The New York Giants, reeling from a historic 18-point fourth-quarter collapse in Denver, travel to Philadelphia for their second matchup against the Eagles in as many weeks. In Week 7, the Giants squandered a 99.7% win probability, allowing the Broncos to rally in the fourth quarter with 33 points; an epic failure by the Giants. The Eagles, however, bounced back after their Week 6 loss to the Giants. Jalen Hurts and the offense broke out of their funk in their 28-22 win over Carson Wentz and the Minnesota Vikings.
Now sitting at 2-5, the Giants face a 5-2 Eagles team that opened as seven-point favorites, with a 43.5-point Over/Under. In their previous meeting, New York dismantled Philadelphia 34-17 in Week 6, imposing their physicality in a statement win. Here you can find Tony Del Genio’s thoughts on the Giants’ Week 6 victory over the Eagles, along with key takeaways:
Week 6 recap
The Giants did benefit from Jalen Carter’s absence and the loss of cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first quarter. New York bludgened Vic Fangio’s defense with 172 yards on the ground, including three touchdowns for rookie running back Cam Skattebo and a touchdown on the ground for Jaxson Dart.
The elevation of Lil’Jordan Humphrey from the practice squad to the active roster allowed him to elevate over Eagles’ defensive backs for 55 yards on four catches. Dart was 17 of 25 for 195 yards with a touchdown, and could have had much more if his receiving corps hadn’t been missing Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton.
Wan’Dale Robinson stepped up with a six-catch, 84-yard performance that included a 35-yard touchdown reception on a broken play. New York featured heavy 12 personnel usage, but Theo Johnson was the only tight end to receive a target (four, caught two for 27 yards), while Daniel Bellinger went targetless for the only time in the three games since New York has increased their 12 personnel usage.
New York ended its first two offensive drives with touchdowns and scored three touchdowns on their first four drives. The Giants took a 20-17 lead late in the second quarter, and the Giants’ defense smothered the Eagles’ offense. It was complementary football; it was good football — a rarity in recent years.
Defeating the Eagles is, unfortunately, a milestone. The Giants defeated Philadelphia in the final week of the 2023 season — a game where the Eagles played most of their starters for less than a half. The last time the Giants won in Philadelphia was in 2013, a 15-7 victory where Matt Barkley was the leading passer for the Eagles. Since that game, the Giants are 5-18, including the win two weeks ago. Can the Giants pull off the upset again?
Eagles’ defense
The Eagles allow 23.6 points per game, which ranks 20th in the league. In comparison, the Giants rank 23rd with an average of 25.3 points per game. Philadelphia surrenders the 23rd most yards per game, with an average of 349.1 yards allowed per game. The run defense ranks 22nd in the league, with a 127.9 yards per game average. The pass defense also ranks 22nd with 198.7 passing yards allowed per game.
The Eagles’ red zone touchdown percentage is third-best in the NFL, with a rate of 43.48%. The Broncos are first at 37.5%, which is almost ten percentage points higher than last week. Philadelphia’s third-down conversion rate is 26th in the league; the unit allows a conversion on 43.01% of third-down attempts. Denver is No. 1 with a 29.17% rate.
The Eagles have just 11 sacks on the season, ranking them among the lowest in the league (tied for 28th). They do have five interceptions on the season and allow the fourth-lowest completion percentage rate (59.4%). Overall, the Expected Points Added for the passing defense ranks tenth in the NFL; the rushing defense ranks 28th in the league.
Fangio has blitzed the Eagles at a 23.4% rate, ranking them just ahead of the Giants at 23%. The Eagles rank seventh in quarterback knockdown rate, but 19th in pressure rate (18.5%).
The matchup
The Eagles’ issues at cornerback two, beyond Mitchell (who played against the Vikings), and second-year defensive back Cooper Dejean, were exposed against the Vikings. Adoree Jackson was forced into the lineup before leaving for Kelee Ringo — both are targets to exploit for the Giants’ offense.
The problem, though, for New York is a lack of depth at wide receiver. I expect a similar 12-personnel, RPO approach with the Giants attempting to control the line of scrimmage with physicality that allows their play-action game to open up.
A healthy Darius Slayton would be a much-valued addition to the Giants’ offense. Humphrey’s size should be leveraged in man coverage, particularly in one-on-one MOFC matchups, as seen in Week 6; this could enhance the Giants’ play-action and bootleg game.
The improved pass protection will be tested with Carter, whether it’s John Michael Schmitz or Austin Schlottmann at center. The zone-read and RPO attack will assist the offensive line and should be relied on, but the Giants can also get Dart on the move with bootlegs and move the pocket plays to change the launch-point and avoid the more dangerous threats on the opposite side of the football.
Last week, the Eagles heard all about Cam Skattebo and his domination of their team. Now, the Eagles should have Jalen Carter and their healthy CB1 back. Carter’s interior pressure against the Vikings led to Jaylx Hunt’s pick-six. Carter had six pressures against Wentz and Minnesota.
Eagles’ linebacker, Nakobe Dean, made his season debut in Week 7 against the Vikings. He played 31 snaps (just under half), and the Eagles’ run defense was much improved; they held the Vikings to just 89 yards on 23 carries. Jordan Mason averaged just 3.8 yards on the ground (15 carries for 57 yards).
An improvement in run defense won’t stop the Giants from trying, but it may put more of a burden on the passing attack — a passing attack of a mobile quarterback who rushed for 58 yards on 13 carries with a score in their Week 6 matchup. Dart’s legs will again be on display.
The Giants have done well to protect Dart, and the young signal caller has done a fantastic job against the blitz in recent games:
Dart completed 8 of 14 passes for 193 yards, with two touchdowns and that back-breaking interception against the Broncos when Vance Joseph decided to blitz — the third-most passing yards by any player against the blitz this season. Fangio may look to dial up the pressure, still, against the rookie, even with the return of Carter. That decision will depend on how Dart handles himself early, as well as how the Giants’ protection holds up and identifies the blitz.
Either way, the Giants should look to maintain their diverse rushing approach. New York successfully attacked laterally with their rushing game, specifically with crack toss behind a key block from Lil’Jordan Humphrey; they ran that play twice, kicking each tackle into space against a smaller defender. The Giants remained diverse on the ground against Denver.
Fangio called a lot of Cover-3 that left the curl/flat exposed, and the Giants did well to throw into the area off quick-game. The playcalling and play sequencing are more consistent this season, and Dart is finding solutions to formidable defenses. The Giants’ coaching staff must continue to attack the critical vulnerabilities of the opposing squad while building multiple options into plays for their young quarterback.
I love the growth displayed by Dart against Denver, where he audibled based on the defensive look. He did this several times, but most notably on the Daniel Bellinger 44-yard touchdown and 22-yard catch from the double-Y verts to the boundary — expect to see a lot of that formation again.
Final thoughts
The additions received by Philadelphia, coupled with the change in scenery, make this another tall task for a rookie quarterback who has played well through four starts. A big question and concern about this Giants’ team, in general, is how they respond after such a brutal loss in Denver. Can the Giants repeat with a win against the Eagles or will the season continue to slip through their fingers?
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