Giants vs. Eagles: Week 14 staff picks and predictions

The Giants Wire staff offers their picks and predictions ahead of a Week 14 game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.

The New York Giants (2-10) will take on the Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday night in a game featuring veteran quarterback Eli Manning for what could be the final time.

Expert have completely sided with the Eagles — 9:1 — with most of those expecting a blowout.

How does the Giants Wire staff see this Week 14 battle shaking out? Here’s a look at our picks and score predictions:

Dan Benton: Giants 27, Eagles 24

Some may call me crazy or insist I’m an Eli Manning homer, but I maintain that the two-time Super Bowl champion is not done and still has some magic in him. We’ll see it on Monday night.

I fully expect Manning’s presence to help the struggling offensive line as he’ll be under center calling out protections and getting things cleaned up at the line of scrimmage. That should help unleash Saquon Barkley, who will benefit from some proper blocking schemes in front of him.

Moreover, Manning’s ability to adjust at the LOS (not a knock on rookie Daniel Jones) will substantially help the offense. Not to mention, Manning gets Barkley, Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard on the field for the first time.

Defensively, I envision the Giants defense doing just enough against an inconsistent Eagles offense that could be without several key players. Expect Janoris Jenkins to come up with a game-changing play.

John Fennelly: Giants 24, Eagles 20

The Giants have to win sometime, so why not this week? The Eagles are almost as bad as the Giants at the moment and will be under enormous pressure to to win this game. The Giants will be loose with Eli Manning back under center.

A win will do this franchise just as much harm as it will good. Any win over Philly would be welcomed, but it would be a hollow victory over a team that has dominated them for the past decade and will rekindle the Eli lovers’ quest for him to continue his career here. It will also knock the Giants out of the second draft slot and make it more difficult for them to gain the top overall pick in next year’s draft.

Doug Rush: Eagles 30, Giants 22

The Eli Manning farewell tour has officially begun.

With Daniel Jones dealing with an ankle injury, Manning has been given back the starting job and if Jones has to miss the rest of the year, then it really is the farewell tour for the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

Manning is well-rested, as he hasn’t seen the field since Week 2. Will his return matter though for a team that hasn’t won a game since Week 4 of the season back in September?

Tough to say, as the Eagles are still clearly in the hunt for the NFC East divisional crown, especially since the Dallas Cowboys keep losing games and now find themselves under .500, too (6-7 after Thursday night’s loss).

The Eagles, at 5-7, have all the reason in the world to try and play for the division and steal it from the Cowboys. A win against the Giants at home would be the start of that. They’ve lost three straight games, but their last four games are all against NFC East opponents. Plus a win puts them in a tie with Dallas for the division lead.

Even with Eli back at the helm, the Giants have had their recent struggles against their rivals. The last time the Giants came into Philadelphia and won: 2013. The last time the Giants won a game against the Eagles: 2016.

The Giants will probably be leaving with two losing streaks still in tact: a nine-game losing streak on the season and a six-game losing streak to the Eagles.

Tyler Henry: Eagles 31, Giants 27

The division rival Philadelphia Eagles are coming off an embarrassing loss against the Miami Dolphins. Even with the loss to Miami, the Eagles are the far superior team in this match up and they have dominated Big Blue in recent memory.

The Giants may get some added motivation following the return of the two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning. It would be pretty cool to see Manning knock off the Eagles one more time. The Giants are currently on a five-game losing streak against Philadelphia and have lost nine of 10 since the start of the 2014 season.

Big Blue’s struggling offensive line will also certainly have trouble against the Eagles pass rush. Saquon Barkley had some of his best games in his rookie year against Philly, but the Penn State product doesn’t seem himself as of late.

I think it’s close just because it is a division game, but I can’t see the Giants pulling this one out.

Pat Ragazzo: Eagles 34, Giants 23

The Giants offense will have some new found juice with Eli Manning coming off the bench for the first time in 10 weeks. Eli will be taking his shots down field and will eliminate some of the rookie growing pains we have endured with Daniel Jones at the helm.

Unfortunately, the Eagles’ struggling offense will get back on track against the Giants secondary and will once again post over 30-points for the second straight week.

The Giants haven’t won in Philadelphia since 2013 and this team is not the one to break the streak despite the Eagles recent struggles. However, they will hang close for the majority of the game until the Eagles breakaway late in the second half, putting the Giants ever so closer to obtaining the second overall pick to select Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young.

Kevin Hickey: Eagles 25, Giants 20

The two-time Super Bowl champion will be under center again for the first time since Week 2 when the Giants visit the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The primetime game will feature Eli Manning subbing in for the injured rookie Daniel Jones, but the woes will continue for Big Blue.

Manning’s history against the Eagles on the road is no joke. The 38-year-old has struggled mightily at Lincoln Financial and while it will be nice to see him under center again for what could be the final time, I’m not expecting a huge game from No. 10. The Eagles secondary is exploitable, but their pass rush will have a massive impact on this game.

The Giants will be seeing the return of wide receiver Golden Tate, which should help Manning. However, there will be plenty of problems on the defensive side of the ball in trying to stop Carson Wentz from connecting with Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffrey and Dallas Goedert.

It’s probably going to be one of those ugly primetime games but the Eagles are playing for something and the Giants are working their way toward another top-three pick.

Mike Moraitis: Eagles 24, Giants 13

Eli Manning is back under center for the Giants in Week 14, and while there will be plenty of nostalgia for his return in what could be his final start (or starts if Daniel Jones is out for the season), this could present some major problems for the Giants.

Pass protecting for Manning is much different than it was for Jones, as Manning simply doesn’t have the kind of mobility that Jones has. The Eagles are in the top half of the league in sacks (No. 13) and should be able to generate a lot of pressure against a Giants offensive line that has struggled in pass protection, especially of late (23 sacks allowed in the last seven games).

Philly is also vying for the top spot in the NFC East and a win will tie them with the Dallas Cowboys atop the division (Dallas owns the tiebreaker for now).

With something to play for and coming off three straight losses and a major letdown game in Week 13, the Eagles get up for a Monday Night Football showdown at MetLife Stadium and grab a win.

Serena Burks: Eagles 31, Giants 28

I really want to pick the Giants to win, but I don’t think I can. The Eagles haven’t lost more than three in a row all season, and after an embarrassing loss to the Dolphins last week, they’ll be out for blood. The Giants put up points behind Eli, but the defense just isn’t enough to stop Philly.