| Giants
(2-10) Eagles (5-7)
A
week ago the Eagles had a chance to be tied with the Cowboys for the lead in the
NFC East. They were up 28-14 in Miami, and then let the Dolphins come back with
3 touchdowns and a field goal to hand them a 37-31 loss.
Last Sunday the Giants
hosted the Green Bay Packers in MetLife Stadium. The score was close going into
the fourth quarter, but Green Bay pulled away. The Giants dropped their eighth
straight game with a 31-13 loss to the Packers. Philadelphia
Eagles
In
2017 the Eagles won the NFC East division with a 13-3 record and went on to become
the Super Bowl Champions. In 2018 they were in the playoffs as a 9-7 wild card
team, and they beat Chicago before losing out to New Orleans the following week.
This year the Eagles are a 5-7 team, coming into this game hoping to end a 3 game
losing streak. Their four remaining games are all against teams in the same division,
first with the Giants, then at Washington, before hosting the Cowboys, and playing
in the final game at MetLife stadium with the Giants. Philadelphia
Eagles Offense
Carson
Wentz hasn't been playing at his best this year, but he is working behind a solid
offensive line that can buy him time to connect with his receivers. If that doesn't
hold up, Wentz is elusive enough to make plays on the run. His favorite target
is, same as last year tight end Zach Ertz, who caught 116 passes, the most ever
by a tight end in the NFL. Ertz currently leads the team with 70 catches for 736
yards, and he has 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is second with 43
catches for 490 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Running backs
Jordan Howard and rookie Miles Sanders, have had nearly the same amount of carries
and nearly the same amount of yards. Howard has 119 for 525 yards, and Sanders
116 for for 520 yards. Howard has more rushing touchdowns with 6 to Sanders 1,
but Sanders is the fourth leading receiver on the team, behind Nelson Agholor
with 32 catches and 2 touchdowns. Howard has missed the last three games, and
will be out for this one as well. Jay Ajayi is back on the field after a long
layoff, and has played in the last two games. Philadelphia
Eagles Defense
The
Eagles defense is very strong up front, but they have a weak secondary. If the
Giants offensive line can hold them off, Eli Manning should be able to connect
with his receivers, if he's not too rusty after sitting out 10 games. They are
however, not an easy group to hold off. Brandon Graham (7.5 sacks) and Fletcher
Cox (3.5 sacks) are very good at bringing strong pressure, along with the rest
of the players the Eagles rotate in and out. Manning will have his focus on getting
the ball out fast to Sterling Shepard or Golden Tate.
The Eagles rushing defense
is even better than it was last year, ranking 7th then, and 4th now. Only two
running backs have had over 100 rushing yards against them. In their last two
games with the Giants, Saquon Barkley actually did that twice when he broke away
with a 50 yard run in the first game, and a 51 yard run in the second. Barkley
also caught 16 of 20 passes in those games. Giants
Offense
Eli Manning is back in the quarterback
spot, at least for this one game, while Daniel Jones recovers from his high ankle
sprain injury. The last time Manning played, going up against the Buffalo Bills,
he didn't have Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton and Golden Tate. Shepard and Slayton
were injured, and Tate was on suspension. To make matters worse, the Giants lost
Cody Latimer in the second half of that game when he sustained a concussion. Manning
is certainly not as athletic as Jones, but his experience at the line of scrimmage,
adjusting plays before the snap, is a big factor for this matchup.
Saquon Barkley
ran for over 100 yards in the first two games when Manning was the starter. No
comparisons can be made on that as you have to realize that Barkley was injured
in the very next game. Pat Shurmur stated that Barkley looked to be his best last
week since injuring his ankle. Unfortunately for the Giants, tight end Evan Engram
and Rhett Ellison have been ruled out once again for this game. Giants
Defense
The run defense has been strong
over the last three games, thanks in part to acquiring Leonard Williams in a trade
with the Jets, but the Giants still have not yet developed a good pass rush. Carson
Wentz should have time to throw downfield and cash in, especially if they continue
to make the kinds of coverage mistakes they have made all year in the secondary.
Starting safety Jabrill Peppers, acquired in the Odell Beckham Jr. trade with
Cleveland, was just placed on injured reserve due to a fracture in his back. Peppers
had 3 forced fumbles, and returned 1 interception for a touchdown in 11 games.
Rookie Julian Love has come in and played well. After picking up his first career
interception against the Bears two weeks ago, as a starter against Green Bay,
he had 7 tackles and a forced fumble. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins has criticized
the way he's being used in the secondary where he has not shadowed the top wide
receivers. This strategy began just about at the start of the Giants long losing
streak. It will be interesting to see if anything changes this week. Corey Ballentine
suffered a concussion in last week's loss to the Packers and will miss this game. Overall
The Eagles had to throw away all their notes
on Daniel Jones, and fish out their old Eli Manning scrapbook. The November game
played last year was also in Philadelphia. It was tied going into the fourth quarter
before the Eagles kicked a field goal to win it with a 25-22 score.
The Giants
were officially eliminated from the playoffs last week, but the Eagles still have
a shot, as the Cowboys are in close reach, having lost in the last three games
they've played. The Giants are in the Eagles way right now, and can be big spoilers,
as the two teams play once again in the final game of the season. NFC
East Games
Thursday at 4:30pm Cowboys (6-6)
at Bears (6-6). - Bears win 26-15, Bears (7-6), Cowboys (6-7).
Sunday at 1:00pm
Redskins (3-9) at Packers (9-3).
Monday at 8:15pm Giants (2-10) at Eagles (5-7).
The Cowboys and Eagles were the NFC East teams favored to win in these games.
Check out.
Giants
On The Air. Listen to the Radio Broadcasts.
TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes.
Giants
Eli Manning has been sacked 60 times in his 30 career games with the Eagles. Giants
have lost the last 5 games and 9 of the last 10 to the Eagles. Giants
have lost eight games in a row, their longest since 2004.
Next Games
DEC 15 Miami at Giants.
Giants Tickets - Buy
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DEC 22 Giants at Redskins.
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