"The Giants have been talking about it all season, but with the weather getting colder - and possibly wetter - they suddenly have little choice. They have to start running the ball more often and better than they have been.

And they have to do it now.

"We emphasize it all the time," Tom Coughlin said Friday, when his team practiced outdoors in the bitter cold and wind. "It's just this time of year, (in) these conditions, you had better be able to run it."

So maybe the Giants' matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night will be the long-awaited breakout game for Brandon Jacobs, the big, $25 million running back who is still looking for his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. Jacobs finally broke out of his season-long slump with a 74-yard touchdown reception last Sunday when he caught a four-yard pass and took it 70 yards down the sidelines.

But he still had only 39 yards on 13 carries in the Giants' 31-24 win over Dallas, and he has just 105 yards on just 2.9 yards per carry the last three weeks. He has not even topped 90 yards in a game since Oct. 4, nor has he approached 20 carries since he rushed 20 times for 86 yards against the Eagles on Nov. 1.

However, with the potential for some rain and snow at Meadowlands Sunday night, Jacobs expects his workload to increase. And he said it's even more important to emphasize the running game and "smash-mouth football" against the Eagles to help keep Philly's dangerous offense - averaging 27.2 points per game - off the field.

"I think against the Eagles, that usually happens," Jacobs said. "Anybody can win those games. I think it's going to be a much better football game second time around."

Despite Jacobs' 86 rushing yards, the Giants' last game against the Eagles wasn't much of a game at all. Backed by a stronger run game that ripped the Giants defense for 180 yards, the Eagles streaked to a 30-7 halftime lead en route to a 40-17 win."