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Giants (7-4-1) Philadelphia (11-1)
Last Sunday the Tennessee Titans took on the
Philadelphia Eagles. The game was fairly close until near the end of the first
half. After that the Eagles just kept adding points, and ended up with a 35-10
win.
The Giants and Washington Commanders fought each other into a tie that
went into overtime. Neither team was able to score in the ten minute period, and
the game ended with a 23-23 tie. Philadelphia
Eagles
The
Philadelphia Eagles finished second in the NFC East last season to the Dallas
Cowboys, who won the division. Both teams made it to the playoffs, and were one
and done after their wild card games. This year Philadelphia leads the division
- and all the teams in the NFL - with an outstanding 11-1 record. They have two
more wins than they finished with last season, with five games left to play.
The 9-3 Cowboys are currently in second place in the division, have lost one game
to the Eagles, and both teams will meet up again in two weeks. In their remaining
games, the Cowboys look to be the toughest team the Eagles will face. The Chicago
Bears are 3-10, and the New Orleans Saints are 4-10. The Eagles also have two
games with the 7-4-1 Giants, one this Sunday, and the other on the last day of
the season. Philadelphia
Eagles Offense
Last
year after trading Carson Wentz to the Colts, the Eagles gave Jalen Hurts a chance
to show what he could do. They liked what they saw with his running skills, but
as a rookie, Hurts had completed only 52 percent of his passes, while throwing
6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Not only did Hurts continue to run the ball
well, he finished 7th in the league in rushing first downs (56), and he was 6th
with 10 rushing touchdowns. Hurts was also the lead rusher on the team, ahead
of running backs Miles Sanders, and Jordan Howard. The Eagles finished up first
in the league in rushing. Hurts did improve on his completion percentage, but
still the team finished 25th in passing yards.
This year Hurts has led the
team to a more balanced attack. He is second to Sanders in carries and yards,
and is tied with him with 9 rushing touchdowns. Hurts completion percentage is
68 percent, and he's thrown 20 touchdowns, and just 3 interceptions. During the
draft, the Eagles traded two draft picks to the Tennessee Titans in order to add
A.J. Brown to the team. Brown is Hurts favorite target and the leading receiver
on the team with 61 receptions for 950 yards. His 9 touchdowns account for almost
half of Hurts touchdown passes. DeVonta Smith was the top receiver before Brown
came onboard, and he has as many catches as Brown and 4 touchdowns. . Philadelphia
Eagles Defense
They
finished 11th with their passing defense last year, and now they are the top team
in the league. They were 31st with 29 sacks, and Javon Hargrave and Josh Sweat
accounted for most of them, each being credited with 7.5 sacks. Thanks in part
to signing edge rusher Haason Reddick, this defense currently ranks second in
that area with 42 sacks, and Reddick has 9 of them. Hargrave and Sweat are next
in line with 8 and 6.5, followed by 5.5 from Brandon Graham, and 5 from Fletcher
Cox. None of this bodes well for the Giants, as close to half the sacks Daniel
Jones has taken this year, have come in the last five games, which were 1 win,
3 losses, and 1 tie.
Safety ball hawk C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who has 6 interceptions
was just placed on injured reserve. Cornerback James Bradberry will be on the
field at MetLife Stadium for the first time since the Giants released him. Bradberry
and cornerback Darius Slay each have 3 interceptions. The Eagles allow over 117
rushing yards per game, and 4.6 yards per carry. The Washington Commanders handed
the Eagles their one loss running the ball for 152 yards. All this may be a non
factor depending on Saquon Barkley's availability.
Giants Offense
Remember
Jake Fromm and Mike Glennon? They were the two quarterbacks who switched in and
out in last December's 34-10 loss to the Eagles. Daniel Jones was sidelined because
of a sprained neck. When Jones played against the Eagles the month before at MetLife
Stadium, the Giants ended up with a 13-7 win. The defense certainly did their
job in that game, and Jones did some heavy lifting, completing 19 of 30 passes
for 202 yards with 1 touchdown, and no interceptions. Jones also ran with the
ball 9 times for 30 yards. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley had 13 carries for 40 yards.
Jones
was even more active last week, completing 25 of 31 passes for 200 yards and 1
touchdown, and he ran 12 times for 71 yards. Saquon Barkley ran 18 times for 63
yards. If Jones wasn't sacked four times, the game might not have ended with a
tie. With Barkley listed as questionable, or maybe limited while playing, Jones
may have to do even more with the passing attack. The Eagles defense will be keying
on Darius Slayton, who last week had 6 receptions for 90 yards. Tight end Daniel
Bellinger, in his first game back after his eye injury, caught all 5 passes, showing
he can work with the visor he now is using. Jones also has Richie James and Isaiah
Hodgins, but it's the Giants offensive line that will determine what they can
do against a tough Eagles defense. Giants
Defense
Last Sunday Azeez Ojulari was back
on the field for the first time since week 4. That was a boost for the up front
group until defensive lineman Leonard Williams left the game in the third quarter
with a neck injury and did not return. Still, the defense came up with 5 sacks,
and 10 quarterback hits. Williams is listed as questionable for this game. It's
hard to know what the defense can expect to see each time Jalen Hurts takes a
snap. Last game he threw the most passes, and had his most completions of the
season, and ran only 5 times. In the two games before that, Hurts ran 17, and
16 times.
In the secondary safety Julian Love continues to bring it. Love leads
the team with 96 combined tackles, has 2 interceptions, 4 pass breakups, 1 forced
fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. They catch a break as Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert
won't be off injured reserve until after this game, but wide receivers A.J. Brown
and DeVonta Smith will be enough to handle if Hurts has any time to throw. Hurts
had his worst game of the season, actually his career, the last time he played
at MetLife Stadium. Hurts had no touchdowns, threw 3 interceptions, and had a
45 percent completion ratio. Giants fans can hope that the MetLife Cat is still
around if he had any part in that. Overall
It's week 14 of the season, and all four teams in the NFC East have winning records.
Their combined 34-13-2 numbers include 6 losses and 2 ties, from beating up on
each other. The Philadelphia Eagles are on top of all the NFL teams with a 11-1
record, That one loss of course, coming against a division opponent, the Washington
Commanders. If the Giants lose this game, they will be tied with Washington at
7-5-1. This game means more to the Giants than it does for the Eagles, but it
looks to be a tough upset to pull off. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Eagles (11-1)
at Giants (7-4-1)
Sunday at 1:00pm Texans (1-10-1) at Cowboys (9-3)
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.
Next Games
Dec
18 Giants at Washington
Dec 24 Giants at Minnesota
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