Giants try to end 13-game losing streak in Philadelphia, as Eagles turn to 3rd-string QB Milton

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The New York Giants could practically mark an ‘L’ on their schedule each season as soon as they saw their date in Philadelphia.

It's been automatic.

The Eagles have beaten the Giants 13 straight times at home — including one playoff win — since New York last won on Oct. 27, 2013.

Maybe not this season.

The Giants (4-2-1) come to Philadelphia on Sunday as betting favorites and in first place in the woeful NFC East. If the Giants win, they'd practically have a stranglehold in a division where no other team has a winning record, and they have yet to lose to Washington or Dallas.

Are the Giants getting cocky and complacent in coach John Harbaugh's first season?

“I do think that that’s definitely something to get locked in on,” Harbaugh said, “but I don’t believe it is this week.”

Long the class of the NFC East, the Eagles (2-6) are on a six-game losing streak and set to start their third quarterback of the season — the fourth one who'll take snaps.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had promised that everything was on the table when it came to trying to get his team rolling again. He instead kept beleaguered offensive coordinator Sean Mannion as the play-caller but benched Tanner McKee after he went 0-3 since taking over as the starter when Jalen Hurts was sidelined for the season because of blood clots.

The move came roughly 48 hours after Sirianni said McKee was their guy and a change at the position was not coming.

Joe Milton is now tasked with saving the Eagles' season.

Just maybe the Eagles could see a path toward a division title if they knock off the Giants. NFL history suggests it's unlikely. Only three teams that started 2-6 have ever made the playoffs.

The 26-year-old Milton has appeared in five NFL games in relief, including Dallas’ season finale at the Giants in January, when he was 7 of 13 for 73 yards and an interception.

“He works extremely hard,” Sirianni said. “He’s always in the building doing the extra things, and I like his progression.”

Milton was oh-so briefly a teammate with Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy in 2020 at Michigan. Milton transferred to Tennessee while McCarthy would lead the Wolverines to a national title.

Much like the Eagles, the Giants have churned through quarterbacks, going from Jaxson Dart (injured) to Jameis Winston (benched) before settling on McCarthy. He'll make his second start of the season, a veteran compared to Milton's first career start after mostly playing garbage time in two previous stops.

Milton’s job is to give the Eagles at least a glimmer of hope of keeping their playoff hopes alive.

The Giants follow the Eagles with a home game Thursday night against Washington. The teams already played to a tie. If the Giants win both games against their rivals, the division crown is all but headed up the turnpike.

Up first: ending a very unlucky 13-game losing streak in Philadelphia. The Giants suddenly have the opportunity to bury the Eagles in their own division.

“It’s all kind of meaningless,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, if you’re betting, it’s important, but it doesn’t matter to us because there’s still 10 games left to play. And I’m quite sure every one of the teams in the division believes that in those 10 games, they can make up ground.”

New York Giants (4-2-1) at Philadelphia (2-6)

When/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox.

Latest odds: Giants by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Giants 5-2; Eagles 1-7.

Last week: Giants had a bye; Eagles lost to the Commanders 27-10.

Last meeting: Eagles beat the Giants 38-20 on Oct. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia.

Series record: Eagles lead 93-87-2.

Milton vs. the Giants' defense. Milton is regarded as having a cannon for an arm, but that hasn't earned him much playing time in the NFL. He has attempted only 53 passes the last two seasons with two teams and will only have four days of practice headed into the game with Philadelphia's first-team offense.

The Giants are third in the NFL in pass defense and could thrive against an Eagles team that has been outscored by a whopping 65 points through eight games. The Eagles are 27th in the league in passing offense at 177.1 yards per game.

— Harbaugh during his 18 seasons with Baltimore was 15-3 after a bye, a winning percentage of .833 that's the best of any coach in the Super Bowl era.

— The Giants and Eagles split the series last season.

— The Eagles have not had more than 341 yards of total offense in a game this season. They hit that mark in Week 2 against Tennessee. It was Philadelphia's last win of the season. They've averaged 244 yards per game over their six-game losing streak.

— The Eagles' Braden Mann leads the NFL with 20 punts inside the 20-yard line.

— Philadelphia is 16-4 (.800) in its last 20 games vs. New York.

— The Giants have scored 27-plus points in four straight games dating to Week 4. It's the most consecutive games scoring 27-plus points by the Giants since 2010.

— The Giants have forced 32 three-and-outs this year, tied for the second most in the NFL.

— The Eagles will have had four quarterbacks attempt a pass in a season for the first time since 1991.

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