Three reasons to be optimistic in the Divisional Round
For an NFC Divisional Round matchup, the New York Giants (6th seed) will face off against the Philadelphia Eagles (1st seed) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There are three reasons to be optimistic when entering the game.
Revenge
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
New York is currently on a revenge trip this postseason, as they take on back-to-back rivals that they lost to last season. Their first match against the Minnesota Vikings was a success. Big Blue took control of the game right from their opening offensive drive. Now it’s time for New York to get revenge against Philadelphia.
It’s hard to beat any team in the NFL twice, and three times usually proves rather tricky. In the Giants’ last game against the Eagles, they only fell by six points as they played Philidelphia without most of their starters. New York will be able to exact their long-awaited revenge upon the Eagles now that the team is almost healthy (only Azeez Olajiri is questionable).
Favorable matchups for Saquon
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
The Eagles have one of the most impressive defenses in the NFL this year. However, a lot of that has to do with how well their All-Pro cornerbacks are and their edge rushers. Philidelphia’s defense of the run is just average. The Eagles have allowed 121.6 yards to the ground in games this season, which ranks them 17th among the league in this category.
The Giants’ greatest success has been running the football. New York’s nine regular season victories have seen them average 4.9 yards per attempt and 175.9 yards per game. This team already has the fourth-highest average rushing output in the NFL (148.2 yards per match) and two 700+ yard rushers, Daniel Jones and Saquon barkley.
This duo can benefit from an Eagles rush defense that is exposable with the right playcalling by Mike Kafka.
Jalen Hurts
AP Photo/John Munson
Many may believe Jalen Hurts is a cause for pessimism. However, it’s not as easy as it seems. In his entire career, the MVP candidate has faced a lot of difficulties when facing the Giants. Hurts averaged just 129 passing yards per match against Big Blue with an even touchdown-to-interception ratio and a mere 72.7 passer rating.
Hurts is also new to the playoffs. He made his first postseason start in his career last year. Hurts was able to throw for 258 yards and one touchdown, as well as two interceptions with a 53.5 percent completion rate.
Now combine all of this with the fact that he has only played one game since his shoulder injury and this makes for a sneaky good matchup for Wink Martindale’s defense.