It may be hard to believe, but the Eagles on Monday night will be playing for first place in the NFC East.
They'll need to take down the Giants at the Linc for that to come to fruition. So, what's it going to be? Our experts offer their predictions:
Reuben Frank (2-3)
I feel like the way Eli Manning is playing right now, the Giants might score 30 points Monday night. I also feel like that won't be enough. The Eagles' defense has been up-and-down this year, but the Giants' defense is worse. Dead last in yards allowed, 27th in passing yards allowed, 30th on third down, 29th in sacks per pass play.
The Eagles seemed to discover something offensively Sunday in that Saints game, putting together no less than six drives of 60 yards and three other scoring drives with their first balanced attack of the year. I'm not sure the Giants' defense is any better than the Saints' D. So I'm expecting a big-time NFC East shootout here, with the Eagles registering enough takeaways to slow down the Giants' ninth-ranked offense.
I've got Eagles getting back to .500 at 3-3.
Eagles 37, Giants 33
Derrick Gunn (1-4)
Are the New York Giants that good or are they smoke and mirrors? To think they lost to Dallas and Atlanta by a total of just five points, that's how close they are to being 5-0.
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But Eli Manning has a 9-13 record vs. the Eagles. The Giants' offense doesn't give away the ball much (just three turnovers all season), but I'm betting on the Birds' D (13 forced turnovers) to pick off Manning a few times. And I think Sam Bradford should be effective through the air against the Giants' 32nd-ranked pass defense.
I'm rolling with the Birds.
Eagles 30, Giants 20
Ray Didinger (1-4)
This must feel like deja vu for the Giants and not in a good way. Last year, they opened the regular season with two losses then won three in a row heading into a primetime matchup with the Eagles at the Linc. Of course we all remember how that turned out. The Eagles pounded the Giants, 27-0, sacked Eli Manning repeatedly and ended Victor Cruz's season (knee injury).
I don't think this game will be as one-sided, in part because Manning is now comfortable in Ben McAdoo's offense. He is putting up big numbers while avoiding sacks (four) and interceptions (two). But Manning's receiving corps is banged up and it's tough to win when all you can do is check it down to Shane Vereen.
Eagles 28, Giants 24
John Gonzalez (2-3)
The Giants are banged up. The Eagles are at home and coming off a much-needed confidence boost courtesy of the luckless Saints. The Giants' defense is 27th in yards allowed per game (and dead last against the pass). A win could vault the Eagles into first place in the division, which is remarkable and hard to fathom, but true.
If the Eagles can avoid starting slow, if Sam Bradford can avoid the knuckleheaded mistakes he made in the first half against the Saints, if the running game can figure out a way to feature DeMarco Murray and utilize Ryan Mathews without compromising one or the other — all of which are big, New York City-sized ifs — then the Eagles should have a good shot. This would appear to be a good spot for the Eagles. The problem is that the Eagles have been in other seemingly-good spots this season (Dallas and Washington, for example), only to stumble. This time, they remain upright.
So many Eli Manning faces on Tuesday in NYC.
Eagles 28, Giants 24
Corey Seidman (2-3)
I expect another difference-making effort from the Eagles' defense. Eli Manning is turnover-prone and the Eagles are excelling at forcing takeaways. Plus, the Giants don't have a strong enough offensive line or running game to keep this D off balance. Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams have combined to average just 3.2 yards per carry.
The key defensively is obviously preventing Odell Beckham Jr. from making too many X-plays. He's expected to play despite a hamstring tweak. If the Eagles can cover him better than they covered Julio Jones in Week 1, this should be a win.
Look for Sam Bradford to take another step forward. The Giants have allowed the most passing yards per game in the NFL and are now playing without top cornerback Prince Amukamara (pec).
Eagles 30, Giants 20
Andrew Kulp (2-3)
The Eagles appear to be gradually turning a corner over the past three weeks. I suspect the incremental improvements in consistency and execution will continue against a banged-up Giants squad.
Eli Manning is playing too well right now for this to be a blowout, but the Eagles' defense does just enough to back the offense on Monday night.
Eagles 34, Giants 27
Andy Schwartz (2-3)
Every time the Eagles look like they've gotten it together, they've taken a step backward.
After they regrouped to nearly beat the Falcons, they imploded against the Cowboys. After they beat the Jets, they imploded in the first half against Washington and lost.
So now what?
If the Giants weren't hurting, I'd probably pick them. But they are.
The Eagles' O-line puts forth another solid effort, Jordan Hicks forces and/or recovers another fumble, Walter Thurmond picks off another pass, and the Birds eek out their second straight win.
Eagles 24, Giants 20
Dave Zangaro (1-0)
The Eagles used the run to set up the pass last week against the Saints. But they should do the opposite against the Giants.
The Giants have the second-best run defense in the NFL but give up a lot of yards through the air. The Eagles will probably try to get Sam Bradford into a rhythm early with some short passes. Once the passing game gets going, the linebackers will have to be off the line of scrimmage, which should allow the Eagles to run the ball.
The Giants' pass defense isn't very good even with starting corner Prince Amukamara, but without him, it could be in serious trouble.
It won't come as easy as it did against the Saints but the Eagles should pull this one out to even up their record at 3-3.
Eagles 27, Giants 26