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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 11, 2009

KEY MATCHUP

Eagles RB Brian Westbrook

vs. the Giants defense

Donovan McNabb is the face of the Philadelphia franchise, but Brian Westbrook is the Eagles' best player. He can beat you running the ball or catching it, so a great deal of what the Eagles do is designed around getting the ball into Westbrook's hands. It's imperative that the Giants find a way to limit the big plays Westbrook makes. They did that in their first meeting, a 36-31 win in which Westbrook gained just 59 total yards. They failed to do it in the second meeting, allowing Westbrook to gain 203 total yards in an Eagles victory. The Giants were victimized mostly by poor play calls and poor gap integrity in that second meeting, so Giants coordinator Steve Spagnuolo must be sharp and his players have to be aware of Westbrook at all times. If Spagnuolo can get the Giants into the right defense, New York will have a chance to neutralize the Eagles' greatest weapon. If not, the Giants defense of their Super Bowl title will be a short one.

GIANTS WILL WIN IF

They can get their running game going. The Giants have the league's most potent ground attack. It's a three-headed monster featuring Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw, but it failed to produce a 100-yard gainer in three of the Giants' last four regular-season games and New York lost each one of those games. Without that ground attack, QB Eli Manning becomes an ordinary quarterback who is much more susceptible to big-time, game-changing mistakes.

EAGLES WILL WIN IF

They can keep QB Donovan McNabb clean. The Giants have two legitimate, game-altering pass rushers in LDE Justin Tuck and RDE Mathias Kiwanuka. They will surely break through the line at times and apply pressure to McNabb, but if the Eagles can get off the line and keep them from getting clean hits on McNabb, they should allow their quarterback the time necessary to get the ball out and make plays.

KEY STAT

Since 2003, Brian Westbrook has scored 14 touchdowns in 11 games against the Giants, including one on an 84-yard game-winning punt return on Oct. 19, 2003. Westbrook had a 30-yard touchdown run and a 40-yard pass catch against the Giants this year. Overall, Westbrook has averaged 156.2 yards per game in the five Eagles wins over the Giants since 2003. In the four games the Eagles have lost to the Giants in that span, Westbrook has averaged 115 yards.

INJURY REPORT

EAGLES: T Jon Runyan (knee) missed practice Friday, but he is expected to play, along with S Brian Dawkins (back), CB Asante Samuel (hip), TE L.J. Smith (shoulder) and RB Brian Westbrook (knee).

GIANTS: DE Justin Tuck, who has been fighting lower leg and knee injuries for several weeks, said he plans to play.

X-FACTOR

Both teams have good return games, but the Eagles appear to have the more dynamic playmakers in KR Quintin Demps and PR DeSean Jackson. Both players have the ability to gain the hidden yards that will allow the Eagles to start their drives at a spot where they can dictate the offense and run the plays they want. If the Giants shut down the Eagles' return game, their chances of winning go way up.

DID YOU KNOW

If the Eagles win at the Meadowlands today they will become the first team in NFL history to beat the Giants at their home stadium twice in the same season. Since 1934 nine teams have had a chance to beat the Giants twice at the Giants' home, but all have failed, including the last team to have such an opportunity, the 2000 Eagles.

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