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Philadelphia Eagles versus New York Giants game day is here. For the second year in a row, these two teams are set to play a meaningless game at MetLife Stadium in Week 17.
The Eagles MUST lose this game. Don't give me this crap about "pride" or "losing mentality" or some other BS. There are multiple benefits to the Eagles losing. The most important one is getting a better draft pick. If the Eagles lose, they will pick from somewhere from ninth to 11th. If the Eagles screw this up and win, they will pick somewhere from 13th to 17th. The Eagles need a good pick. This team needs another top talent. The first round pick could potentially be used on finding the team's next franchise quarterback. As an extra bonus, the Giants will get a worse draft pick.
Another reason why the Eagles must lose is that it will help them have an easier schedule in 2016, or at least in theory. If the Eagles win, they will have to play the Seahawks in Seattle next season. If they lose, however, they get to play the St. Louis Rams at a neutral site in London.
As for previewing the game itself ... who really cares? These are two bad teams. The Giants' defense has been bad al year while the Eagles defense started out strong but collapsed in the second half. New York's offense has been better than Philadelphia's but it's still inconsistent.
This could potentially be Tom Coughlin's last game as head coach of the Giants. There's no doubt he'll want to win this game to finish his career on a high note. Meanwhile, the Eagles will led by interim head coach Pat Shurmur due to Chip Kelly being fired earlier this week. Shurmur will also want to win this game because it could help him land a new job.
I guess it'll be a little interesting to see if the Eagles look any different with Chip gone. How much will Shurmur change? I can't imagine the team will look too much different since Shurmur only became interim head coach on Wednesday. It's not like he's had time to install a whole new system.
Once again, losing is paramount in this game. The Eagles are probably bad enough that they don't need to tank. Odell Beckham Jr. is coming off a week of rest and he should be able to torch this secondary. Let him do his obnoxious touchdown celebration while not realizing that the Eagles actually benefit from his scores.
My only fear for Eagles fans is that the team will somehow find a way to win this game. Sometimes there's an immediate bump when a new coach takes over. Dan Campbell taking over the Dolphins and Mike Mularkey taking over the Titans are two examples from this season. There's also the fact that the Birds are 4-1 in their last five games against the G-Men.
This year has been so frustrating for Eagles fans. It would only be fitting that the team disappoints again by winning this meaningless game.
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My predictions:
Score prediction: 31-30, Eagles win somehow.
Bold prediction: Caleb Sturgis hits a 65-yard field goal for the win.
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