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• Westbrook Strong As Eagles Top Giants, 20-14

SCOUTING REPORT

Hixon, Ward must step up in Burress' absenceAfter their dominating win against Arizona, the Eagles have had a very long week to prepare for the defending Super Bowl champion. Meanwhile, in their usual impressive fashion, the Giants defeated Washington decisively. The champs are simply playing great football right now. The Giants edged out Philadelphia 36-31 in Week 10 by utterly dominating the time of possession, and this will be the approach they take in this game.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
PHI	9-6	416	289	6-2	3-4	2-4	7-5
NYG	12-4	427	294	7-1	5-3	4-2	9-3
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Philadelphia Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT McNabb 61.6 1929 14 5 Kolb 64.6 741 4 3

NY Giants Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Mannin... 60.5 2454 18 9 Carr 62.5 172 1 0

Philadelphia Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD McCoy 106 452 4.3 3 Westbr... 47 225 4.8 1

NY Giants Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Jacobs 163 656 4.0 3 Bradsh... 115 549 4.8 4

Philadelphia Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Jackso... 42 728 17.3 5 Celek 50 568 11.4 5

NY Giants Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Smith 65 798 12.3 5 Mannin... 40 617 15.4 4

Full Player Stats: Philadelphia | NY Giants

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	PHI	351.0
	NYG	356.0
Yards Passing	PHI	244.4
	NYG	198.6
Yards Rushing	PHI	106.1
	NYG	157.4
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	PHI	274.3
	NYG	292.0
Pass Yds Allowed	PHI	182.1
	NYG	196.2
Rush Yds Allowed	PHI	92.3
	NYG	95.8

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Philadelphia leads 11-7
Nov 9, 2008	PHI 31, @NYG 36
Dec 9, 2007	PHI 13, @NYG 16
Sep 30, 2007	PHI 3, NYG 16
Jan 7, 2007	PHI 23, @NYG 20
Dec 17, 2006	PHI 36, NYG 22
Sep 17, 2006	PHI 24, @NYG 30
Dec 11, 2005	PHI 23, @NYG 26
Nov 20, 2005	PHI 17, NYG 27
Nov 28, 2004	PHI 27, NYG 6
Sep 12, 2004	PHI 31, @NYG 17
Nov 16, 2003	PHI 28, @NYG 10
Oct 19, 2003	PHI 14, NYG 10
Dec 28, 2002	PHI 7, NYG 10
Oct 28, 2002	PHI 17, @NYG 3
Dec 30, 2001	PHI 24, @NYG 21
Oct 22, 2001	PHI 10, NYG 9

The best team in the NFL always garners plenty of headlines, just not usually outside the realm of sports media.

National attention from even the most casual of sports fans has been heaped upon the New York Giants due to the Plaxico Burress situation, and overcoming that enormous distraction -- particularly for Antonio Pierce -- is what they face Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Clinching the NFC East title and a first-round bye in the playoffs, which New York (11-1) will do with a victory, would usually be a celebratory occasion, but might just be more of a relief than anything else to a Giants team in turmoil.

So much of the focus Sunday will be on a star receiver who won't even take the field, and may never again with New York. The Giants suspended Burress for four games -- the rest of the regular season -- and placed him on the reserve non-football injury list Tuesday for conduct detrimental to the team, meaning he won't return for the playoffs, either.

"The only thing I hope that we gain from that is that people will stop asking us about Plaxico, that's probably the best thing about it, that it bring some closure at least as far as this season as far as football," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said.

The news that Burress would not be back with the Giants this season came after he accidentally shot himself in the right thigh with a handgun he brought to a Manhattan nightclub last weekend. He was charged with two counts of illegal weapons possession and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

"There is nothing good that will come out of it and there isn't much to say," receiver Amani Toomer said. "It's just tough, it's just tough for everyone to deal with. I'm just glad he is OK. It could have been worse."

Further negative attention was provided not only by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's outspoken criticism of Burress, but through a possible cover-up involving Pierce. A former Pro Bowler considered the leader of the defense, Pierce was at the club with Burress and is being investigated amid reports he may have tried to hide the gun.

The Giants, though, expect Pierce to play Sunday, as should running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who also was at the club but apparently was not involved in the incident.

"I don't know if it's just being in New York or what causes it, but it always seems like there's something going on, there's a distraction and we've had our share of them," quarterback Eli Manning said. "I think myself, the players, the coaches have just learned how to cope with them."

Though Burress was New York's top receiver over the past three seasons, his absence might not hurt the offense too much. He hasn't contributed much lately and the Giants have not cooled off, winning seven in a row.

Burress appeared in six games during that span and didn't catch more than three passes in any of them, totaling just 137 yards. The three games this season in which Burress did not factor -- one for suspension and all but one series of the last two games due to a hamstring injury -- were some of Manning's best performances. He completed 71.7 percent of his passes for 812 yards with six touchdowns and one interception as the Giants scored a combined 104 points, beating Seattle, Arizona and Washington.

However, a 6-foot-5, 232-pound frame made Burress one of Manning's favorite targets in the end zone and he did have four TD receptions after totaling 22 the last two years, not including his game-winning catch in the Super Bowl.

