One of the best ways to usher in a new era is to start from scratch. The Giants have cleaned house and are already possibly prepping for a future without the face of the franchise Eli Manning. As it is right now, with absolutely nothing to gain but possibly something to lose in terms of draft position by winning, the Giants may just find a way to irritate both Eagles and Giants fans today. As we all know, it's what they're really good at. Being inconsistent. Since 2013, it's rather accurate to say that the Eagles have completely owned the Giants. The Giants have just one win in their last seven meetings. Losing to multiple different quarterbacks. This includes a loss to the current Eagles starter at the moment Nick Foles. Nick Foles, who essentially made his NFL debut when he stepped in against the Giants after yet another injury to Michael Vick. Against an at the moment, fired up defense, Nick Foles came out slinging with two touchdown passes and the rest was history in his historic flash-in-the-pan 2013 season. With MVP candidate Carson Wentz out, the Eagles will need all the help they can get to secure home field throughout the postseason in hopes that Nick Foles will lead a Jeff Hostetler-esque playoff run. There's a fairly weak schedule for the Eagles to finish out the regular season and theyre currently in the driver seat. At this point, one would most likely be willing to bet money that the Philadelphia Eagles will be top seed. Of course, there's always unexpected weather, as well as bumps in the road. When a team has nothing to play for but pride, they often have a history of turning into "spoilers". They're the teams that have had miserable seasons, were eliminated early and more often than not, throw in the towel by the 4th quarter when the chips are down. Then out of nowhere, they jump up and steal a win from a far superior team. The storied Eagles-Giants rivalry is loaded with completely unexpected upsets and ugly wins. This could just as easily be one of them. Even when trying to secure a playoff spot in 2011, a floundering backup quarterback named Vince Young found a way to damper the Giants 2011 Championship season. With the Eagles having nothing to play for but pride, they ended up stealing a win with a picture perfect 2 minute drill. Despite the fact that half the Giants are on IR at this point and they have looked little more than hapless to put it lightly, they're still an NFL team and they still have Eli Manning. Of course, there may not be much Eli magic left.
When thinking with pure logic and looking at everything on paper, there seems to be no way the Giants pull a win here. The Eagles have everything to gain and the Giants can stay on track for a top 3 pick in the draft by losing. All signs point to an Eagles win but this is the New York Football Giants. They too often find a way to irritate everyone. Especially, their own fans. They've grinded the gears of Giants fans all season. They can continue to do so with a win over the NFC frontrunner today.