagles look to clinch NFC East.
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