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The Philadelphia Eagles don't have much room for error, and now they won't even have Michael Vick.

The New York Giants won't have the chance to knock Vick out of a game as they did earlier this season, but they could land a knockout blow to their archrivals' season.

The Eagles visit the NFC East-leading Giants on Sunday night, with Philadelphia full of question marks as it tries to avoid dropping four games out of the division lead.

Philadelphia (3-6) continued its dismal season with a 21-17 home loss last Sunday to lowly Arizona. Vick did not practice all week after suffering two broken lower ribs on the game's second play and finishing with a 32.5 passer rating -- his worst with the Eagles.

Vick was finally ruled out Saturday despite being listed as questionable on the previous day's injury report.

That leaves Vince Young to make his first start in an Eagles uniform, and he'll face a New York defense which has a league-high 30 sacks.

Young, whose only pass attempt this year was an interception, last started on Nov. 21 last season in what turned out to be his final game for Tennessee.

After Vick had career highs of 21 passing touchdowns and nine on the ground last season and the Eagles added numerous big-name acquisitions, Philadelphia was considered a clear favorite to repeat as NFC East champions.

Instead, the Eagles have been abysmal in the clutch, losing five games they led in the fourth quarter.

That included a 29-16 home defeat to New York (6-3) on Sept. 25 that snapped Philadelphia's six-game win streak in the series. Mike Kafka was forced to finish the contest -- Young was out with an injury -- after Vick exited with a broken right hand.

"I think it just proved that, first of all, we can go on the road and win when nobody gave us a chance to win and it started the idea of us finishing and playing well in the fourth quarter," coach Tom Coughlin said.

Counterpart Andy Reid is dealing with other issues besides Vick's injury. The coach said DeSean Jackson will return after he was deactivated last Sunday because he missed a meeting, but fellow receiver Jeremy Maclin (shoulder, hamstring) will not play.

"As a professional and as a man, you just really have to handle things," said Jackson, who held out for 11 days in training camp over his contract. "I can admit to some things that I've done, that I need to better, which I think everybody at a period of time in their life figures out what it is."

The Eagles are 4-0 at New York since Jackson joined the team. He has scored on punt returns in each of their last two visits, including last season's 65-yard TD on the final play of Philadelphia's thrilling 38-31 win as the Giants blew a three-touchdown lead over the final 7:28.

New York is finishing stronger this season behind Eli Manning, who owns the league's second-best fourth-quarter rating at 116.5. Manning is fifth in the league in TD passes (17) and quarterback rating (97.0) and has turned in consecutive four-touchdown efforts against Philadelphia.

His attempt to lead the Giants to another comeback win fell short last Sunday, however, as his fourth-down pass deep in San Francisco territory was batted down in the final minute of a 27-20 defeat. Manning rallied New York from fourth-quarter deficits the previous two weeks.

"You don't want to rely on having to win the game in the fourth quarter and having to have drives at the end," Manning said. "It is a great quality that we have and I think our confidence is where it needs to be if we get in those situations, but we have to get off to faster starts and take advantage of our opportunities early in the game."

New York is dealing with a minor distraction after gunshots erupted at the trendy Juliet Supper Club in Manhattan early Tuesday morning when wide receiver Victor Cruz was celebrating his 25th birthday with a group of Giants. The incident didn't sit well with Coughlin, who saw his team's 2008 season go south when Plaxico Burress shot himself late in the season in a nightclub.

"I don't know what good happens at 2:30 or 3 in the morning," Coughlin said. "I've never been able to figure that one out."

The Giants will seek to slow down LeSean McCoy, who has scored from scrimmage in nine straight games and leads the NFL with 12 total TDs. McCoy's 906 rushing yards are the most in the NFC, and he gained 128 in the last meeting with New York.

Containing him could be all the more difficult if starting linebacker Michael Boley doesn't play. The team's defensive signal caller and second-leading tackler suffered a hamstring strain against San Francisco.

New York running back Ahmad Bradshaw will miss a third straight game with a broken bone in his right foot. Brandon Jacobs has started in his place for the Giants, whose rushing attack is the NFC's second worst at 89.2 yards per game.