The Giants, who manhandled the Eagles 29-16 in Week 3, look to do it again at home on Sunday. Getty Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Andy Reid has a once-dubbed "Dream Team" besieged by nightmares, from late-game collapses to locker-room malcontents.

And so when the embattled Eagles coach was told how his Giants counterpart, Tom Coughlin, said Reid's team is actually better now than in Week 3—when the Giants drubbed Philadelphia—Reid got emotional. In a choked-up kind of way.

"It wasn't sympathy," Coughlin said when told of Reid's response. "That was fact. There was no sympathy intended there. It is fact and that is what I think."

Well, there's no question that the Eagles are wildly talented. They have two elite cornerbacks, they have more team speed than any other group the Giants face and they are the Giants' mortal division rivals.

They're also 3-6 and in freefall. Of course, Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said what players say every time that rivals meet: Throw out the records (the Giants' is 6-3), what's happened before won't have much bearing on what happens this given Sunday.

Fine then. Here's what is worth noting:

The big stage: That's what it is, and will be for the Giants this next month, as three of their next four games are in primetime.

The Sunday Night Football crew was on campus Friday, the Giants' post-Thanksgiving game is a Monday nighter at New Orleans and they have another Sunday-night showcase after that at Dallas. In between those last two? The undefeated and defending Super Bowl champion Packers come to town. The spotlight's on and bright.

The quarterback quandary: The Eagles' Michael Vick has broken ribs; he played through almost a whole game with them Sunday (Reid said Vick never told him he was hurt) and Philadelphia needs this game to keep any semblance of hope alive. But Vick hasn't practiced all week, which means the Giants could face Mike Kafka (zero career starts) or more likely former Titan Vince Young, who has 47 career starts but who's thrown only one pass all year. (It was caught by DeAngelo Hall, who plays for the Redskins.)

Whoever the Giants face, he won't be the most important player on the field. That will be back LeSean McCoy, who has 906 yards and only seems to get stopped when Reid doesn't call his number.

Don't miss: The fourth quarter.

The Giants have won five games via fourth-quarter drives this year. The Eagles have lost leads—and then games—five times in the fourth quarter this year. The Giants stopped their six-game losing streak to the Eagles in Week 3 when Eli Manning threw two fourth-quarter TDs. In the teams' previous meeting, the Eagles memorably pulled off a stunning comeback with four fourth-quarter scores.

Big day for Eagles fans: Make that one-time Eagles fans. Giants rookie linebacker Mark Herzlich grew up an Eagles fan in suburban Philadelphia. He's played in all nine games and hasn't yet taken a defensive snap (his play has come on special teams). But with starting outside linebacker Michael Boley most likely out, Herzlich's defensive debut could come against his childhood favorites.

"Mark is a go-getter," defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. "He's one of those 100% guys that, if he sees something, he's going to go smack it and ask questions later."

Herzlich was spotted practicing with the first team Friday, and both Fewell and Coughlin praised his mental skills and ability to line up the defense.

Then there's rookie Da'Rel Scott, who also grew up outside Philadelphia. He's been fielding texts from old friends wishing him a good game and a loss and who still owns, well, the Blanket. The one with the Eagles logo that's still somewhere in his apartment.

"It's comfortable," the running back said in a whispered protest Friday. Then, more loudly, he said, "Don't worry: My girl bought me a Giants one, so we're good."

Reason to take the Eagles and the 4½ points: The Eagles are desperate. Any meager playoff hopes they have rest on this game and hey, like Tuck said, Eagles-Giants is never predictable.

Reason to take the Giants and give the points: Let's see. Last year Philadelphia came to the Meadowlands to face the then-NFC East-leading Giants. The Eagles proceeded to erase a 21-point fourth-quarter hole, win on a punt return and send the Giants into a spiral so deep, they couldn't even make the playoffs.

So the Giants, it could be argued, are desperate too—for revenge. Simpler reason? The Giants are just a better team.

Corrections & Amplifications
An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Michael Boley was the Giants' starting middle linebacker.

Write to Aditi Kinkhabwala at