Eli Manning Looks To Spoil Eagles' Playoff Hopes In What Could Be His Last NFL Start

The Eagles have lost three-straight, are two games below .500, but are still in the NFC East hunt

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Giants (2-10) at Eagles (5-7)

PHI -9.5, O/U 44.5, Monday December 9th, 8:15pm EST

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  • The New York Giants (2-10) will travel to take on the Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) in Week 14. It has been a season to forget for both teams so far.

  • The Giants benched two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Eli Manning for rookie Daniel Jones after Week 2, only to have to turn back to Manning this week due to Jones’ ankle injury.

  • New York has dealt with devastating injuries all year long and enters this game as 9.5-point underdogs, even though the Eagles have lost three-straight games and are coming off an embarrassing 37-31 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

  • The Eagles had offensive woes in the first two games of their losing streak (against the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks), but it was their defensive ineptitude that cost them last week. At this point, it’s difficult to fully trust Philadelphia on a week-to-week basis, especially after that loss.

  • BetQL's NFL Model lists best bets against the spread, on the moneyline and on the total in this contest. Keep reading to find out what they are!

Giants

Luckily for the Eagles, the major storyline surrounding this matchup has not been their recent free-fall, but rather the return of Manning. In his only two starts of the year (in Weeks 1 and 2), Manning completed 62.9 percent of his passes and compiled 556 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Although Evan Engram (foot) will sit out, Manning will have some quality weapons to work with, as Saquon Barkley, Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton will all suit up. For Tate, who sat out in Manning’s first two starts as part of his early-season PED suspension, it might be his first and only time catching balls from the debatable Hall of Famer. 

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The Giants have scored 19.2 points per game and have allowed 28.2 points per game to opponents this season, have gone 4-8 against the spread (2-6 in their last eight) and the over has gone 7-5 in their contests. A crazy trend to consider: Pat Shurmur has gone 7-21 straight-up since becoming the Giants head coach last season, but his team has gone 7-0 ATS when they’ve played on grass surfaces. Lincoln Financial Field is a grass surface. 

Eagles

Not only have the Eagles been in a rut, but they’ve gone just 4-8 against the spread (2-4 ATS at home). While they’re two games below .500 from an overall win-loss perspective, they’re still firmly in the NFC playoff mix since the NFC East leading Dallas Cowboys are just 6-7 and the two teams have a Week 16 matchup looming. A win in this game could reverse the negative momentum and it’s worth mentioning that they’ll take on the Giants once again in Week 17 (that time on the road). 

Before last week’s debacle, Philly’s defense had been on a roll and the team allowed just 13, 14, 17 and 17 points in four consecutive games, respectively. Therefore, while it’s difficult to project which version will show up on Monday night, it’s also important to realize that Derek Barnett (ankle) is the only key member of the defense that’s on the injury report and that the Giants haven’t been much of an offense threat this season. 

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It’s worth mentioning that Jordan Howard (shoulder) and Nelson Agholor (knee) are listed as questionable and are considered game-time decisions. If Howard sits again, rookie Miles Sanders should see the bulk of the work at running back and if Agholor misses, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Greg Ward Jr. will see additional playing time while tight ends Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz could see more work in the passing game. If they both suit up, Carson Wentz would have a couple more weapons to work with. 

A trend to consider: Over their last 18 games directly after playing in a contest in which 50-plus points were scored, the Eagles have gone 15-3 SU. 

Prediction

Per BetQL’s NFL Public Betting Dashboard as of Monday morning, 58 percent of total bets have gone on the Giants ATS, but 58 percent of the money has gone on the Eagles. Therefore, the sharp money is on the home team.

For every data-driven bet for this game, check out BetQL’s Best Bets Dashboard!