The Dreaded Saturday Eagles Pick (Thursday Prime Time Edition)

This is getting ugly.

For me and the Eagles.

Didn't this time win a Super Bowl?

The Birds have been anything but Super since.

Last week they struggled again, falling to the Vikings at home. That dropped them below .500 at 2-3.

Luckily, the Eagles reside in the lowly NFC East, which means they are in the thick of the playoff hunt. The Redskins actually still lead the division after getting blown out by the Saints. They have a lusty 2-2 mark. It's entirely possible a team could win this division at .500. Or less.

The Eagles kick off divisional play tonight when they roll up the New Jersey Turnpike to tangle with the rival New York Giants.

It should be a sight for sore eyes. Not the Meadowlands. The Giants, who appear to be coming apart at the seams.

But there will be an X-factor in this prime time struggle between two lackluster teams.

The weather.

We're going to get squeezed by a cold front colliding with the remnants of Hurricane Michael. Heavy rain is expected tonight.

It would be a great night to give beleaguered Carson Wentz a break and run the ball. But the Birds have been hard-pressed when it comes to a ground game. Part of that has been Doug Pederson's play calling, which has been tilted heavily toward the air, even with Wentz just coming back after nine months out of action recovering from a knee injury. Wentz has been battered in his two games back, seemingly getting hit every time he drops back.

Plus the Eagles will be without starting running back Jay Ajayi, who likely will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

The formula will likely be the same. A huge dose of tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert.

As far as the Giants go, they must be feeling like a kid on Christmas morning as Eli Manning looks out and sees Odell Beckham matched up with Jalen Mills, who has become the poster boy for the Eagles' early struggles.

Look for the Birds to put some pressure on Eli, hoping to force the predictable turnovers.

The weather is the wild card in this contest. Speaking of wild cards, you can pretty much forget about one of those coming from the NFC East. The road to the playoffs means winning the NFC East.

That should start tonight for the Birds.

THE PICK: Make it Eagles 19, Giants 17. A sack and fumble by Eli Manning as the Giants are driving for the winning score should do it for the Eagles.

LAST WEEK: I've actually been pretty good about getting close on the score. The problem is I haven't gotten the result right yet so far this year. That's right, I'm a perfect 0-5. Time to get off the Schneid. The Eagles need to turn this thing around. I know the feeling. Let's hope it starts tonight. Losing to Vikes dropped the Birds under .500 at 2-3. My scorecard remains perfect - a perfectly miserable 0-5.

GAME BY GAME: Eagles 18, Falcons 12. (My Pick: Falcons 27, Eagles 13) Buccaneers 27, Eagles 21 (My Pick: Eagles 23, Buccaneers 13)

Eagles 20, Colts 16 (My Pick: Colts 23, Eagles 17)

Titans 26, Eagles 23 in OT (My Pick: Eagles 26, Titans 13)

Vikings 23, Eagles 21 (My Pick: Eagles 24, Vikings 13)

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