We have ourselves an NFC East showdown to wrap up Saturday's action as we begin the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. The New York Giants will take their Cinderella story into Lincoln Financial Field and take on the Philadelphia Eagles in an old-school rivalry.
New York pulled off one of the bigger upsets of Super Wild Card Weekend, going into U.S. Bank Stadium and taking down the No. 2 seeded Minnesota Vikings. Now, they'll face an Eagles team that enjoyed a much-needed bye week to get most of their players healthy, including quarterback Jalen Hurts. Philly swept the season series, but things always have the chance to go haywire when division rivals meet in the postseason.
In this space, we'll specifically be looking at the different betting angles that this matchup has on deck for us. Below, you'll read picks from both CBS Sports and SportsLine experts on this game, as well as a handful of player props that catch our eye.
All NFL odds are via Caesars Sportsbook.
How to watch
Date: Saturday, Jan. 21 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA)
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Odds: Eagles -7.5, O/U 48
Giants at Eagles spread picks
SportsLine expert R.J. White consistently crushes against-the-spread picks and went 445-378-24 on his ATS picks from 2017-21, which returned $2,542 to $100 players. He's also an incredible 39-19 on his last 58 picks involving the Giants, returning $1,679 for $100 bettors. Now that you know that, you'll certainly want to see which way he is leaning with his ATS picks for Giants-Eagles, especially as White has uncovered a key X-factor that makes one side a must-back. To see what that is, go check out SportsLine.
"The Giants impressed on offense in beating the Vikings last week, but this is a much tougher challenge for Daniel Jones and Co. The Eagles led the NFL in sacks and have five guys who had 10 or more. That's pressure. The Giants have been leaky at times on their line, which has to be a concern. But offensive coordinator Mike Kafka does a nice job of scheming things up for Jones. The Eagles didn't look great on offense in the regular-season finale against the Giants, who rested players that day. Jalen Hurts was back for that game after missing two, but he didn't look great. The extra time will help in terms of his health. Look for the Eagles to attack through the air here, but the Giants have come alive on the defensive front. Without Lane Johnson, that could be a problem for the Eagles. Even so, look for Philadelphia to pull it out and advance to the NFC Championship Game." -- CBS Sports Senior NFL Analyst Pete Prisco on why he is taking the Eagles edge out the Giants, 30-28. To see all his picks for this week, click here.
"When two division rivals meet in the playoffs, I don't necessarily pay attention to what happened during the regular season, but in this game, it's kind of hard to ignore. The Eagles blew out the Giants twice this year with wins of 48-22 and 22-16, and yes, I count that second score as a blowout because it was 19-3 midway through the fourth quarter.
"Apparently, it's supposed to be tough to beat a team three times in one season, but I wanted to find that out for myself, so I decided to actually do some research (This actually just involves me emailing our research department, so there's not really too much work involved on my end, so don't feel sorry for me). Anyway, since 1970, a total of 24 teams have gone 2-0 against a divisional opponent in the regular season and then faced them again in the playoffs and those 24 teams have gone 15-9 in the third game, which means 62.5% of the teams have finished the three-game sweep, but that also means that the 0-2 team has won the third game 37.5% of the time, and I think what I'm trying to say here is that I just did all that research for nothing, because that's not enough information to help me pick this game.
"The Eagles are a huge favorite, but I'm not sure if I can trust them right now due mainly to the fact that I watched them play three straight bad games to end the season. ... By the time this game kicks off, Jalen Hurts will have only played one game over the past month and he didn't look good in that game. Also, during the Eagles blowout win in Week 14, the Giants were missing three starters -- DL Leonard Williams, CB Adoree' Jackson, S Xavier McKinney -- who all could have a huge impact this week." -- CBS Sports NFL writer John Breech on why he likes New York to pull off the upset over Philadelphia.To see all his picks for the divisional round, click here.
"The Giants are the darlings of the NFL playoffs right now. They were a popular pick last week to upset the Vikings and now folks are whispering that they could be crashing the party in the NFC. While Brian Daboll is arguably the best remaining coach in the conference in these playoffs, let's hold on a second before we ship the Lombardi Trophy to East Rutherford. No team needed a first-round bye more than the Eagles. Jalen Hurts was banged up, Lane Johnson needed time to heal, and there are certainly a vast array of players on the roster who also enjoyed getting the week to recuperate. Philadelphia should be healthier with that week off and -- as we saw throughout the regular season -- a healthy Eagles team is lethal.
