Giants vs. Eagles: Rivalry takes center stage again

The talking stops Sunday night -- at least in the media -- and action between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles hits the field when the NFC East rival meet in the Sunday Night Football match-up at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). Both teams are 2-1 heading into the game, tied atop the early-season NFC East standings with the Dallas Cowboys.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin talked earlier in the week about the meaning of a game against the Eagles:

"There has been some unbelievable football games played between these two teams, when I was here as an assistant and it certainly has continued since I've been here as the head coach. These games are extremely close games, they always are. They're fourth quarter wins, one way or the other. We talk about hitting the goal post with field goals and I was reflecting on that incredible overtime win down there a few years ago. That was just a great, great football game," Coughlin said. "These games go to the wire, and these teams play hard against each other. It's in the division, it's a rival. It seems like each one of the teams in our division, there's a unique rivalry with each one of these teams. Certainly with the Philadelphia Eagles it is that way, for sure."

The Giants are 7-9 against the Eagles in the regular season during Coughlin's tenure as head coach. Each team was won the NFC East three times during Coughlin's tenure. The Giants, though, have two Super Bowl titles during that time and four in their history. The Eagles are still searching for their first.

Philadelphia's Jason Babin gave the Eagles' perspective on the rivalry this way:

“I don’t ever use the word hate unless we’re talking about terrorists, but we definitely look forward to playing them in a prime-time game.”

The Giants and Eagles know each other well. The main characters in the plot on offense for Philadelphia are quarterback Michael Vick, running back LeSean McCoy and wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson. On defense, Philly features defensive ends Babin and Trent Cole, and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

The Giants are a one-point underdog Sunday night. They will likely be missing Hakeem Nicks, but will get Ahmad Bradshaw back. Their aerial assault will, of course, be led by Eli Manning, with Victor Cruz as primary target.

We have been breaking down the game all week in our Giants vs. Eagles StoryStream. In case you missed them, here is some of what you can find there.

• Philadelphia: Birthplace of the Salsa ... Victor Cruz style
• Corey Webster: Cast won't keep him from playing Sunday
• Beyond the box score: Looking at the Philadelphia Eagles vs. the Arizona Cardinals
• Chatting with the enemy: Questions, answers with 'JasonB' of Bleeding Green Nation
• Spotlight On ... Andre Brown
• Giants vs. Eagles, what to watch for on Sunday
• Giants vs. Eagles: Philadelphia scouting report
• Michael Vick: Quarterback controversy in Philadelphia?

As always, we will have game day open threads for you later. You can also find everything you need to know about Giants-Eagles in our Giants vs. Eagles hub page. That will be your one-stop shop for all of the previews leading up to the game, inactives, in-game open threads and post-game recap and analysis.