By Scott Garbarini, Associate NFL Editor -- (Sports Network) - While the New York Giants are closing in on an NFC East title, the Philadelphia Eagles will be fighting for their playoff lives when they enter the Meadowlands for this Sunday's showdown between the two division rivals.

Owners of the NFC's top record heading into the regular season's final month, the 11-1 Giants can wrap up first place in the well-stocked division with a victory over the up-and-down Eagles, or if runner-up Dallas loses its Week 14 matchup at Pittsburgh. A win on Sunday would also clinch a first-round bye in the conference's postseason tournament for the defending world champions.

Philadelphia has more of an uphill climb to avoid missing out on the playoffs for a third time in the last four seasons. At 6-5-1, the Eagles are 1 1/2 games behind Atlanta and Dallas, the current co-holders of the NFC's final Wild Card spot, and may need to win out over the final four weeks in order to keep playing in January.

In addition to residing in the NFC East, these two teams have also endured their share of well-publicized controversy regarding star players as of late.

The Giants have been dealing with a media frenzy surrounding the exploits of wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who likely sealed his fate with the organization after suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his right thigh in a Manhattan nightclub the day before the team's game at Washington last Sunday. The incident was the latest and most serious of a series of episodes of bad behavior by the troublesome pass-catcher since the team began mini-camp in May.

It apparently is also the last straw for the Giants, who deactivated Burress for one game in early October on the grounds of repeated violations of team rules. The club placed the 31-year-old on the non-football injury list on Tuesday and suspended him for the final four regular-season games due to detrimental conduct.

Burress' absence had no effect on the field last weekend, as quarterback Eli Manning threw for a season-best 305 yards without his most talented receiver to lead New York to its seventh consecutive win, a 23-7 decision over the fading Redskins.

Philadelphia severely hurt its playoff chances with a three-game winless streak in November, a skid that began with a 36-31 home loss to the G-Men in Week 10 and followed with a head-scratching tie at one-win Cincinnati. The low point came during a 36-7 beating by Baltimore on November 23, in which head coach Andy Reid benched longtime quarterback Donovan McNabb at halftime after an ineffective first two quarters. The move led to speculation that the five- time Pro Bowl participant's 10-year tenure in Philadelphia may be nearing its end.

McNabb delivered an emphatic response to the adversity with a stellar game against Arizona on Thanksgiving, and the Eagles in turn put together arguably their most complete performance of the year. The veteran signal-caller threw for 260 yards and a season-high four touchdowns to spark Philadelphia to a stirring 48-20 triumph over the NFC West-leading Cardinals.

SERIES HISTORY

The Giants hold a 79-66-2 edge in a regular season series that dates back to the 1933 season, including three straight victories. New York was a 36-31 winner at Philadelphia in Week 10, and swept last year's home-and-home, including a 16-3 victory at Giants Stadium in Week 4. The teams split the 2006 regular season home-and-home, including a 36-22 victory for the Eagles at the Meadowlands.

In addition to their regular season edge, the Giants own a 2-1 lead in the postseason series with the Eagles. Philadelphia was a 23-20 home winner in a 2006 NFC First-Round Playoff, while Big Blue took a 20-10 home decision in a 2000 NFC Divisional Playoff and a 27-21 triumph in a 1981 NFC First-Round Playoff at Veterans Stadium.

Reid is 9-12 against New York all-time, including 8-11 in the regular season. The Giants' Tom Coughlin is 8-4 versus Philadelphia, with two of the wins dating back to his tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and is 7-4 against Reid in his career.

WHEN THE EAGLES HAVE THE BALL

With the Eagles having failed to mount much of a running game this year, the team's success has often been predicated on how well McNabb (3030 passing yards, 18 TD, 10 INT) performs under center. He's been great in Philadelphia's six wins, having thrown for 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions in those games, but the 32-year-old has been picked off seven times and completed under 55 percent of his passes in the other six contests. Despite McNabb's inconsistency, the Eagles rank fourth in the NFL in passing offense (254.8 ypg). Flashy rookie DeSean Jackson (53 receptions, 775 yards, 2 TD) has been the standout of a pretty deep group of wide receivers that also contains the speedy Kevin Curtis (26 receptions, 1 TD) and 6-foot-4 Hank Baskett (28 receptions, 3 TD). Eight different players have at least 20 catches for Philadelphia this season.

Another integral part of the Eagles' potent passing attack is running back Brian Westbrook (657 rushing yards, 37 receptions, 12 TD), who caught two of McNabb's four scoring strikes in the Arizona game and added a pair of rushing scores as well. The NFL's leader in yards from scrimmage a year ago, Westbrook has fought through a series of injuries that have curtailed his production this season, but a 22-carry, 110-yard rushing effort against the Cardinals hints that the 2007 All-Pro's health is improving. With trusty backup Correll Buckhalter (249 rushing yards, 21 receptions, 3 TD) set to miss a second straight game with an MCL sprain, expect another heavy workload for Westbrook on Sunday.

The Giants did an excellent job of bottling up Westbrook in the earlier meeting between these teams, as the versatile back managed a mere 26 yards on 13 attempts against a stout defense that is yielding only 85.4 yards per game on the ground (5th overall). New York was equally able to contain the dangerous Clinton Portis last weekend, holding the Redskins' catalyst to a season-low 22 yards on 11 totes. That impressive feat was accomplished without the services of one of the Giants' top run-stuffers, tackle Fred Robbins (24 tackles, 5.5 sacks), who sat out with a jammed shoulder but is expected to play this week. Middle linebacker and leading tackler Antonio Pierce (66 tackles, 1.5 sacks) will also take the field on Sunday, although the defensive captain could be facing disciplinary action down the road after being present at the scene of Burress' mishap.