"When you lose a player of Plaxico's ability, it is incumbent that everybody step up and fill the void," coach Tom Coughlin said. "In the last two seasons, this team has done an outstanding job of that."

Plenty of receivers, particularly second-year players Domenik Hixon and Steve Smith, have become key figures in the offense while Burress has been ineffective or out of action. While Smith has a team-leading 43 receptions for 424 yards, Hixon has been targeted much more in the last two games with 128 yards on 11 catches.

Toomer has 39 catches for a team-high 480 yards in his 13th NFL season and has touchdowns in two straight games. Even tight end Kevin Boss, mostly used as a blocker earlier this season, has contributed in the passing game with 20 catches for 226 yards and four TDs in the last six games.

Having the league's best rushing attack also has opened up the passing game. The Giants are averaging 160.2 yards on the ground, including 219 in a 36-31 win at Philadelphia on Nov. 9.

Brandon Jacobs ran for 126 of those yards and two touchdowns, and he returned last week after a one-game absence due to a knee injury to rush for 71 yards and a score in a 23-7 win in Washington. Even without Burress, Manning had his first 300-yard passing day since Week 6 of 2007.

The Giants now have an opportunity to match the 1970 Minnesota Vikings' NFL record of seven consecutive victories against teams with winning records. They've outscored the opposition 180-77 in winning six straight at Giants Stadium, their longest home winning streak since a seven-game run in 1990.

Last week, the Eagles (6-5-1) were the team embroiled in controversy following Donovan McNabb's benching and an 0-2-1 skid. The team, and particularly the quarterback, are much happier leading into this matchup.

Besides throwing four touchdown passes in a 48-20 Thanksgiving win over Arizona, McNabb became a father for the second time when his wife gave birth to twins early Tuesday.

Still, the Eagles likely need to win their final four games to have any shot of making the playoffs. They can't catch first-place New York, which has won the last three meetings, and five teams are ahead of them in the wild-card hunt.

Considering how well the Giants have played -- they've led by double digits in the fourth quarter of five straight games -- maybe the magnitude of Burress' predicament gives Eagles' fans a bit more hope for a desperately needed win against what could be a distracted Super Bowl champion.

"It's a tough situation to be a part of because I'm sure they don't wanna keep answering questions about it," McNabb said. "Everyone has been through some trying times during the season, but it's all on how you handle it."

Giants' Bradshaw wears boot on sprained ankle

Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw is wearing a protective boot on his sprained left ankle, and it's uncertain whether he'll make the trip for the team's game at Denver.

Giants' Jacobs says leg feels fine, should be OK

New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs says his right leg feels "really good" after injuring it against Atlanta, and he could've returned to the game Sunday.

Eagles sign tackle Justice to 4-year extension

Right tackle Winston Justice has signed a four-year contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Joyner: Week 12 pickups

You never know when an injury or a slump will doom you, so you'd better have depth.

Eagles' Sheldon Brown Skips Workout

Cornerback Sheldon Brown was a no-show and running back Brian Westbrook was a non-participant because of injury today when the Philadelphia Eagles began eight days of workouts that, while voluntary, are generally regarded as "full-roster" in nature.

Jon Runyan contemplates future

Life is different for Jon Runyan these days, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he spent yesterday afternoon on a two-hour road trip to pick up his pet pig.

Ankle injury sidelines Westbrook

In a lighter moment at camp, the Birds' quarterback duo of Kevin Kolb and Donovan McNabb united in laughter yesterday during the almost-full-squad workout at the team's NovaCare Complex.

Jim Johnson situation a new one for Eagles

Sheldon Brown wasn't there, which is just kind of pointless. Brian Westbrook wasn't there, which is just kind of troubling.

Birds' Eye View: Donovan speaks -- sort of

With the Eagles set to open a full-squad passing camp tomorrow at the NovaCare Complex, Donovan McNabb's team of publicists sent out a release today pitching the 10-year anniversary of the quarterback's charitable foundation.

Traffic charges against Plaxico Burress dismissed

Four Broward County traffic tickets have been dismissed against former New York Giants football player Plaxico Burress , who still faces another case in which he's accused of cursing several times at a sheriff's deputy, the athlete's attorney said this morning.

NFL Putting Off Plaxico Punishment

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said today there is no timetable for making a decision on league disciplinary action for Plaxico Burress.

GIANTS: Updated: Boldin hires Eli's agent

KTAR Radio in Arizona reports that Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin has hired Tom Condon to be his agent.

Moving the Chains: Giants' Umenyiora takes aim at Eagles

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. A special buzz is building around the 2009 football season in Philadelphia, and a lot of it has to do with the rivalry between the Eagles and Giants.

Canty happy to be part of 'tremendous defense' in New York

CHAREAN WILLIAMS The movers were at Chris Canty's new home last week. He is starting to feel at home in the New York Giants' locker room, too.Canty left the Dallas Cowboys almost three months ago, the Giants' six-year, $42 million offer too rich for Dallas to beat.