Eli Manning Reveals the Key to Giants Winning NFC East Over Eagles

Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants looks on prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. Getty
The New York Giants are at the top of their division through the first three weeks of the season.
Entering their Week 4 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, the Giants are 2-1 and tied with the Philadelphia Eagles atop the NFC East. This season hasn’t gone according to plan, of course, with Jaxson Dart suffering a season-ending injury on the first drive of their Week 2 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
While the Giants were humbled in their Week 2 loss to the Rams, they bounced back in Jameis Winston’s first start of the season, defeating the Tennessee Titans, 12-7, in Week 3.
New York will host the 1-2 Arizona Cardinals and the Eagles will host the Rams in Week 4. In other words, there is a legitimate possibility the Giants are standing alone atop of the division at the end of Week 4.
Eli Manning detailed that the key for the Giants to win the NFC East will be winning their divisional games. They already defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 and will visit the Washington Commanders in Week 5. They’ll play the Eagles for the first time in Week 9.
“It’s a possibility,” Manning said in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports on if the Giants can win the division. “You’ve played one game in the division, but you got to win those division games. You always kind of say those division games count double, so you got to get off to a good start right there. The Cowboys they looked pretty strong against Washington, the Eagles, they always kind of find ways to win games. They play close, so you know every game’s important. You got to keep finding ways to make improvements. Make these small gains each and every week, and you got to find ways to win these division games as they get into that as well.”
Giants’ Offense Struggling Without Jaxson Dart
It remains to be seen how the Giants look the rest of the season without Dart, who started out the year on a high note before his injury. The second-year quarterback was the key reason for New York’s victory over Dallas in Week 1, posting arguably the best performance of his young career. Dart threw three touchdowns against zero interceptions for a 134.2 passer rating and 79.3% completion rate.
They’ll lean on Winston, who is a longtime veteran himself, having started 90 games in his 12-season career. The Giants also acquired former Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy via trade recently. New York is also off to a good start defensively this season, ranking ninth in points allowed per game. The offense, which ranks 28th and has scored just 18 points since Winston stepped into the role in Week 2, will likely determine how far the Giants go this season.
J.J. McCarthy Talks Fresh Start with Giants
McCarthy is now a member of the Giants and will look to revive his career in New York.
The 2024 first-round draft pick spent last season as the Vikings’ starting quarterback and entered training camp in a starting quarterback battle with Kyler Murray. However, things turned sour quickly as McCarthy was named the third-string quarterback entering the 2026 season.
The 23-year-old quarterback said it’s an “opportunity” to flip the page. He’ll have the opportunity to work under John Harbaugh, the brother of Jim Harbaugh. The latter Harbaugh coached McCarthy and the Michigan Wolverines to a national championship.
“When I got the call here, it was a shock. I didn’t anticipate it, but at the end of the day, it’s an opportunity,” McCarthy said in his first comments since the trade. “It’s an opportunity to take advantage of. And I love these guys already and I can’t wait to do it for them.”
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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