NFL Picks 10/26 – Giants @ Eagles

By Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

Long-time NFC East rivals collide in Week 8 as the New York Giants (2-5) visit the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. The teams are meeting for a second time in 17 days. The underdog Giants clobbered the Eagles 34-17 at home on October 9. The Eagles had won seven of eight against the Giants prior to that loss. Philadelphia has won 12 in a row against New York at home. New York’s last win at Philadelphia occurred in 2013.

Philadelphia is a 7-point favorite and the total is 43.5.

New York is coming off a stunning 33-32 loss at Denver in their previous game on Oct. 19. New York held a 19-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter but were outscored 33-13 in the final frame. Denver’s 33 fourth-quarter points set an NFL-record for a team that was scoreless heading into the fourth quarter. Denver’s Bo Nix became the first quarterback in NFL history to run for two touchdowns and throw for two touchdowns in a fourth quarter. 

The Giants took a 26-8 lead with 10:14 left to go in the fourth quarter after a Jaxson Dart touchdown pass to Theo Johnson. Denver later scored 3 consecutive touchdowns over a 3 minute and 22 second stretch of game time beginning at the 5:13 mark to take a 30-26 lead with 1:51 remaining. New York went ahead 32-30 with 37 seconds remaining on a Jaxson Dart 1-yard touchdown run, but kicker Jude McAtamney missed the extra point, his second missed extra point of the day. That missed extra point proved to be costly as Denver was able to drive 56 yards in 36 seconds, setting up Will Lutz’ game-winning 37-yard field goal as time expired. 

Prior to the New York-Denver game, the last team to blow an 18-point lead in the final 6 minutes of a game was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the visiting Indianapolis Colts in 2003 on Monday Night Football. Despite the demoralizing loss, promising rookies Jaxson Dart (283 passing yards, 3 touchdowns to 1 interception, 1 rushing touchdown) and Cam Skattebo (94 total yards, 1 receiving touchdown) had very good performances for New York. 

Philadelphia picked up a 28-22 win at Minnesota in their previous game on Oct. 19. The Eagles were powered by a strong passing attack that has been dormant for much of the season. Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 19 of 23 passes for a season-best 326 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. Hurts finished with a perfect 158.3 passer rating. It was his first 300-yard passing game since Sept. 15, 2024 at New Orleans. 

The Eagles superstar wideout duo of DeVonte Smith (9 catches, career-high 183 yards, 1 touchdown) and AJ Brown (4 catches for 121 yards, 2 touchdowns) were both excellent in the win. Both players — Brown in particular — had voiced their displeasure with the lack of explosive plays in the passing game earlier in the season.

GAME STORYLINES: NEW YORK GIANTS

Over the last two offseasons, the New York Giants jettisoned what were believed to be franchise cornerstones in running back Saquon Barkley in 2024 and quarterback Daniel Jones in 2025. Both players have gone on to resurrect and reshape their careers in Philadelphia and Indianapolis, respectively. Barkley rushed for a whopping 2,005 yards last season for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, while Daniel Jones is playing at an MVP-level with the NFL-leading Indianapolis Colts (6-1).  

New York’s season got off to an inauspicious start as embattled veteran quarterback Russell Wilson struggled through the first 3 games, which were all losses. Highly-regarded rookie first-rounder (26th pick – Ole Miss) Jaxson Dart replaced Wilson as the starter beginning in Week 4. Things went from bad to worse when second-year star wideout Malik Nabers tore his ACL and meniscus in his right knee against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4. Nabers is out for the season.

Handing the starting quarterback job to a rookie after just three games, along with the season-ending injury suffered by star wideout Malik Nabers appeared to be a disastrous situation for the New York Giants. But Jaxson Dart has been terrific in his four starts with the Giants and he’s given the moribund franchise some optimism for the future.

The 22-year-old Jaxson Dart has passed for 791 yards with 7 touchdown to 3 interceptions on 60.2 percent completions in 4 starts. He’s also rushed for 178 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. Dart has gone 2-2 as the Giants starting quarterback. 

