Giants vs. Eagles, Week 7: What to expect when the Eagles have the ball

Can the defense carry their momentum into this game?

The New York Giants will host the Philadelphia Eagles in a highly-anticipated Week 7 matchup.

It’s safe to say that neither team is where they want to be, as the Giants currently hold a 2-4 record, while the Eagles have struggled to a 3-2 record on the season. The Giants weren’t expected to be great, but the Eagles were widely expected to be in contention for the NFC title after adding Saquon Barkley in free agency and acquiring wide receiver Jahan Dotson from the Washington Commanders.

This is one of the NFL’s most storied rivalries, and it got more heated when Barkley joined the Eagles in free agency. This game certainly doesn’t lack for storylines, as both are faced with key injuries. The Eagles will be without starting left tackle Jordan Mailata and tight end Dallas Goedert, but have gotten receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, as well as right tackle Lane Johnson, back from injury.

The Giants, meanwhile lost Andrew Thomas for the season and edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux is on IR following wrist surgery.

So what can the Giants expect from the Philadelphia offense?

Stats that matter

Slaying another hydra

For the fifth time this year, the Giants’ defense will need to contend with a passing game that boasts multiple “WR1” caliber threats. This time it’s the duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, with the added presence of Neward, N.J. native Jahan Dotson.

The Giants have been iterating on, and fine-tuning how, they approach dealing with receiving corps that present multiple high level threats. They’re obviously difficult for any defense to stop (that’s the whole point), but there are ways to slow them down and stop them from taking over games. Last week against the Cincinnati Bengals could provide a road map for how the Giants could, at least partially, neutralize the Eagles’ dangerous receivers.

Received wisdom tells us that the Giants should put Deonte Banks, their top corner, on the opponents’ top receiver. The play of corners like Deion Sanders and Darrelle Revis created the concept of the “lockdown corner” who could shadow an opponent’s best receiver and single handedly take him out of the game. But those guys are incredibly rare, and the rules give receivers advantages over and above any physical or athletic edges they may have.

Instead of having Banks shadow Ja’Marr Chase in a “best vs. best” matchup, the Giants tasked Banks with shadowing Tee Higgins. They then used various combinations of their other defensive backs to double Chase. It’s a tactic that was frequently used by Bill Belichick to deal with potent passing attacks, and is about allocating resources as effectively as possible. By using their top corner on the second-best receiver, the defense is able to more effectively contain him with a one-on-one than the top receiver. That frees the defense up to use the double team on the top receiver, making him less appetizing in a quarterbacks’ progression reads. That ultimately forces the quarterback to either find a checkdown option or hold the ball and try to find an open tertiary receiver if the play even has one.

The Giants used a lot of motion along the line of scrimmage against the Bengals, and it was certainly effective. However, those stunts and twists need some time to develop and be effective.

Likewise, the Giants also used a blend of middle of field open (MOFO) looks with two deep safeties, but played pattern matching rules with their underneath coverage. That allowed the Giants to disguise both man and zone coverages, which obviously slowed down Joe Burrow and caused him to double-clutch the ball on multiple occasions.

The expectation here is that the Giants will play more zone coverages than man to account for Jalen Hurts and Barkley in the running game (more on that in a bit). However, they can’t exclusively play zone coverages or the Eagles will simply use zone coverage beaters to get Brown or Smith free.

The big question — with Goedert dealing with a hamstring injury — is Dotson. The third-year receiver was believed to have “WR1” potential coming out of Penn State, but hasn’t consistently played to his potential. The Eagles will want to get the ball to Brown and Smith early and often, but the Giants should be ready for plays designed to get Dotson the ball. Then it could fall on Dru Phillips or a safety like Jason Pinnock to hold up in a one-on-one matchup.

Slowing Saquon

How the Giants deal with Saquon Barkley might not be the biggest question of the day, but it will almost certainly be the biggest single storyline.

Giants’ fans are well-aware of what Barkley is capable of when he’s healthy. He will almost always be among the best athletes on the field whenever he plays, and is capable of breaking off game-changing plays any time he touches the ball. Fans are also aware that Barkley can be prone to being overly reliant on his physical skills to “out-athlete” defenders and try to create magic when he should just take what the defense gives him.

The play of the Giants’ defensive front will obviously be the foundation for their run defense. The Giants’ defensive linemen will need to temper their aggression and work to hold their blocks and set a strong edge up front, playing contain first. That could work against them in the event of play fakes, as it could slow down their pass rush. However, the Eagles have the fourth-lowest pass rate in neutral situations — in other words; they want to run the ball, all things being equal.

Defending Barkley is easier said than done. His size and power make him difficult for individual defenders to tackle, while his agility and explosiveness allow him to make tacklers miss in a phone booth.

Up front, the Giants will want to play a rotation of Dexter Lawrence, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, D.J. Davidson, and Jordon Riley out of a TITE (tackle inside tight end) front to clog interior rushing lanes. That will put the onus of stopping the run on the edge defenders and linebackers. The Eagles will likely target Azeez Ojulari on the edge with outside zone and pulling linemen to his side. While Ojulari was a disruptive force last week against the Bengals’ offensive line and passing game, he has always been a (much) better pass rusher than run defender. He could see players like Boogie Basham or Elijah Chatman brought in as heavy ends in situations in which the Eagles are more likely to run.

The Giants could also look to play in a modified “base” defense with Isaiah Simmons joining Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden at the linebacker position. Okereke and McFadden are both athletic defenders, while Simmons is one of the most athletic safeties or linebackers in the NFL. That could give them enough athleticism to swarm to the ball with the defensive front eating blocks. Likewise, each of those players is athletic enough to spy Jalen Hurts as a runner on designed quarterback runs or read-option plays.

Opportunity on the line of scrimmage

Much of the news cycle in Giants’ land is going to be devoted to the loss of Andrew Thomas for the season. However, the Eagles have an offensive line crisis of their own, as left tackle Jordan Mailata was lost to a hamstring injury.

That will bring reserve lineman Fred Johnson onto the field in relief of Mailata. Johnson has a fair amount of experience, having played in 50 games and started nine. He’s played 110 snaps at right tackle this year while Lane Johnson dealt with concussions. Per Pro Football Focus, Johnson played 53 snaps against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3, 57 snaps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, and then 13 snaps against the Browns in Week 6. Over that span, he’s given up two sacks and been penalized twice.

Johnson, a 6-foot-7, 330-pounder, is a powerful run blocker, but appears limited as a pass protector. As we saw last week, the Giants put Brian Burns against Orlando Brown Jr., with Azeez Ojulari against rookie Amarius Mims. It’s a similar concept as how the Giants dealt with Chase and Higgins, and was undeniably effective. We could see a similar concept this week, though with the sides reversed and Ojulari lining up across from the reserve left tackle and Burns matching up against Lane Johnson.

Compounding the potential problems along the Eagles’ offensive line, guards Mekhi Becton and Landon Dickerson have both struggled in pass protection. PFF has charged Becton with giving up three sacks and 10 total pressures this year, while Dickerson has given up three sacks, three hits, and 17 total pressures. The loss of Mailata presents an opportunity for whichever pass rusher lines up across from him, while the play of the Eagles’ guards represents a huge opportunity for Lawrence, Chatman, and Nunez-Roches. Likewise, the Giants have made heavy use of stunts and twists in their defensive scheme, and the limitations of Johnson, Becton, and Dickerson could make them effective in this game.

We should expect the Eagles to lean further into their running game given the skills of their available linemen. Putting them in more obvious passing situations — as well as stopping Saquon Barkley from taking over the game — should be the first priority for the Giants’ defense.