1/11/09-TWD's Agenda For The Weekend, Sunday Edition:

Photo from Ny DailyNews

The Eagles are flowing with confidence thanks to their backfield tandem of Donovin McNabb and Brian Westbrook, while the Giants look to sustain their hopes of defending their shock championship from last year without the services of Plaxico Burress.

The absence of Burress was certainly felt in the second encounter between these squads in the Meadowlands, as Westbrook craved the Giants defense (unaided by Justin Tuck picking up the flu) for 131 yards rushing, 72 yards receiving, and two touchdowns as Andy Reid’s side scored a season saving win on December 7th.

Eagles’ corners Shelton Brown, Asante Samuel, and Lito Sheppard are certainly not crying spilled tears over Burress no longer being able to terrorize them. Nevertheless, with Brandon Jacobs spearheading the Giants running attach, Tom Coughlin’s side has every right to still feel like they are the team to beat, especially with being at home.

Two keys to the game:

Will Tuck and Matthias Kiwanuka get pressure on Donovin McNabb to balance in the Eagles offense?

Will Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon strike a connection with Eli Manning to make the loss of Burress not much of a big deal?

The Eagles have the momentum coming in, and as yesterday’s games both showed (and in the last few years), the “first round bye” hasn’t given many teams an advantage in the last few years. But the balance is still there in the Giants offense. Expect the pressure from Steve Spagnuolo’s blitz schemes to come hard, and to come often. It will be up to McNabb to become a vintage form of himself at times in this game, flushing out of the pocket and making plays with his legs to keep the Giants defense honest.

But with the sledgehammer that is Jacobs along with the emergence of Smith, Dixon, and Kevin Boss as legitimate weapons, Manning will lead his team in the cold conditions today, and keep the hopes alive for back to back titles.

Prediction: Giants 17, Eagles 7