Both the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants thought Sunday’s matchup in New Meadowlands Stadium would be critical when the clubs perused the schedule during the summer.
However, the Eagles got there by making a change to their preseason plans while the Giants got there by returning to the way they used to do things.
New York (9-4) and Philadelphia (9-4) are tied atop the NFC East, although the Eagles won the first matchup between the teams - and both are battling New Orleans (10-3), Green Bay (8-5) and Tampa Bay (8-5) for two wild-card berths.
The winner will hold the edge in the division while the loser will be in a dogfight to just make the playoffs.
New York has a critical game at the Green Bay Packers next week before concluding the season at the Washington Redskins. The Eagles conclude their campaign at home against the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys.
Philadelphia expected that Kevin Kolb would be directing its high-powered offense this season after dumping veteran Donovan McNabb. But an early-season injury opened the door for Michael Vick, who had shown virtually nothing in 2009 as the Eagles’ third quarterback after missing two campaigns due to legal issues.
Vick took over the offense and immediately started putting points on the board, and after missing a few weeks with a rib injury, returned and has started a love affair with the City of Brotherly Love.
The speedy quarterback played an error-free game in leading the Eagles to a 27-17 victory over the Giants on Nov. 21, passing for 258 yards and rushing for 34 more and a score.
But Vick will be going up against a Giants defense that has recently looked much more like the group that won a Super Bowl three years ago and was among the best the following season.
New York has allowed just 19.2 points per game – ninth in the league – after ranking 30th in 2009 at 26.7 points. The Giants have limited nine of 13 teams to 100 yards or less on the ground, including a combined 135 yards the last two weeks.
Overall, New York ranks second against the rush – 12 slots better than 2009.
New York is tied for the NFL lead with the Pittsburgh Steelers with 39 sacks this season, seven more than it had all of last season. Vick and LeSean McCoy will surely test that defense this week.
Vick added another fine performance to his MVP resume last week when he rallied Philadelphia from a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to a 30-27 win over the Cowboys.
He completed 16 of 26 passes for 277 yards with two touchdowns, including a 91-yard go-ahead score to DeSean Jackson. Vick also had two interceptions, matching the number he had thrown in his first nine games.
While Philadelphia has been relying on Vick, the Giants have gotten away from relying so heavily on Eli Manning.
The Giants in recent weeks have also gone back to the ground-and-pound offensive philosophies of past seasons since committing eight turnovers – seven by Manning – in consecutive losses to the Eagles and Cowboys.
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have combined for 419 yards, six touchdowns and no fumbles the last two weeks. New York is fourth in the NFL and second in yards per carry at 4.9.
The Giants fell to 15th in rushing last season after ranking No. 1 in 2008 and fourth during their Super Bowl season.
Manning leads the NFL with 19 interceptions and has fumbled seven times, but has been sacked a league-low 13 times - including just once in the last six weeks.
In his defense, Manning has played much of the second half without favorite receiver Steve Smith, who returned last week but injured his knee and is done for the season.
Mario Manningham injured a hip flexor last week and fellow wideout Hakeem Nicks returned last week after missing two games with a leg injury.