In Week 8, the Philadelphia Eagles will face the New York Giants, the team that stomped them a mere two weeks ago. Typically, the big-picture aim for this weekly feature is to lay out the strengths and weaknesses of the Eagles’ upcoming opponent.
Because the schedule makers have the Eagles and Giants playing each other twice in the span of three weeks — and we just did this two weeks ago — we’ll keep the second installment of this feature a little more brief than the first one.
1) Can the Eagles keep their passing game momentum going?
In their Week 6 loss to the Giants, Jalen Hurts had DeVonta Smith WIDE OPEN deep down the field… and he missed him.
He also threw a bad interception on a pass intended for Jahan Dotson when he had a wide open A.J. Brown for what could have been an easy a touchdown in the middle of the field against a zero blitz. It was easily Hurts’ worst game of the season.
The following week in Minnesota, Hurts had his best game of the season. He was 19 of 23 for 326 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs and the highest possible QB rating of 158.3. He was efficient in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field, and he was deadly when he ripped shots down the field, notably on a pair of deep sideline throws to Brown, and a 79-yard TD strike that was on the money to Smith.
Which Hurts will we see Week 8? Something in the middle should be fine, honestly.
2) We keep waiting for the Eagles’ rushing attack
In Week 6, Saquon Barkley rushed 12 times for 58 yards (4.8 YPC). It looked like there were opportunities in the run game, but the game script got a little out of hand with the Eagles getting behind on the scoreboard, and they ultimately abandoned the run.
The Giants have the 25th-ranked run defense, as they have allowed 130.7 rushing yards per game, and that’s with the Eagles only managing to gain 73 rushing yards Week 6. The Giants’ run defense, by game:
| Giants opponent | Rushing yards allowed |
| Commanders | 220 |
| Cowboys | 135 |
| Chiefs | 105 |
| Chargers | 152 |
| Saints | 88 |
| Eagles | 73 |
| Broncos | 142 |
I feel like we say this every week, but this is another bad run defense against whom the Eagles should have some success. We’ll see. 🤷♂️
3) Can the Eagles’ defense tackle?
In the first matchup, rookie Cam Skattebo ran through Eagles tackles all night, as he rushed 19 times for 98 yards and 3 TDs. One of the signature plays of the game was Skattebo running through Zack Baun while Andrew Mukuba got pushed five yards down the field by a tight end.
The previous week, the Giants lost to the woeful Saints. The biggest play in that game was a Skattebo red zone fumble that was returned for a Saints touchdown.
The Eagles are always hunting for turnovers, which is smart. However, in the case of this matchup against the Giants, the priority should be a toughness reset. They should be looking to punish Skattebo every time he touches the football, and reclaim their status as the big bad bully in the NFC East, not the “bullied.”
The Giants won the first matchup on third down. They converted 11 of 16 (0.688) third downs, while the Eagles converted 1 of 9 (0.100). The Giants were able to have success on third down because their run game kept them on schedule, and their third-down distances were manageable. Get this bowling ball of a runner to the ground consistently and without missed tackles, and then worry about punching the ball out.
4) The corners simply have to play better
In Week 6, the Giants were without WR1 Malik Nabers (ACL, out for the season) and WR2 Darius Slayton (hamstring). And yet, they were still effective enough in their passing game, as guys like Wan’Dale Robinson and Lil’Jordan Humphrey combined for 10 catches for 139 yards and a TD.
Quinyon Mitchell only played 13 snaps before leaving with a hamstring injury. He did not return, which left Kelee Ringo and Adoree Jackson to try to pick up the slack. Ringo started, but very quickly got benched, and had to re-enter the game after Mitchell went down. He had a brutal game, alarmingly because of mental mistakes, such as not tagging a runner down like it was a high school game or something, but also just generally in coverage.
Mitchell will be back for this game, so that will help a lot. But whoever starts at CB2, whether it’s Ringo, Jackson (who is still recovering from a concussion), or Jakorian Bennett (who is ramping up from a four-week stint on IR), they just have to be better in this matchup than they were Week 6. You can’t be getting Moss’d by freaking Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
5) Where might the Eagles go feastin’? 🍗🍗🍗
The Giants should have their starting offensive line intact:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Andrew Thomas | Jon Runyan | John Michael Schmitz | Greg Van Roten | Jermaine Eluemunor |
As noted above, they were more physical in the run game than the Eagles’ defense, and they were proud of themselves after the game:
However, I don’t think they played particularly well in pass pro. Despite putting themselves in favorable downs/distances all night with the run game, they still gave up a couple of sacks, one of which sent Jaxson Dart to the medical tent, and a whole slew of pressures. Per PFF, Runyan gave up 4 pressures, while Thomas, Van Roten, and Eluemunor each gave up 2 pressures.
The Eagles’ pass rush was able to get to Jaxson Dart, but Dart was able to wriggle out of sacks all night and make off-schedule plays. The Eagles must finish when they get close.
One big difference between this matchup and Week 6 is that Jalen Carter will play. He had his best game of the season in Minnesota last week, and his mere presence opens up so many opportunities for his D-line teammates because of all the added attention he attracts. It will be interesting to see if the Eagles’ pass rush has a prideful afternoon and makes plays, or if Dart is able to repeatedly slither away again.
#FeastinMeter: 5/10 turkey legs 🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗
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