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Giants - Eagles
Game 7 preview
Thursday Oct 22, 8:20 PM - Giants at Philadelphia

Giants (1-5) Philadelphia (1-4-1)
The Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Baltimore Ravens 30-28, on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. They were down 17-0 at the end of the first half. At the two minute warning, they had a chance to tie the score with a two-point conversion, but failed.
At the same time the Eagles were playing, the Washington Football Team was staging their comeback attempt against the Giants at MetLife Stadium. With the score at 20-19, they could have tied the game, but chose instead to go for the win with a two-point conversion attempt that also failed for them.

Philadelphia Eagles
In 2017 the Eagles won the NFC East division with a 13-3 record, and went on to become the Super Bowl Champions. In 2018 they were in the playoffs as a 9-7 wild card team, and they beat Chicago before losing out to New Orleans the following week. Right now the division leading Cowboys have a 2-4 record, and the Eagles are right behind them at 1-4-1. Last year the Eagles were at 5-7 when they first faced the Giants, hoping to end a 3 game losing streak that had them trailing the Cowboys.
They were able to do that, and after winning at Washington, they went on to beat the Cowboys and the Giants in the final game of the season at MetLife stadium. Winning the division title, they hosted the Seattle Seahawks in the wildcard game. Carson Wentz was knocked out in the first quarter, and this time Nick Foles wasn't around to step in. Josh McCown took over, and though he completed 75 percent of his passes, the Eagles lost the game 17-9.

Eagles Offense
The Eagles offense has been hit hard with injuries. They are ever changing on the offensive line, and currently have just starting center Jason Kelce, still remaining six games in. Carson Wentz has been dealing without wide receivers DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, and rookie Jalen Reagor. He lost another prime target on Sunday, Zach Ertz. There is a chance that Dallas Goedert, just coming off IR, will play, Those two tight ends combined for 146 catches and 11 touchdowns last year.
Running back Miles Sanders suffered a knee injury in Sunday's loss to the Ravens, and will not play. Aside from being their top running back last year, he was the third leading receiver behind Ertz and Goedert. Wide receiver Travis Fulgham has been there for Wentz, catching a touchdown in each of the three games he's played while averaging 15.8 yards a catch. Wentz might also get receivers Jackson and Jeffery back. They saw some limited practice this week.

Eagles Defense
Their defensive front includes Fletcher Cox, Hassan Ridgeway, Brandon Graham, Javon Hargraveon, and Malik Jackson (out for this game). They are a top five team in sacks with 21, which outpaces their season total of 43 last year. The Giants won't have to deal with Malcolm Jenkins. After six years with the Eagles, the skilled safety is back with the New Orleans Saints, the team that drafted him in 2009. Cornerback Jalen Mills has moved up to the strong safety spot.
Cornerback Darius Slay, who led the league with 8 interceptions in 2017, was picked up in a trade with the Detroit Lions for two draft picks. Slay will be keeping an eye on Darius Slayton. The Eagles run defense has dropped off from last season where they were rated 3rd, allowing just over 90 yards a game. Now they're 22nd, giving up 125 yards on average. In the Giants win on Sunday, they ran the ball 26 times, averaging 5.1 yards a carry, and Jones threw only 19 passes. The Giants may stay with that kind of plan against this defense.

Giants Offense
The Giants biggest threat on offense is Darius Slayton. Daniel Jones has 3 passing touchdowns on the year, all caught by Slayton, including one on Sunday to help the Giants defeat the Washington Team. Slayton seemed to be limping around after that touchdown, but head coach Joe Judge says he's good to go for the Thursday game, and Sterling Shepard may join him.
The Giants have 21 days to add Shepard to their active roster and they have until 4:00pm to make him active for Thursday night in Philadelphia. Jones sure would like that to have more proven talent on the field. In the first half of the Washington game, the Giants first three drives resulted in points scored, a field goal, a touchdown, and a field goal. Jones completed 7 of 8 passes, and threw his one touchdown pass, that was a long time coming.
Then in the second half Jones was just 5 of 11 with 1 interception. With Shepard and Golden Tate both playing, things get trickier for the Eagles, and it all can lead to tight ends Evan Engram and Kaden Smith being more effective in an area the Eagles have struggled with. The Giants have also been developing their running game more with Devonta Freeman, and last time out, Jones ran with the ball 7 times.

Giants Defense
Sometimes they're there, sometimes they're not. This week they will be facing the most sacked quarterback in the NFL. Wentz is having trouble dealing with the pass rush, sometimes holding the ball too long, and that's one of the reasons he's been sacked 25 times. Last Sunday he was sacked 3 times, and hit 16 times. The team leaders in that area are Leonard Williams and Kyler Fackrell, with 3 sacks each. Williams, Davlin Tomlinson, and Dexter Lawrence have played well against the run. With running back Miles Sanders out, Boston Scott will carry the load. He's seen limited action, but was particularly good against the Giants in the two games near the end of the season.
This year the Eagles drafted a backup quarterback when they selected Jalen Hurts, and have used him on the field a few times along with Wentz. The Giants defense will have to be aware Hurts may not be there just as a distraction. He's also a very good runner, and the Eagles playing without running back Miles Sanders, may have some things cooked up to surprise them.
On Sunday the Eagles were able to put up 28 points against the Baltimore Ravens, despite having only two of the 11 opening day starters remaining on the field at the end of the game. The Giants defense can't let Wentz start to get things going. To be successful, they will have to make this a 'sometimes they're there game' and avoid the 'sometimes they're not.'

Overall
The Eagles next games are with the Cowboys working without Dak Prescott, and then the Giants again after having a bye week. Winning in this game gives them a good edge at taking over the division. The Giants don't get a bye until after they play this game, one with Tampa Bay, and another with Washington. That's when they take on the Eagles coming off their bye. It looks like a tougher path ahead for the Giants, so they'd better take advantage of the Eagles dealing with their current injuries.

NFC East Games
Thursday at 8:20pm Giants (1-5) at Eagles (1-4-1).
Sunday at 1:00pm Cowboys (2-4) at Washington (1-5).
The Eagles and Cowboys are the NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
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Notes.

Giants backup quarterback Josh McCown was the backup for the Eagles the last time these teams played.

Giants Josh McCown was the oldest quarterback to make his playoff debut last year with the Eagles.
Next Games
Nov 2 Tampa Bay at Giants
Nov 8 Giants at Washington

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