The New York Giants (7-5) had a great win over the Cowboys last week, but they have an even tougher opponent this week in the Philadelphia Eagles (8-4).  The Eagles have won three in a row, with Donovan McNabb leading the way.  The Giants cannot let McNabb beat them deep, and he will be passing the ball a lot so they will have some opportunities for interceptions.  If they can get a turnover or two off McNabb they will probably win.  Although McNabb will be throwing a lot, the Giants need to pay attention to LeSean McCoy who has the ability to make some big plays on the ground.

The Giants offense will need Eli Manning to be on top of his game.  Eli’s foot has been bothering him, but it should be better this week and he should be able to play through it with a lot less pain.  He has thrown an interception in three straight games though, and if the Giants don’t win the turnover battle they will lose the game.  Brandon Jacobs could help Eli out a lot if he can run the ball better than the 3 yard average he has been putting up lately.  The Eagles have been playing better football as of late, so I am going with them in a close game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New York Giants 20, Philadelphia Eagles 27

The Giants got big plays when they needed them yesterday to put away the Cowboys yesterday.  Eli Manning completed 11 of 25 passes for 241 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Ahmad Bradshaw led the Giants with 47 yards rushing on 7 carries (6.7 ypc) yesterday.  Brandon Jacobs was the star of the game for the Giants however as he carried the ball 13 times for 39 yards (3.0 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 1 pass and it went for a 74 yard TD.  WRs Steve Smith (6 rec, 110 yards) and Hakeem Nicks (2 rec, 37 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Giants yesterday.  The Giants finished up with 337 total yards (100 rushing, 237 passing) in this game.

The defense was busy yesterday as they were stuck on the field for 38:50 of the game.  Safety Aaron Rouse led the way for the Giants in this game with 12 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and a QB hit.  Safety C.C. Brown (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), LB Michael Boley (11 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and CB Terrell Thomas (10 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) also were effective for the Giants in this game.  The Cowboys finished up with 424 total yards on offense (45 rushing, 379 passing) in this game.  The Giants also got a big jolt from the special teams in this game as Domenik Hixon returned 3 punts for 95 yards (31.7 avg) including the dagger for the Cowboys late in the 4th quarter which was a 79-yard TD return.  The Giants are now 7-5 on the season as they got a huge win yesterday.

The Giants won the first match-up between these teams back in September 33-31 at Dallas but that seems like a long time ago.  The Giants appear to be a battered and bruised team so the Cowboys need to jump on them early in this game and get them to quit.  The Cowboys will likely come out running the ball in this game with the three pronged attack of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice against a Giants’ D that is allowing 4.2 yards per carry and 107.8 yards rushing per game.  The Giants will likely be blitzing the Cowboys a lot so Tony Romo might have to use a shorter passing attack with his ole buddy Jason Witten getting a lot more action than usual.  If the Giants’ safeties creep up to deal with the running game and Witten, then Romo should go up top to Miles Austin or Roy Williams.

The Giants will likely come out throwing the ball against the Cowboys as they are allowing 224.9 yards passing per game this year.  Eli Manning will need the O-Line to keep DeMarcus Ware away from him but that will be easier said than done.  Manning does a good job of spreading the ball around so the Cowboys won’t likely be able to double anyone.  Brandon Jacobs will likely shoulder a huge load in the running game as most of his caddies are injured and out for this game.

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 30, COWBOYS 27

The Giants need 23-year old rookie RB Gartrell Johnson to step up due to injuries to Danny Ware (concussion) and Ahmad Bradshaw.  Johnson has played in 6 games for the Giants this season and he has carried the ball 11 times for 39 yards (3.5 ypc).  Johnson was a 4th round pick out of Colorado State last April of the Chargers but they cut him right before the season despite him being their leading rusher in the pre-season.  The Giants quickly snapped him up and now they want for Johnson to pay them back as Brandon Jacobs’ back-up starting this weekend against the Cowboys.