Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants 2019: Prediction, Odds, Playoff Scenarios For NFL Week 17

The Philadelphia Eagles took control of their playoff destiny with an incredibly important win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16. The team, however, still has more work to do before clinching the NFC East championship.

Philadelphia’s magic number is down to one, meaning they need either a Week 17 win or a Dallas loss in order to officially make the postseason. A tie by either the Eagles or Cowboys would also get the job done.

Since Dallas is playing the Washington Redskins at home, Philadelphia can’t count on backing into the playoffs. The Eagles are almost in a must-win situation Sunday afternoon when they visit the New York Giants.

With New York long out of contention, Philadelphia is a 4.5-point favorite at MetLife Stadium, according to OddsShark. The total is 45.5.

The NFL East rivals met at Lincoln Financial Field just a few weeks ago. The Eagles defeated the Giants 23-17 on “Monday Night Football,” needing overtime to avoid a Week 14 upset.

Eli Manning started in place of an injured Daniel Jones in that contest. After a strong first half, New York only totaled 29 yards of offense in the third and fourth quarters.

Jones could give Philadelphia more problems than the two-time Super Bowl MVP did in the first meeting. Jones is coming off a historic performance. In a 41-35 win over the Redskins in Week 16, he became the first rookie quarterback to throw for 350 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in a game.

Jones had a fumble, but it was recovered by the Giants. The first-round pick leads the NFL with 16 fumbles in 2019. Turnovers have been his biggest issue during a season that’s seen Jones thrown 11 interceptions in addition to 23 touchdown passes and 246.3 yards per start.

Carson Wentz is the much better quarterback at this point, despite his penchant for fumbling, as well. The Eagles quarterback has 15 fumbles this season, but he has thrown for 3,750 yards, 26 touchdowns and only seven picks.

It can be argued that Week 16 was Wentz’s best performance of the year, even though the Eagles only scored 17 points. With his top three wide receivers missing the game due to injury and Zach Ertz missing a portion of the contest with a rib injury, Wentz managed to go 31-40 for 319 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.

Ertz’s injury makes his status unknown for Week 17. Losing the star tight end would be a major blow to an already banged-up Eagles’ offense that would rely on tight end Dallas Goedert, running back Miles Sanders and receiver Greg Ward Jr.—he was on the practice squad a few weeks ago—as the top options in the passing game.

With Ertz catching nine passes and running back Boston Scott grabbing six receptions, Philadelphia barely had enough offense to outlast the Giants on Dec. 9. Will they be able to do the same on the road when Jones, Saquon Barkley and New York’s offense finally seems to be clicking?

The Giants still have one of the NFL’s worst defenses. Jones isn’t over his turnover troubles because of one outstanding performance. The Eagles are playing very well defensively, moving up to ninth in total yards allowed.

Philadelphia has the better quarterback and a Super-Bowl winning head coach. The Eagles should find a way to win this game. But considering how inconsistent Philadelphia has been this season, punching their ticket to the playoffs might be anything but easy.

Prediction: Philadelphia over New York, 23-21