Eagles vs. Giants predictions: Four props for Sunday’s NFC East showdown

A week ago, we recommend betting Jalen Hurts to fall short of his projected rushing total against the Tennessee Titans, forecasting the Eagles’ versatile quarterback to have more success in the air than on the ground.

What happened? Hurts scored a rushing touchdown but had just 12 yards on five carries while lighting up the Titans’ poor secondary for 380 passing yards and three scores.

So what do we expect from Hurts on Sunday when he goes up against the New York Giants in New Jersey? Somewhat of a reversal of last week.

The NFL MVP candidate headlines our four pack of Eagles vs. Giants player props (along with two of his favorite offensive weapons).

Note: Odds updated as of 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 9.

We figured Hurts wouldn’t do much damage on the ground a week ago because his opponent was great at stuffing the run and horrific against the pass. Sure enough, while Tennessee got torched through the air, it held Philadelphia to 67 rushing yards.

This week, Hurts and the Eagles take on a defense that’s basically the Titans’ opposite.

New York holds opposing QBs to 218.8 passing yards per game, slightly below average in the NFL (18th). For context, if the Giants gave up just 10 fewer passing yards per game, they’d move all the way up to 11th.

The run defense? Different story. New York yields 141.1 rushing yards per contest — seventh most in the league. And that number has gotten worse the last three weeks, with the Giants getting bulldozed for 160, 169 and 165 rushing yards against Detroit, Dallas and Washington.

» READ MORE: Eagles vs. Giants prediction: Lay points with Philly in NFC East battle

Hurts will be the third mobile quarterback to face G-Men this season. The first two — Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Chicago’s Justin Fields — lost in New York. But both broke free on the ground (Jackson for 77 yards on seven carries; Fields for 52 yards on seven carries).

Back to Hurts: He’s definitely been hit-or-miss this season when it comes to running the ball. He’s rushed for 86 or more yards three times (including in Weeks 10 and 11). And he had 57 yards against the Vikings and 61 against the Cardinals. But in seven other games, he tallied 38 or fewer rushing yards.

Still, given what Jackson and Fields did — and given that rain showers are expected and likely will put a damper on the passing game — we think he’s good for 55-plus in this one.

Bet the Over on Hurts’ rushing total at BetMGM.

As much as New York has struggled to stop the run, it has been pretty stingy near the goal line, giving up just 11 rushing touchdowns. That’s just one more than Philadelphia, which ranks 13th in the category.

So why roll with Sanders on this prop? Because the Eagles’ primary tailback is running hot in the touchdown department with three in the last two games. In fact, since hitting pay dirt just once in the first three weeks, Sanders has found the end zone in six of his last nine contests (eight TDs in all).

And if you believe in the “due” theory, well, you’ll be interested in this: Sanders has carried the rock 55 times in five career games against New York but he’s yet to cross the goal line.

The other reason to play this prop — in addition to the nice plus-money that Caesars Sportsbook is offering — is game script. Again: We think the Eagles, who fed Sanders just 10 times last week, will try to exploit the Giants’ weak defensive front. And they’ll likely do it by giving the ball to their No. 1 running back early and often.

More carries, of course, means more opportunities to take it to the house. So look for Sanders to do just that for a third straight game (something he also accomplished in Week 6 and — after a bye — Weeks 7 and 8).

Philadelphia’s top receiver had himself a day last week against Tennessee. Brown turned 10 targets into eight receptions (second most this season), 119 yards (third most) and two TDs (second most).

Of course, Brown was highly motivated to put up those huge numbers, as the Titans drafted him in 2019 … then traded him to the Eagles on draft day this year.

Obviously, that motivation won’t be there this week. More than that, we don’t think the opportunities will be as plentiful against a Giants secondary that’s much better than Tennessee’s.

Also factoring into this prediction: Brown has had big yardage games in consecutive weeks just once this season. He had 85 against Washington in Week 3 and 95 against Jacksonville in Week 4.

Furthermore, prior to last week, Brown had 13 100-yard receiving efforts in his career. Here are the yardage totals he put up in the ensuing games: 25, 45, 114, 4 (playoffs), 24, 21, 44, 84 (playoffs), 155, 42, 41, 69 and 59.

The latter two games were this year. They’re among seven instances in 2022-23 in which Brown failed to get to 70 receiving yards. Bank on No. 8 coming Sunday in New York.

The Eagles lead the NFL with 15 interceptions. But among qualifying starting quarterbacks, only two guys — Hurts and Tom Brady — have thrown fewer picks (two) than Jones (three).

So something’s gotta give at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. And we think it’s going to be Philadelphia’s ball-hawking secondary.

For one thing, only four of the Eagles’ 15 interceptions have come as a visitor (and two were in one game against Houston’s Davis Mills). Similarly, half of Jones’ four picks this season came in one game (Week 11′s 31-18 home loss to Detroit).

A huge reason why New York is 7-4-1 and in the playoff hunt is because Jones has cleaned things up in the ball-protection department. In his first three seasons, the 2019 first-round pick from Duke had 29 interceptions and 36 fumbles (losing 20).

This year? In addition to the four picks, the mobile Jones has fumbled five times and lost two.

As previously mentioned, wet conditions are forecast for Sunday’s game. So you have to assume that Giants coach Brian Daboll will scale back the passing game, even if running back Saquon Barkley (neck injury) can’t play.

Why would you ask Jones, who can make things happen with this legs as much as his arm, to risk putting a wet ball in the air more than you have to — especially against an opportunistic Eagles defense?

Finally, in four career games against Philadelphia, Jones has thrown two interceptions — but none in the last two contests in which he had a combined 58 pass attempts.

Play Jones Under 0.5 INTs at BetMGM.

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