Giants vs. Eagles Week 18 preview: What you need to know for gameday
Giants head coach Brian Daboll looks on during the second quarter against the Colts at MetLife Stadium on Jan. 1. Credit: Jim McIsaac
GIANTS (9-6-1) AT EAGLES (13-3)
Lincoln Financial Field, 4:25 p.m.
VITALS
Line: Eagles by 16.5; O/U 43.5
TV/Radio: CBS (Ian Eagle, Charlie Davies); / WFAN-660 AM; Sirius 132, 380 and the SXM app.
NOTABLE INJURIES
Giants: OUT: OLB Azeez Ojulari (ankle), DL Leonard Williams (neck). DOUBTFUL: CB Adoree’ Jackson (knee). QUESTIONABLE: C Jon Feliciano (back).
Eagles: OUT: LB Shaun Bradley (wrist), T Lane Johnson (groin), CB Avonte Maddox (toe), DE Janarius Robinson (ankle), DE Josh Sweat (neck). QUESTIONABLE: QB Jalen Hurts (right shoulder).
REMATCH, ANYONE?
It appears that the Giants will play the Vikings in the first round of the NFC playoffs, beginning next weekend. Why? The 49ers and Vikings are both 12-4, but the 49ers are 9-2 in NFC games, while the Vikings are 7-4. So the 49ers now hold the No. 2 seed. In Week 18, the 49ers host the Cardinals (4-12), while the Vikings visit the Bears (3-13). The only way the Vikings can reclaim the No. 2 seed is if they win in Week 18 and the 49ers lose, which seems like a long shot.
JUST FOCUS
Brian Daboll is fully aware that the Eagles will clinch the NFC East title and a first-round bye if they defeat the Giants. He just doesn’t care.
“I just focus on what we need to do to try to win a game,” he said. “What are our musts? Go out there, prepare well, practice – just like it was when (I was being asked about making) the playoffs. We just focus on the week. Again, that’s my mentality. That’s what it will always be.I just focus on what we need to do to try to win a game,” he said.
This week, there is one exception. Like everyone in the NFL, Daboll is thrilled to hear of the progress made by Bills safety Damar Hamlin. “Awesome,” Daboll said.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
