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Players to watch in Week 18 matchup

PLAYERS-TO-WATCH-WEEK-18

The Giants will travel to Philadelphia this weekend for the 2024 season finale against the Eagles.

The offense erupted last week as the Giants scored 45 points, their highest point total in nine years, on their way to a 45-33 victory over the Colts. The win snapped a franchise-record 10-game losing streak.

On the other sideline, the Eagles are coming off a big 41-7 victory over the Cowboys, a win that clinched them the NFC East title. Philadelphia heads into the final week locked into the No. 2 seed, which led to coach Nick Sirianni announcing that the Eagles will be resting some starters on Sunday.

Here are five players to watch as the Giants take the field for the final time this season.

QB Drew Lock

Drew Lock has started 27 games since entering the NFL in 2019, and his performance in last week's win over the Colts was his best outing yet. The 28-year-old completed 17 of 23 passes (73.9 percent) for 309 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, while adding an additional score on the ground. Lock's 155.3 passer rating and five total touchdowns were both the highest single-game marks of his NFL career.

While it remains to be seen which players will suit up for Sunday's game, the Eagles have had one of the league's best passing defenses this season. The unit ranks No. 1 in the league in passing yards allowed. In the 12 games since their Week 5 bye, the Eagles have allowed more than 250 passing yards only once, and over 200 passing yards a total of three times. Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush completed 15 of 28 passes for 147 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against the Eagles last week, which earned him just a 50.7 passer rating.

View photos of the Giants on the practice field at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

WR Malik Nabers

Similar to Lock, Malik Nabers put together the best game of his young NFL career in Week 17. The rookie wide receiver caught seven passes for a season-high 171 yards and two touchdowns. The receiving yardage was the highest by any Giant since 2021. While the final stat line is obviously impressive, the performance looks even better when you look more closely at it. Nabers generated 105 yards after the catch against the Colts and +63 yards after the catch over expected. The latter was the third-most in a single game by any player this season. His touchdowns came from 31 and 59 yards out, showing just how dangerous the young wideout is with the ball in his hands.

The 21-year-old increased his season total to 104 receptions, the second-highest total in Giants history and only three behind Steve Smith, who had 107 in 2009. Nabers is four shy of the new NFL rookie record of 108 catches, set by Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers last Sunday. Nabers is tied with Miami's Jaylen Waddle (104 catches in 2021) for the third-highest rookie receptions total in history, behind Bowers and the Rams' Puka Nacua, who had 105 catches for the Rams last season. Bowers has played all 16 games this season, while Nabers has played 14. Bowers and Nabers rank third and fourth, respectively, in the league in receptions this season, trailing Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase (117) and Detroit's Amon-Ra St. Brown (109). The Giants' rookie receiver also ranks eighth in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,140.

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Nabers wasn't the only Giant rookie to etch his name in the NFL record books last week. Tyrone Tracy Jr. totaled 73 yards of offense against the Colts (59 rushing, 14 receiving), which brought his total to 1,057 yards on the season. Nabers and Tracy became the third rookie duo in NFL history, and only the second since the 1970 merger, to each have 1,000 yards from scrimmage. In 1960, the American Football League's Dallas Texans – who later became the Kansas City Chiefs – had Abner Haynes (1,451 yards) and Johnny Robinson (1,069) reach the 1K mark, while the 2006 New Orleans Saints had Reggie Bush (1,307) and Marques Colston (1,038) top 1,000 yards, as well.

Nabers and Tracy rank third and fourth, respectively, in yards of offense among all rookies in Giants history, trailing only Saquon Barkley (2,028 in 2018) and Beckham (1,340 in 2014). Heading into Week 18, Tracy ranks third among all rookies in rushing yards (780) and fifth in yards from scrimmage. The Eagles currently rank inside the top 10 rushing yards, rushing yards per attempt, and rushing touchdowns allowed on the year. However, the unit has allowed four of their last five opponents to run for more than 110 yards against them.

OLB Brian Burns

Heading into the season finale, Brian Burns is one of only two Giants to start every game this season, and the only one on defense (Greg Van Roten is the other). Burns has not only been on the field for every game, but the veteran outside linebacker has also produced at a high level throughout the year, despite dealing with various injuries and the team falling out of playoff contention early.

Burns recorded six tackles (four solo) in last week's win over the Colts, including a season-high three tackles for loss. He also added a quarterback hit and finished the game with six pressures on just 28 pass rushes (21.4 percent pressure rate), including four pressures in under 2.5 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats. He has now generated the ninth-most pressures (63) and the fifth-most quick pressures (31) in the league this season. The veteran edge rusher has registered at least one tackle for loss in each of the last four weeks, with a total of seven during that span, while also recording two sacks, four quarterback hits and a forced fumble.

S Dane Belton

The season-ending injury to rookie Tyler Nubin opened the door for Dane Belton to see a significant increase in snaps over the last three weeks, an opportunity that the third-year safety has taken advantage of. Playing no fewer than 90 percent of the team's defensive snaps during that span, Belton has picked up 29 total tackles to go with a sack and four passes defensed. The 24-year-old registered his first interception of the season last week when he picked off a pass from Colts quarterback Joe Flacco deep in Giants territory.

Belton has played just 39 percent of the team's defensive snaps this season, which matches his snap percentage from his rookie season. But when he gets on the field, he finds a way to get his hands on the football. The third-year safety has recorded six passes defensed this season, twice as many as he had as a rookie, while also setting a new career-high with 52 total tackles (26 solo). In 16 games (five starts), Belton has also added a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and one sack to his season stats.

View rare photos of the historic rivalry between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.

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