Philadelphia Eagles cannot take the New York Giants lightly

The Philadelphia Eagles play host to a 0-2 Giants team on Sunday. As desperate as this Giants team is, the Philadelphia Eagles absolutely can not afford to give the Giants any life.

The Philadelphia Eagles finally get to play a home game on Sunday, and all things considered, coming into the home opener at 1-1 after two tough road games is not a bad spot to be in. The team who is really in the tough spot on Sunday will be the New York GIants. Coming in at 0-2, they practically need a win to keep their season alive.

New York has been a mess so far this season. A team that came into the season with very high expectations has been a disaster through two games. While defensively they look fine, their struggles are mainly sourced on the offensive line. Where they can not get anything going, whether in the passing game or on the ground.

The Philadelphia Eagles absolutely can not afford to give the Giants any sort of life on Sunday afternoon. They must get to Eli Manning early and often. The Philadelphia Eagles cannot be undisciplined in any way that would give the Giants offense any life.

The biggest mismatch of all that the Philadelphia Eagles must take advantage of is obvious. Their defensive line has proven through two games, it is a unit to be reckoned with. That line featuring Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and company has compiled eight sacks through two games. While the Giants front unit has yielded a total of eight sacks in addition to only gaining 97 yards on the ground.

For the Philadelphia Eagles to win this game, the game plan is simple. Take advantage of the mismatch in the trenches on defense, and do enough on offense to take the Giants out of the game.  The Giants still have a very good defense, but as long as Carson Wentz and the offense can limit the turnovers, they have shown to have no issue moving the football against this defense.

Obviously, the Eagles had their own set of issues along the offensive line last week, and hopefully, the reported benching of Isaac Seumalo in favor of Chance Warmack can serve as a spark for that unit. If they can keep Carson Wentz upright, then there is no reason why he can not have a good outing on Sunday against the Giants.

At the end of the day though, with reported temperatures in the upper 80s, this is a game that will be won in the trenches. The advantage in that case obviously favors the Eagles. But the Giants are desperate, and desperate teams can do crazy things sometimes. It is up to the Philadelphia Eagles to not let the Giants spoil their home opener.

Going back to 1980, only 3% of teams to start off 0-3 have reached the postseason. A loss on Sunday for the Giants might be the final blow to their horrific start. But for the Philadelphia Eagles, a loss could be just as bad. The Philadelphia Eagles can not let the Giants come into Lincoln Financial Field and get a win. As detrimental a loss will be the Giants, it could be just as bad for the Eagles.

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The Giants have not won in Philadelphia since 2013, and if the Eagles can keep that up, not only do they pick up a key divisional win, but they have the chance to stick a fork in the Giants postseason hopes. The Giants are on the ropes and the Philadelphia Eagles must land the knockout punch.