Giants
(1-4) Eagles (4-1) On
Sunday the undefeated Eagles seemed to be on the way to their fifth straight victory
of the season with a 13-3 lead over the Denver Broncos. The fourth quarter was
not their friend, as the Broncos scored 18 unanswered points to finish with a
21-17 win. The Giants had a winnable game
on their hands, holding a 14-3 lead over the New Orleans Saints in the second
quarter. Their hands failed them when they turned the ball over on five consecutive
drives and the Saints ended up with a 26-14 win. Philadelphia
Eagles The Eagles are the reigning Super
Bowl champions, coming off their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs in Super
Bowl LIX. The Eagles were off to an impressive
start, winning their first four games in the season before losing one last week.
What hasn't been as impressive to many is how they've come about their wins. Right
now they are on top of the NFC East with the best record and that's what matters
most if they keep it going. Philadelphia
Eagles Offense Though
the team has done well in the win loss column, the offense hasn't performed in
the same fashion many expected to see continued from last year. The Eagles were
very strong with a rushing attack led by Saquon Barkley, in conjunction with Jalen
Hurts, which had them ranked 2nd in the league, averaging 179 yards a game. There's
been a big drop off, as the rushing attack is now 25th, just barely averaging
100 yards a game. Even the Eagles passing offense you figure, would almost have
to show improvement from last seasons 29th slot, and it has fallen to 31st. The
Eagles are averaging just 162 passing yards a game. Hurts has been trying to
get the ball to A.J. Brown. He's been throwing some deep passes, but the two have
not been connecting. Hurts has thrown to Brown 36 times, more than any other receiver,
and Brown has pulled in 19, for an average 10.2 yards a catch, the lowest in his
career, and has 1 touchdown. Last year Brown missed four games and caught 7 touchdown
passes, averaging 16.1 yards a catch. Barkley finished last season as the NFL
Offensive Player of the Year. Picking up a career best 5.8 yards a carry, Barkley
rushed for over 2000 yards. After five games, it's down to a 3.2 average for 267
yards, the lowest of his career except for 2002 when he played in only two games..
It doesn't help that their top rated offensive line has been banged up and
dealing with some injuries to a few players. Right tackle Lane Johnson injured
his shoulder, and had to leave in the game before last, but he managed to start
against Denver. Left guard Landon Dickerson tore his meniscus in training camp,
and is working through that. Dickerson hurt his ankle on Sunday and was ruled
out for this game.
Philadelphia Eagles
Defense Last season this defense was the
second best team in keeping points off the board, and they're currently 16th.
Rushing defense has slipped from 10th to 22nd. Pass defense from 1st to 15th.
They had 41 sacks last year, and edge rusher Josh Sweat was their top sack leader
with 8 sacks. Nolan Smith Jr. was the second on the list with 6.5, and Milton
Williams had 5. They lost Sweat and Williams in the offseason, and Smith is currently
on injured reserve. In these last five games, the Eagles have come up with
7 sacks. Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo, and linebacker Zack Baun each have two.
Ojomo and Jalen Carter have been very good with their pass pressures. Accompanied
by Jordan Davis, they can be tough up front, but are slipping on their run defense.
That could be good for the Giants running the ball, as they are struggling with
their passing game, and the Eagles secondary will be looking to take advantage
of that. Giants Offense How
do you go from scoring a touchdown on your first opening drive, and add another
on the second, and go on to lose a game? The Giants offense showed everyone on
Sunday how that works. Two punts, and then turn the ball over five consecutive
times. One of those turnovers was returned for a touchdown by the Saints, but
it didn't matter much at that point. This offense seems to have no answers for
losing Malik Nabers with the wide receiver group they have. Tight end Daniel
Bellinger was on top of the numbers, catching all 4 passes for 52 yards. Running
back Cam Skattebo was next, then came tight end Theo Johnson, and he had two touchdown
catches. That reliable group caught 16 of Jaxson Dart's 18 passes for 130 yards.
The wide receivers, Darius Slayton, Wan'Dale Robinson, Beaux Collins, and Jalin
Hyatt, pulled in just 9 passes out of 19 for 68 yards, no touchdowns, and had
1 fumble. They seemed to forget about Bellinger after their first two successful
drives. He should be out there more, catching passes along with Johnson. Bellinger
is 7 for 7 on the year, and he caught 14 of 17 last year.
Daruis Slayton is out for this game, and they have elevated Lil'Jordan Humphrey
from the practice squad. Tyrone Tracy looks to be back in. It will be good if
he can hold up and take some of the carries off Skattebo, who's been a real work
horse for the running game. Giants
Defense On Sunday playing against the New
Orleans Saints, it seemed that the defensive scheme was not to blitz, and they
didn't generate much pressure. The Giants came up with no sacks, though they limited
the rushing attack fairly well. If that was the goal it worked, as Saints running
backs Kendre Miller and Alvin Kamara came up with 68 rushing yards. Some poor
coverage had them giving up an 87-yard touchdown. That one touchdown and four
field goals adds up to the 19 points the defense gave up, which is enough for
an average NFL team to win a game. Of course if your offense gives up a turnover
touchdown, and scores just 14 points, you lose. The defense can only do what they
can do, and there may be some opportunities in this next game. The
Eagles are struggling with their offense, and on Sunday they came up with just
45 yards rushing. Saquon Barkley was barely used in the game, for just six carries.
It's common for a team to turn to their ground game when they're holding a late
in the game lead to drain the clock. The Eagles had that, but didn't follow the
usual plan, and it makes you wonder if there is more to Barkley's knee issue than
they let on. Maybe the Giants won't have to be as concerned with the rushing
attack and work more on their pass rush this week. The Eagles offensive line is
dealing with health issues, and Jalen Hurts was sacked six times. Of course,
due respect for Hurts ability to take off, they'll have to keep a spotter on him.
The upfront mix of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence and Abdul Carter
is a good one. The Giants secondary will have to get their act together and not
mess up dealing with wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, and tight end
Dallas Goedert. Overall Both
these NFC East teams are coming off a loss, but that's about all they have in
common. The Eagles are looking to just straighten a few things out. The Giants
are striving to put a good game together on both sides of the ball. The Eagles
are heavily favored to win this one, but you never know. NFC
East Games Thursday at 8:15pm Eagles (4-1)
at Giants (1-4) Sunday at 1:00pm Cowboys (2-2-1) at Panthers (2-3) Monday
at 8:15pm Bears (2-2) at Commanders (3-2) The Eagles, Cowboys and Commanders
are the NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
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Next Games Oct
19 Giants at Broncos Oct 26 Giants at Philadelphia
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