"Philadelphia should be able to run all over this Giants defense that ranked last in the NFL in DVOA against the run and ranked 30th in the league in rushing yards per attempt (5.2). That could mean another big day for Miles Sanders, who rushed for a career-high 144 yards against this defense back in Week 14. While I expect Philadelphia to be able to move the ball offensively, we now have to turn our attention to the Eagles defense slowing down Daniel Jones and the Giants. Philly did provide the second-best pressure rate in the NFL this season, while New York's offensive line allowed the most pressure in the league. We saw that on display back in Week 14 when the Eagles sacked Jones four times in a 48-22 win. I think we see similar pressure applied on Jones in this game, which slows down what the Giants can do offensively.
"Again, don't underestimate just how important that bye was for the Eagles. I'll ride with a well-rested team with a higher talent ceiling when healthy." -- CBS Sports NFL writer Tyler Sullivan on why he is laying the points and rolling with the Eagles. To see all of his picks, click here.
"The Eagles defeated the Giants by 26 points in December, and then by six points earlier this month. What kind of Eagles team are we going to get this weekend? To start off, I have the Eagles winning this game. Let's get that out of the way now. As I predicted last week, the Minnesota Vikings' porous defense made the Giants offense look better than it actually is. The Eagles are a different beast. Plus, New York has lost in nine straight trips to Philadelphia.
"The Giants were/are the best team to bet on this season against the spread. They are 14-4 ATS on the year, and an incredible 8-1 ATS on the road this season. If you're going to give me the hook, I'm prone to take it. Even though I haven't handed my ticket to the conductor of the Giants hype train, it's hard not to be intrigued by this team's postseason history. I mean, the Giants are 8-1 SU as a playoff underdog since 2007! My head tells me Eagles, but my heart wants the underdog Giants. I can satisfy both by predicting the Eagles win by exactly seven points." -- CBS Sports NFL writer Jordan Dajani on why he likes New York to cover in Philly this weekend. To see the rest of his picks, click here.
Giants at Eagles total pick
SportsLine's Projection Model is a must-have tool as we go through these playoffs. It simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model comes into the divisional round on an incredible 162-113 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season. It is also on a 16-6 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of this season. Naturally, you'll want to know what it has projected for Giants-Eagles.
The model knows Philadelphia has dominated the series against New York, including two victories against the Giants this season where they outscored them 68-28. It has also factored in Daniel Jones' stellar performance in the wild-card win over Minnesota. Jones became the first quarterback in NFL history to have 300 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and 70 rushing yards in a playoff game. With all that in mind, we can tell you the model is leaning Over the total, but to see which way it's rolling against the spread, you'll have to go to SportsLine.
Best prop picks
Miles Sanders total rushing yards: Over 67.5 (-137). The New York Giants struggle to stop the run, with their rushing defense ranking 32nd in the NFL in DVOA. They also allowed 5.2 yards per carry over the course of the regular season, so this is a pretty advantageous matchup for Sanders. The Eagles back has already showed us he can have success against this unit, rushing for 144 yards against them back in Week 14. Look for Philly to lean on him once again.
Saquon Barkley total receiving yards: Over 25.5 (-117). The Eagles pressured Daniel Jones on 54% of his dropbacks in their Week 14 matchup to go along with seven sacks. Philly's 38% pressure rate for the season was second-best in the NFL and will now face a Giants O-line that allowed the most pressure in the league. With that in mind, Jones could be under siege and forced to dump the ball off quickly to runnings backs to negate that pressure. That's where Barkley comes in, on top of his typical load within the offense. In his last four games (including the playoff win over Minnesota), Barkley has gone over this receiving total three times.
Boston Scott anytime touchdown (+320). In case you didn't know, Boston Scott is something of a Giants killer. He has 10 total touchdowns against New York (eight games), which accounts for roughly 59% of his career scores. Might as well let history ride in this playoff matchup.
