The New York Football Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles will go to battle in an old-school NFC East playoff showdown on Saturday Night in south Philly. After defeating the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Wild Card round to earn their first playoff victory since Super XLVI, the Giants and their fans are fired up and ready to dance with their bitter rivals.
The Eagles won the NFC East, finished with the best record in the NFL, and earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC in 2022. Philly started 13-1, but stumbled down the stretch, losing two of their final three games, and they nearly lost to the Giants’ third-stringers in Week 18.
These two teams are trending in opposite directions heading into this Divisional Round showdown. Could an upset be on the way? In this piece, we have four bold predictions for all of you Big Blue supporters out there:
4. Saquon Barkley balls out vs. Philly for 100+ yards
The Eagles are an outstanding matchup for Saquon Barkley. The Eagles run defense tied for 16th in the NFL in 2022, giving up 122.6 rushing yards per game. Conversely, the Giants rushing attack ranked fourth in the NFL in 2022, averaging 148.6 yards per game.
We think the Giants will lean very heavily on their star running back this weekend. If you compare the two teams’ position groups, the only group the Giants have a significant advantage over the Eagles in is the running back group.
Barkley ran for 62 first downs in 2022, tied for seventh most in the NFL. The greatest recipe for pulling off a massive upset in the NFL is running the ball successfully, churning the clock, getting first downs and keeping the opposing offense off the field.
Opposing defenses now have to game plan to stop the red-hot Daniel Jones, which should open up big holes for Barkley. The Eagles run defense has been shredded the last four games, giving up 129 yards, 129 yards, 115 yards and 157 yards, respectively. That trend will continue Saturday night, as Barkley will receive 15 carries for 115 yards.