The NFC East title is still on the line when the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) host the New York Giants (9-6-1) at Lincoln Financial Field this Sunday.
If the Eagles win, they will take the NFC East and also earn the NFC’s top seed and a bye in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
By winning this week, Philadelphia will also keep the streak alive that there will be no repeat division champion in the NFC East for the 18th consecutive year.
Should the Giants find a way to win this game, and Dallas defeats Washington on Sunday, the Cowboys will win the division. That would end the streak as they won the NFC East in 2021.
For the record, since the NFL realigned in 2002, the Eagles have won the NFC East title eight times, Dallas has won six times, and the Giants and Washington three times each.
The Giants can derail the Eagles’ plans on that division title by pulling off an upset of epic proportions on Sunday. It would be payback for many years of the Eagles doing just that to the Giants over the years.
In 2008, the Giants held the top seed in the NFC with a 12-4 record. In the divisional playoff round, the Giants hosted the 9-6-1 Eagles (sound familiar?) at Giants Stadium.
Big Blue were defending Super Bowl champions but had been recently rocked by the Plaxico Burress scandal and came into the contest by losing three of their final four games.
The Eagles snared a wild card berth by winning four of their final five games, including a Week 14 win over the Giants.
They would win this one, easily, as the Giants and their seven Pro Bowlers fell flat on their faces, committing turnovers and miscues as well as getting bullied by their long-time division rivals in a sickening 23-11 loss.
The Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship game against Arizona where they lost, 32-25. The Giants went home looking very much like losers.
This week’s game has some similarities to that 2009 game. Philadelphia has lost two straight while the Giants have won two of their last three (and should have won all three). Philadelphia is at home and they are in a bit of disarray with starting quarterback Jalen Hurts (shoulder) not at 100 percent.
The Eagles have everything to lose while the Giants are playing with house money. The only question remaining is if the Giants will pull out all stops to win this game since there is nothing to be gained by risking their key players.
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