New York Giants Divisional Week Storylines

In the end it's all about the game, but here's a look at some other side stories this week.

Eagles Week Part III is well underway, as the New York Giants have a short work week ahead to get ready for a Saturday night date against the top-seeded Eagles out in Philadelphia, where they hope to win for the first time since 2013.

It won't be easy--it never is. The Eagles fan base not only creates a hostile environment regardless of who comes to town. And on paper, the Eagles have the competitive edge over the Giants at just about every position unit.

But don't tell the Giants they can't stand toe-to-toe with Philadelphia. Their backups proved that just a couple of weeks ago when they forced the Eagles starters to remain in the game to clinch home-field advantage. That was just one of several late-season games in which the Giants seemed to be playing their best ball.

And now? Again, history suggests this should be a slam dunk for the Eagles, who have had the Giants' number but don't tell that to head coach Brian Daboll or his players.

"Every game’s different in this league," Daboll said. "Every time you play a team – whether it’s the second time, third (time) – it’s all different. What matters most is our process leading up to it and how we play."

Will the third time be the charm for this Giants team, who looks to snap out of its Philly funk?

That sure would be special, right? Until we know for sure on Saturday night, here is a look at some of the top storylines this week.

How Healthy is Jalen Hurts?

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts dealt with a late-season shoulder injury that saw him miss a couple of games. Even against the Giants in the regular-season finale, Hurts wasn't fully himself, as the Eagles, via a vanilla gameplan, did what they could to protect him from taking too many shots as a runner.

This week, however, Hurts isn't even on the Eagles' injury report, suggesting that he's as "healthy" as he's ever been.

"He's better today than he was two weeks ago, and he's continuing to get better, and he feels good," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters Tuesday before their walk-through.

"Looking forward to seeing him go out there and practice today and go through everything today."

As deep as the Eagles roster might be when they don't have a fully healthy Hurts in the lineup, that changes the offense's complexion, as the late-season results showed. That the Eagles expect to have their starting quarterback available is good for them, but just how "healthy" Hurts is and how he's managed through the game could be something to watch.

Who Has The Competitive Advantage?

The Giants have a short work week following their Wild Card road win against Minnesota. The Eagles, meanwhile, are coming off a week of rest thanks to their winning the top seed and the bye.

Who will benefit more, the Giants, who have gotten into a rhythm, or the Eagles, who used the time to heal up? There are two schools of thought regarding that question. First, it's better to keep the momentum going if a team is hot. The other, naturally, is that a rest will do a team a world of wonders.

That's why Giants head coach Brian Daboll's decision to rest the bulk of his starters in the Week 18 regular-season finale is looming large these days. He gave his key players a bye while entrusting the reserves to give the Eagles starters all they could handle and forcing them to play the entire game to lock up the No. 1 seed.

When the Giants returned from their "bye," they were rested, healed, and fresh and came out swinging against the Vikings in a victory. But the difference is that while the players didn't have to go through the physical part of the game, they were still "in it" mentally while standing on the sideline.

We'll see if the plan pays off for the Giants. Philadelphia has proven through the years to be a hard place for them to win. It's a hostile environment and will be especially juiced up for Saturday night. But these Giants have already proven to themselves down this critical stretch that they're capable of standing toe-to-toe with playoff-bound teams, and anything can happen. 

Can Giants Get an Early Lead?

Lincoln Financial Field will be so loud that it wouldn't be surprising to hear the reverb back in East Rutherford.

Okay, maybe not, but the Linc is going to be rocking. And if the Eagles take an early lead, let's just say that if you're going to be in the area, you might want to have earplugs handy to mute out the noise.

The Giants can help their cause by jumping to an early lead against the Eagles and taking the crowd out of the game. Fast starts haven't exactly been the Giants' thing this season, though they did so against the Colts. That said, if they can silence the crowd, that might make a difficult task a little bit easier.

Who's In, Who's Out?

For the second week in a row, the Giants look like they're going to have all hands on deck for a playoff game. Their Tuesday injury report had everyone doing something, as Daboll said would be the case before practice. And missing from the report was defensive lineman Leonard Williams (neck).

Last week, you might recall, the Giants had a small number of players who were limited all week in practice and did not receive injury designations. We'll see what Thursday's final report brings in terms of statuses, but it looks like the Giants will be in good shape health-wise for a critical playoff game.

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