Previewing Philadelphia’s regular season finale.
The Philadelphia Eagles are hosting the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon.
With the Birds already locked in to the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture, they’ll be resting their starters in this relatively meaningless game.
Still, in order to preview this Week 18 NFC East matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Big Blue View. The exceptional Ed Valentine kindly kindly took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming tilt. Let’s take a look at the answers. [For my answers about the Eagles, check out BBV.]
1 – Would it have been especially annoying for Giants fans to see Saquon Barkley break the NFL single-season rushing record in this game? Or are fans too numb at this point to really care about what he does?
Fans are definitely not too numb to care about Barkley. At least a vocal group of them. It would have been incredibly annoying. There is a reality to this, though. Barkley would not have done anything close to this with the Giants. The number I saw is that 1,400 of his yards have come BEFORE contact. So most of the work has been done by the guys blocking for him. He is a terrific second-level runner, but somebody has to get him there.
Barkley’s leadership has been what the Giants really miss, and it was this value in the locker room that I think GM Joe Schoen misunderstood.
2 – Are these any positives to take away from this Giants season? Any young players who provide hope for the future? Obviously Malik Nabers but anyone else?
Well, the first question was about Barkley. His replacement, Tyrone Tracy Jr., is a really good player. He has more 1,000 yards from scrimmage and has done it despite getting only 16 touches in the first four games. Plus the fact that the Giants have been blown out of a number of games, making it pointless to run the ball late in games.
The entire 2024 draft class, in fact, is something Schoen should feel good about. Second-round pick Tyler Nubin, third-round pick Dru Phillips and fourth-round pick Theo Johnson are all good players. Sixth-round pick Darius Muasau is a useful reserve linebacker and special teamer.
3 – I’m confident that the Eagles would love to see the Giants retain Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen. Do you think they’ll both be back?
I’m not confident about anything in regards to Schoen and Daboll. I think there are good arguments for keeping them, and good arguments for letting them go. I am actually pretty sure Schoen will be back, unless the Giants can hire Mike Vrabel as head coach. In that case, Schoen might be out and Ryan Bowden, on the Giants staff already and a guy who works with Vrabel in Tennessee, might get promoted. I think Daboll is on shakier ground, but I also think John Mara Is looking for reasons NOT to make changes.
4 – What do you think the Giants should do at quarterback this offseason? Is it as simple as taking a rookie with their first-round pick? Add a veteran? Both? Who do you realistically want starting for them in Week 1 next season?
I think they have to do BOTH. I think they need a draft pick, plus a real veteran bridge/placeholder. Now, whether that works out to be someone like Cam Ward with a bridge, or a higher-level veteran QB with a Day 2 pick probably depends on where the Giants land in the draft.
5 – Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles currently listed as 3-point home favorites, what’s your score prediction and how real is the concern the Giants could win and fall out of the top five in the 2025 NFL Draft order?
I’m picking the Giants to win for the simple reason that the game means little to nothing to the Eagles. There are a lot of guys on that Giants sideline fighting to stay in the league, and a head coach who could use a win to help build a case for why he should stick around.
