In seven games against the Eagles in the last three years, Burress has 36 receptions and 6 touchdowns and has averaged 17.6 yards per catch. He's had 100-plus receiving yards in four of those seven games.

"He's a very good receiver," Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "We're not the only team that's had trouble against him. His size, along with his speed and leaping ability, make him a tough matchup for corners.

"But that's no excuse. If you want to beat them, you've got to shut him down."

Johnson's defense will get another opportunity Sunday night when the 5-3 Eagles host the 7-1 Giants in a game they really need to win to improve their playoff chances.

Burress's size has created troublesome matchup problems for the Eagles' cornerbacks the last three years. Both Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown are under 5-10, and the Giants have thrown a lot of fades and other passes to Burress that maximize his height advantage.

In the Giants' 16-13 win over the Eagles last December, Burress had seven receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles have a new defensive piece now that they didn't have last December, though. In March, they signed free agent cornerback Asante Samuel to a seven-year, $56 million contract.

Samuel, a two-time Pro Bowler, was added primarily because of his playmaking skills. The Eagles had a league-low 19 takeaways last season, including 11 interceptions. Over the past two seasons, Samuel had 16 interceptions by himself.

But the Eagles also felt they needed someone else to throw against the NFC East's two premier wideouts - Burress and the Cowboys' Terrell Owens.

Samuel's presence didn't do much to muzzle Owens earlier this year. He had two touchdown catches in the Cowboys' 41-37 win over the Eagles in Week 2. But Johnson is hoping he'll make a difference Sunday night against Burress.

Samuel has replaced Sheppard as the team's starting left corner, with Sheppard, also a two-time Pro Bowler, relegated to nickel and dime packages. Sheppard probably won't play Sunday night after suffering a groin injury last week against Seattle.

At a shade over 5-10, Samuel isn't much bigger than Sheppard or Brown, the team's starting right corner. But he did a pretty good job against Burress in the Giants' Super Bowl victory over the Patriots last February.

It's uncertain whether Johnson will have Samuel shadow Burress, or just have where he lines up dictate who covers him.

"We'll see," he said. "I'm not sure what we're going to do. I just know we need to keep doing a better job on him than we have in the past."

SERIES HISTORY: 147th regular-season meeting. Giants lead the series, 78-66-2. Eagles lost both meetings against the Giants last season. They were beaten at home in December, 16-13, when a potential game-tying 57-yard field goal by David Akers hit the right upright. In the Giants' 16-3 win in the first meeting, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was sacked 12 times.