Eagles: 10 things to watch for

The six points are the fewest the Giants have given up this season and marks the fifth time in their last eight games that they have held opponents to under 20 points. The Giants have something to play for in a playoff spot-not to mention Super Bowl aspirations-while the Eagles have all but checked out. Doug Pederson, the Eagles’ first-year head coach, has noticed. The 10-4 Giants are just one win away from locking up a wild card berth and the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Beckham has talked since the preseason of getting to Houston for the season’s final game. The final meeting of the year between the two NFC East rivals comes seven weeks after NY prevailed, 28-23, thanks to four Eli Manning touchdowns, and a defense that forced Carson Wentz into two interceptions. The Eagles had a first down at the Giants’ 17 with 1:34 remaining. Beckham reeled in a one-handed gem for a touchdown in Sunday’s 17-6 triumph over Detroit and joined John Jefferson and Randy Moss as the lone players in National Football League history with at least 1,000 receiving yards and 10 TD catches in each of their first three seasons. The Eagles have been eliminated from playoff contention at 5-9, but would like nothing more than to knock off their NFC East division rival. That means that it’s best to sit Jenkins – especially in a short rest situation.

On top of all of that, there is just no pop to Thursday Night Football. The Giants are coming off a hard stretch of games where they faced the Lions, Cowboys and Steelers.

Last Sunday, Jenkins took an inadvertent knee to the back from teammate Trevin Wade.

Several of his teammates didn’t think Jenkins would be ready for Thursday night, and were preparing to play without him. This week, he was able to practice on a limited basis, despite extreme soreness.

The Giants have several plays questionable for tonight’s game, including tackles Marshall Newhouse and Will Beatty, linebacker Jonathan Casillas and pass-rusher Owa Odighizuwa. The first play of the game. Rashad Jennings is a good pass blocker but his running has left much to be desired. They went to Minnesota and they lost. For all the storylines that swirled around the streaking Giants this week, none was spoken about with more heartfelt emotion than Cruz’ return to the place that nearly took it all away.

And maybe then the fans can hope that next December will be a December worthy of tailgating – even on a Thursday Night. Sure, Elliott gained 107 yards on the ground, but that’s actually below average for the NFL’s leading rusher. The wide receivers continue to struggle with consistency. The Eagles’ 151 yards on the ground vs. the Ravens on Sunday stands as their highest output surrendered all year. This is my observations after spending the past 24 hours listening to some local sports radio and talking with friends and former colleagues. The most risky kind of team stands in their way: a team with a lost season that has absolutely nothing to lose.