The trademark of New York's third-ranked defense (279.1 ypg) has been its ability to harass enemy quarterbacks, which McNabb found out first-hand when he was sacked a whopping 12 times when Philadelphia visited the Meadowlands last season. The Eagles did not allow their field general to be taken down at all in their Week 10 encounter with the Giants, however, and a seasoned offensive line will attempt to keep pressure-causing ends Justin Tuck (49 tackles, 11.5 sacks) and Mathias Kiwanuka (32 tackles, 6.5 sacks) at bay once more. A solid New York secondary has received strong play from cornerbacks Corey Webster (36 tackles, 3 INT, 1 sack), the league's current leader with 21 passes defensed, and Aaron Ross (49 tackles, 3 INT, 8 PD), while rookie first- round pick Kenny Phillips (53 tackles, 1 INT) has made his presence felt as well in a time-sharing role at safety.

WHEN THE GIANTS HAVE THE BALL

Few teams have been able to prevent the Giants from running the football at will this season behind a top-notch line that's paved the way for a league- best 160.2 rushing yards per game. New York was able to amass 219 yards on the ground against the Eagles' sturdy defense in November, a key ingredient in Big Blue's five-point win. Feature back Brandon Jacobs (950 rushing yards, 12 TD, 5 receptions) led the way with 126 yards and two scores and is averaging an excellent 5.1 yards per carry on the season, while second-stringer Derrick Ward (630 rushing yards, 2 TD) has been invaluable as both a runner and receiver. The fifth-year pro is among the team leaders with 36 receptions and totaled a career-best 75 yards on five grabs against the Redskins last week.

The surprising ease in which the Giants churned out ground yardage in that Week 10 matchup isn't customary for teams facing a Philadelphia defense that ranks eighth in the NFL against the run (93.5 ypg) and is surrendering a scant 3.4 yards per rush for the year. The Eagles manhandled Arizona at the point of attack on Thanksgiving, with the Cardinals squeezing out a paltry 25 rushing yards on 10 attempts. Look for Philly to employ safeties Brian Dawkins (57 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT) and Quintin Mikell (72 tackles, 3 INT, 2 sacks) near the line of scrimmage a lot on Sunday, a tactic Washington effectively used in holding New York to a pedestrian 108 yards on 35 carries in Week 13. Second- year middle linebacker Stewart Bradley (81 tackles, 1 sack), who racked up a career-best 14 tackles (13 solo) against the Giants last month, should have an active day as well.

Manning (2624 passing yards, 19 TD, 8 INT) made the Redskins pay for their selling-out to stop the run in last week's test, as the even-keeled quarterback delivered his first 300-yard game of the season and connected with Ward, wide receiver Amani Toomer (39 receptions, 4 TD) and improving tight end Kevin Boss (26 receptions, 5 TD) for a number of big plays. Wideout Domenik Hixon (26 receptions, 1 TD) did a fine job of filling for Burress in the win, with the capable youngster hauling in five Manning passes for 71 yards. The 34-year-old Toomer also stepped up his game last Sunday, as the sure-handed vet came through with a season-high 85 yards and a score on five grabs. The Eagles figure to pay attention to Boss, who had one of his best games as a pro in New York's victory over Philadelphia earlier this year.

Like the Giants, the Eagles like to get after the quarterback with a flurry of blitz packages and are quite adept at doing so. Philadelphia's 39 sacks this year are the third-most in the league, and the defense pressured Arizona triggerman Kurt Warner into three interceptions that keyed the Thanksgiving Day rout. The team did not have its best playmaker in the secondary, Asante Samuel (28 tackles, 3 INT, 19 PD), active for the game due to a neck stinger, but the ball-hawking ex-Patriot is slated to be back in uniform for Sunday's critical clash. High-energy end Trent Cole (60 tackles, 7 sacks) and fellow lineman Darren Howard (22 tackles, 8 sacks, 1 INT), who's excelled as an interior situational pass rusher, will be the ones in charge of applying heat to Manning.

FANTASY FOCUS

Give a thumbs up to the running backs and be wary of the quarterbacks in this matchup. Jacobs is a touchdown machine who had little trouble piling up yards against the Eagles last month, while Westbrook rarely disappoints his owners whenever the game-changing back is at or near full strength. Ward, who's quietly gained over 1,000 yards from scrimmage as part of New York's formidable backfield committee, should be strongly considered as a flex play as well. McNabb's week-to-week erratic performances bring about some risk, and those who have two starter-quality fantasy quarterbacks may want to think about benching him in a week in which many leagues are starting playoffs. The Giants' run-based tendencies usually prevent Manning from obtaining No. 1 status other than in the deepest of leagues. Since the Eagles spread the ball around so well in the passing game, Jackson is the only Philly receiver worth counting on, but Hixon and Toomer's value got a nice boost for the Giants with Burress now out of the picture. Steer clear of the kickers, as the Eagles' David Akers has historically struggled at Giants Stadium and Coughlin has the option of using stronger-legged Lawrence Tynes instead of usual booter John Carney.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

If there's ever a time for the Giants to have a letdown, this could be the week. The Burress saga could have a negative effect on the team's preparation plans, and New York will be facing an opponent that's had a few extra days to get ready for a very important game. The Giants have a remarkable track record of overcoming potential obstacles, however, and the familiarity of these two rivals makes it likely they won't be fooled by whatever the Eagles decide to do. December games at the Meadowlands can be nightmares for quarterbacks, so the team with the stronger running game often times is the better bet to come out on top. And nobody's done that better than the Giants this season.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Giants 23, Eagles 17