Week 16 Storylines: Can Giants Thwart Big Green Grinch on Christmas Day?

Let's take a look at some of the anticipated storylines facing the Giants in the coming week.

The New York Giants are set to make their first-ever appearance on Christmas Day in their 176th regular-season matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, a team they'll close the season out against two weeks later.

Despite the Eagles' dominance of late over the Giants--Philadelphia is 12-3 against the Giants since 2016, including the postseason--the Giants not only have a chance at revenge against their division foes who swept them in three games (two regular season games, one playoff) last year, but with a win, the Giants can improve to 3-2 against division opponents.

(Hey, it's something.)

Here's a look at the emerging storylines ahead of this week's game.

A Christmas Miracle?

Outside of the Giants themselves and maybe a handful of fans, very few people are expecting the Giants to waltz into the Linc, where they haven't won since 2013, to hand the Eagles a fourth straight loss. For New York, playing at Lincoln Financial Field has been something of a nightmare as the Eagles have scored at least 22 points in those last ten wins.

But because anything can and usually does happen, teams line up to play the game. And who knows? Maybe Santa Claus will console Giants fans who have suffered through nine of the last eleven seasons with a losing record by bringing them a nice upset over a heated divisional foe.

On the Rebound?

Quarterback Tommy DeVito had a rough week, starting with getting knocked around like a pinball against the Saints and extending through the unpleasantness associated with his appearance fee to show up at a local pizzeria.

Off-field drama aside, how DeVito rebounds from last week's debacle will tell us a lot. To his credit, he stood tall after getting kicked around against Dallas in his first NFL start, winning three games in a row and generating enough buzz to get Giants fans excited again.

Can he recapture some of that DeVito magic this week against an Eagles team that's certain to be desperate for a win as their grip on the No. 1 seed has suddenly become quite shaky?

O-line Shakeups?

A week ago, it was understandable why head coach Brian Daboll didn't want to contemplate upsetting the offensive line configuration; it was due to continuity. But after last week's nightmarish performance, would it matter if, for example, the coaches reinserted Evan Neal, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury but who last week returned to practice on a limited basis, back into the lineup to reaffirm their belief he's an offensive tackle?

Would it hurt the Giants any further to see if Marcus McKethan can do a better job than Justin Pugh and Ben Bredeson did last week?

And will the Giants finally show they're capable of recognizing and picking up a stunt if one gets thrown their way?

One can only hope.

What About the Youngsters?

The Giants aren't mathematically out of the playoffs yet--a loss to the Eagles will take care of that--but let's be real. Not only are their chances of winning their remaining three games slim, but they'd need a lot of help from other teams to slip into that last playoff spot.

That said, Daboll and the players and coaches play to win every week, regardless of what's at stake. That means sticking with the best players at each position. But at some point, particularly if the game slips away from the Giants, does it maybe pay to give running back Eric Gray a few more snaps on offense or have defensive back Gervarrius Owens active to see what he can contribute in the defensive backfield?

Who Will Be the Kicker?

When last we left the Giant kicking situation, veteran Randy Bullock had pulled a hamstring that was significant enough to keep him out of the kicking duties in the second half of last week's game, those duties falling on punter Jamie Gillan to handle.

If Bullock was injured badly enough to be unable to kick, the odds of him being ready for next Monday aren't very promising. So will the Giants turn to Cade York, who is sitting on their practice squad and on whom they can elevate three times, to handle the kicking duties, or will they go outside the organization to find another kicker and place Bullock on injured reserve?

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