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.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter. 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 |