Giants (3-7) vs Eagles (4-6) Last
Sunday the Eagles scored only one touchdown in New Orleans. The Saints didn't
hold back and in the end, the defending Super Bowl champs were blown away, taking
a 48-7 loss to the Saints. Earlier that day, the Giants treated their hometown
crowd to a win, playing against Tampa Bay at MetLife stadium. They scored their
highest points of the season with a 38-35 victory over the Buccaneers. Giants
- Buccaneers Wrap-Up
Philadelphia
Eagles The Eagles
started off this season with a lot of confidence coming off their first ever Super
Bowl win. They had finished at 13-3 after the regular season last year, and went
on to win in their next three playoff games, which included their Super Bowl victory.
They won their first game of this season at home against the Atlanta Falcons with
Nick Foles starting. After a loss in Tampa Bay, Carson Wentz guided them to a
second win at home against the Colts. The Eagles couldn't keep it going, and
were off to a 2-3 start when they played the Giants in their first divisional
game of the season. The Eagles won that matchup, but were unable to build on it
losing three out of the next four games. Over the course of this season, aside
from easing quarterback Carson Wentz back from the ACL injury that sidelined him
last year, the Eagles have been hit with more than their share of injuries to
a number of players on both sides of the ball.
Philadelphia Eagles
Offense Carson Wentz has kept the passing
game on track about as well as last year. Last week wasn't his best effort, throwing
for no touchdowns and three interceptions. Going into that game he had 15 touchdowns,
and just 3 interceptions. Tight end Zach Ertz is Wentz's favorite target by a
wide margin over all the other receivers. Last week the New Orleans Saints knew
what they had to do, and they covered him well. Wentz was only able to throw to
him three times, and Ertz had only two catches for 15 yards. Nelson Agholor is
the second leading receiver, and just behind him is Alshon Jeffery. They picked
up Golden Tate from Detroit for a third round draft pick, and have been trying
to work him into the system. So far in two games Tate has seven catches for 67
yards. The Eagles running game has dropped from 3rd in the NFL last year to
25th. Starter Jay Ajayi was placed on injured reserve just before the Eagles first
game with the Giants. Having let LeGarrette Blount walk in free agency and losing
Ajayi, they have gone from averaging 132 yards a game to 98. Darren Sproles has
been dealing with a hamstring injury all year, and will miss this game. Josh Adams
has broken some long runs for them over the last few games. His 28 yard run for
a touchdown gave the Eagles the only points they scored in last weeks game. Philadelphia
Eagles Defense Tackle
Fletcher Cox and defensive end Michael Bennett head a group that knows how to
bring a strong pass rush. They and the other defensive linemen are going to have
to deal with Odell Beckham Jr., Saquon Barkley,
and Sterling Shepard. Yes, those same players were also there for the Giants the
last time, but the difference is that the Eagles defense will be up against an
improved offensive line. Also in that first game, the Giants were missing tight
ends Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison. Aside from Engram's ability to catch a ball,
his blocking skills were sorely missed. Cox could get some additional help
with Tim Jernigan playing for the first time this year. The second year tackle
has talent, but due to his injury and subsequent surgery, he hasn't yet been tested
on the field. The Eagles are hitting the Giants at a time where Eli Manning has
been afforded some extra protection and is making good use of it. The Eagles strength
is up front, and they are going to need that group to produce, as the Eagles secondary
has taken a real big hit due to injuries. They will also be missing middle linebacker
Jordan Hicks. Giants Offense Working
behind a so-so offensive line in his first meeting with the Eagles, Barkley
had to do it all mostly on his own. Even with that, he gained 130 yards on just
13 carries. The Eagles run protection has dropped from being first in the NFL
last year to 12th, and Barkley seems to be honing his skills from game to game.
The Giants offensive line has played its best in the last two games, and the effects
are showing. Odell Beckham Jr. has had three touchdowns over that time, where
he had just two over the past eight games this season. Beckham also recorded his
longest yards per catch in those games. Give Eli Manning an extra dose of protection
and things will happen. Although Manning did take four sacks, his average of 12.8
yards a completion was his highest of the year. It was also impressive that he
completed 17 of his 18 passes to nine different receivers. Bear in mind all this
was against a defense that's ranked last in points allowed, and near last in yards
given up. The Eagles defense is much better than that. Nate Solder will have to
watch out for Michael Bennett, who leads the Eagles in sacks, and last time against
the Giants, Bennett had one sack, a forced fumble, two quarterback hits, and six
tackles. Giants Defense
While enjoying the fact that the defense
came up with four turnovers last week against Tampa Bay, it can't be ignored that
the level of play slipped quite a bit as the game neared the end. They also gave
up a lot of yards and points to the Buccaneers. Carson
Wentz is a much more consistent quarterback
than the two that Tampa Bay shuffles in and out from game to game. Quarterbacks
Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston both ran the ball on the Giants a few times
last week, and scored one touchdown. Wentz
has been careful running this season, but is capable of that as well. Judging
from last week's game, a big key to keeping Wentz off balance is to have good
coverage on his top receiver, tight end Zach
Ertz. Then again, maybe that's something that
only the New Orleans Saints can do. It would be just the Giants luck that they
would be successful at that, and Wentz goes on to find he has a great connection
with Golden Tate, who has been struggling trying
to be a good fit for his team. Overall The
last time these teams faced off, the Giants were 1-4, and the Eagles 2-3. Things
aren't much better today, with each team having gone on to win two more games
and drop three. Unfortunately for the Giants, one of those losses was to the Eagles,
or the records would have been swapped, with the Giants at 4-6 instead of 3-7. If
you look at the results for both teams last week, the Giants have the momentum
to right the ship, and to even things out with a win, which would give each of
them 4-7 records. That's not the best for any team at this time of the season,
but with the Redskins and Cowboys at 6-5, things are still within reach. I look
for the Giants to improve on what they've been doing, and stretch their win streak
to three games. NFC East
Games Thursday at 4:30pm Redskins (6-4)
at Cowboys (5-5). | Results Cowboys 31 - Redskins 23. Sunday at 1:00pm Giants
(3-7) at Eagles (4-6). The Cowboys and Eagles are the NFC East teams favored
to win in these games. Check
out. Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts. Giants
DVDs and Posters.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes. Giants
Saquon Barkley was named the NFC Offensive
Player of The Week for Week 11. Giants
lost their last two games in Lincoln Financial Field by a combined eight points.
Next Games Dec 2 Chicago at Giants.
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