Eagles Aim to Clinch NFC East Title With Victory at Giants in Week 17

The Philadelphia Eagles (8-7) will try to clinch the NFC East title on Sunday when they visit the New York Giants (4-11) as small road favorites. The Eagles upset the Dallas Cowboys 17-9 last Sunday as 2-point home underdogs to put themselves in position to win the division.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The total has barely moved at most sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark while the point spread is as high as -5 or as low as -4 in favor of the Eagles. This might be viewed as a letdown spot for Philadelphia after last week’s emotional win if not for the fact that the team likely needs to win in order to get into the playoffs, and it is against another divisional rival.

Philadelphia News & Notes

Carson Wentz finally turned in an MVP-caliber performance for his team in a virtually must-win situation vs Dallas, completing 31 of 40 passes for 319 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

The fourth-year quarterback has yet to play in the postseason himself, so the motivation could not be much higher for him heading into the regular-season finale. Wentz helped the Eagles overcome a myriad of injuries against the Cowboys, and their defense also stepped up to shut down what was previously a dangerous offensive attack.

The Giants may not present them with the same kind of issues, especially because quarterback Daniel Jones is still a rookie. But running back Saquon Barkley could be difficult to stop after showcasing his all-around skills with 189 rushing yards, 90 receiving yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 41-35 overtime victory against the Washington Redskins.

New York News & Notes

Barkley’s performance at Washington was outstanding, but Jones also played beyond his years with a career-high 352 passing yards and five touchdowns himself.

New York may or may not keep head coach Pat Shurmur around next season, and he could be coaching for his job in this spot knowing first-hand that the future looks bright in the Big Apple with an offense centered around Barkley and Jones. This is the perfect situation for him, although management might feel differently and want to head in a different direction.

While the pressure is definitely on him, there should not be any on the players to perform. Instead, they should be playing loose and relish the spoiler role in trying to keep Philly out of the playoffs.   

Betting Pick: New York +5

Last week’s win took a lot out of the Eagles, and trying to turn around and put in a similar effort against a weaker opponent will be tougher than they think. They may win this game and the division, but look for the Giants to keep it closer than expected to cover the spread.