Fellow rookie Cam Skattebo is also providing a huge boost for the Giants this season. New York selected the bruising running back in the fourth round (No. 105) out of Arizona State. An injury to starting running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. during the Giants 22-9 Week 3 loss to Kansas City thrust Skattebo into action after not playing in Weeks 1 and 2. Skattebo rushed for 60 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown, while catching 6 balls for 61 yards in a sensational NFL debut. 

Cam Skattebo entrenched himself as the Giants starting running back after his dazzling debut against the Kansas City Chiefs on national television. He’s now commanding the vast majority of carries out of the Giants’ backfield in the four games since stepping in for an injured Tyrone Tracy Jr. On the season, Skattebo has rushed for 398 yards with 5 rushing touchdowns, along with 198 receiving yards and 1 receiving touchdown. 

The magnificent play of the rookie duo of quarterback Jaxson Dart and running back Cam Skattebo, along with the return of star wideout Malik Nabers bodes well for New York’s future. Prior to the season, the Giants’ future seemed bleak due to a number of personnel blunders, but they’ll have a chance to boast a potentially elite quarterback-running back-wideout trio of Dart, Skattebo and Nabers beginning in 2026. The youthful trio could reverse the fortunes of the Giants quickly. 

GAME STORYLINES: PHILADELPHIA

Last season, the Philadelphia dusted off some early season turmoil — a 2-2 start and rumored internal bickering — to finish 14-3 and cruise to a Super Bowl title. The Eagles pounded Washington 55-23 in the NFC Championship Game and Kansas City 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX (59). 

The Eagles dominant 2024 Super Bowl run was ignited by the addition of free agent running back Saquon Barkley. The then-27-year-old Barkley signed a somewhat modest three-year, $37.7 million with the Eagles prior to the 2024 season after starring for a mostly dysfunctional New York Giants franchise for 6 seasons. Barkley rushed for an astonishing 2,005 yards in his debut season with the Eagles. He became the 9th player in NFL history to surpass the 2,000-yard mark. 

Philadelphia entered the 2025 season as the favorite to repeat and win the Super Bowl at +650 as they returned a slew of key players from last year’s team. The Eagles also ended last season winning 16 of their final 17 regular and postseason games. 

Despite getting off to a 4-0 start in 2025, internal issues arose again for the Eagles as temperamental wideout A.J. Brown openly expressed his frustration with the lack of explosive plays in the passing game. The Eagles did not record a passing touchdown over the first 2 games of the season, even though they won both games — 24-20 vs. Dallas and 20-17 at Kansas City. The offense picked up the pace beginning in Week 3 averaging 30.6 points per game in the Eagles 3 wins.

Eagles cerebral quarterback Jalen Hurts is putting together another tremendous season. The 27-year-old, reigning Super Bowl MVP has passed for 1,498 yards with 11 touchdowns to 1 interception while completing 69.7 percent of his passes. He’s rushed for 185 yards and a team-high 5 touchdowns. Hurts has been particularly prolific of late passing for at least 280 or more yards in his last 3 contests. 

Star wideouts DeVonta Smith (team-leading 504 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns in 7 gms) and A.J. Brown (395 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns in 7 gms) along with tight end Dallas Goedert (261 receiving yards, team-high 5 touchdowns in 6 gms) make up a potent pass-catching trio for Jalen Hurts. The Eagles were dealt a tough blow when it was announced on Friday that A.J. Brown will miss Sunday’s game due to a hamstring injury. Jahan Dotson and John Metchie III are expected to fill in the void left by Brown’s absence. 

After a record-setting debut season with the Eagles last season, Saquon Barkley has struggled on the ground this season with just 369 rushing yards (ranking him 23rd amongst all NFL running backs) on the ground through 7 games. He does have 23 catches for 135 yards and a receiving touchdown. Barkley has maintained a positive attitude focusing on the team being 5-2 and not harping on his individual stats. 

THE PICK: EAGLES (-7)

I think the Eagles will be looking for revenge after getting overwhelmed by the upstart Giants 34-17 on the road 17 days ago. I expect a much different outcome in Philadelphia. Lay the Points…Eagles 30, Giants 19