New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles NFC Divisional Round Betting Preview

For the third time this season and for the second time this month, the Giants play the Eagles. Philadelphia is coming off the bye, and the Giants are coming off their first postseason win since winning Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.

The New York Turnaround

Three rookie head coaches made it to the NFL playoffs this season, but only Brian Daboll emerged from the Wild Card round with a win. Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins lost in Buffalo, and Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings were beaten at home by Daboll and these Giants.

It had been nearly 11 years since the Giants won a playoff game, and the credit goes to the coaching staff as well as two players - Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones.

Barkley’s return from injury last season left a lot of people wondering if he was done as an elite running back. The Giants themselves doubted it, and they let Barkley enter this season without a long-term contract in place. Now, after a 1,650-yard season and 10 total touchdowns, his market value this offseason will be a four-year, $47 million contract.

Quarterback Daniel Jones has also turned his career around, along with the Giants. He has 3,205 yards passing and 708 yards rushing - fifth among quarterbacks, and just 52 yards behind Jalen Hurts.

Healthy Eagles

The aforementioned Jalen Hurts is off the injury report and is said to be back to 100 percent. He injured his shoulder in a game at Chicago, and the Eagles dropped two games in his absence. And in Week 18 against these same Giants he admitted to playing a pain-filled game.

But this is why the bye is so important, and winning that game in Week 18 gave the Eagles the week off, and Hurts’ shoulder time to heal. Philadelphia is hoping that the rest is enough to get him back to his early season MVP-like play. When Hurts beat the Giants in Week 14 he accounted for three total touchdowns. On the season, he has 35 total touchdowns.

Last year it was Nick Sirianni that was the rookie head coach leading his team to the playoffs as a Wild Card team, like Daboll with the Giants. Now Sirianni is the head coach of the team with the best record in the NFC and a favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Giants vs. Eagles Matchup

The Eagles are 7.5-point favorites, although they haven’t covered a point spread in their last four games. Meanwhile, at 14-4 against the spread this season, the Giants are the best in the NFL.

In Week 18, New York sat its starters, but covered in Philadelphia. When the two teams played at the Meadowlands in Week 14, the Eagles easily covered with a 26-point win. In that game, Barkley rushed for just 28 yards, and the Eagles sacked Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor a total of seven times.

In this game, the Eagles pass rush might also be the difference. Philadelphia led the NFL this season with 70 sacks, the third most of any team since sacks became an official stat in 1982.