Giants can finally pull off own 'Miracle at the Meadowlands'

It's not easy being a Giants fan when it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles. We have to live with "Miracle of the Meadowlands I," when Joe Piscarcik shoved the ball into Larry Csonka's hip and Herman Edwards recovered the ball to give the Eagles the win. Then there's "Miracle of the Meadowlands 2" when the Eagles scored 4 unanswered touchdowns capped off with a DeSean Jackson punt return to the house. I still have nightmares seeing him dancing along the end zone line.

This Sunday, the Giants have a chance to get one of their own. The Eagles need to beat the G-Men at MetLife Stadium to keep their playoff hopes alive. This game is so important that it's been flexed to 4:25 PM so that America can see it. The Giants, who are currently 4-11, suddenly find themselves in a meaningful game.

Despite their record, they are still fighting. They are coming off a 41-35 overtime win over the Washington Redskins where their rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, whom the Eagles have not yet seen, threw for 352 yards and 5 touchdowns. Saquon Barkley, who played in front of the Eagles Miles Sanders at Penn State, rushed for 189 yards and added another 90 receiving with 4 catches. The last time these two teams played was 3 weeks ago and the Giants, behind Eli Manning, took a 17-3 lead into the locker room, only to lose in overtime 23-17 thanks to the Giants defense.

The less we talk about the Giants defense the better, but we must. They gave up a 99 yard drive Sunday against the Redskins. They have proved both against the Eagles and Washington that a two-touchdown lead is not safe. If the Giants should lose this game, they will probably be the reason why. How cool would it be if they could be the reason they win it? Again, we're looking for a "miracle," dare I say a Christmas miracle?

As much as the Eagles need this game, the Giants need it just as well. If head coach Pat Shurmur, who's been on the hot seat, needs to make a case for his job, a three game winning streak ending with knocking your biggest rival out of the playoffs on national television, to go along with big games from your rookie quarterback and franchise runner couldn't hurt.

This game will come down to the in-game adjustments that other teams seem to do so much better than the Giants and the defense, which the same can also be said. If the Giants can run Saquon enough to keep them off the field, or Jones can find Sterling Shepherd, Golden Tate, Barkley, or tight end Kaden Smith the way he found Darius Slayton the last time they played, they can win a shootout, provided the defense does their part against the Eagles backups that have been forced into action.

There is one other thing going for the Giants. It's the time of the season for miracles.