Flying high after a decisive victory against the Tennessee Titans, the Birds are setting their sights on the 7-4 New York football Giants, who have had an… interesting season to say the least. This heated divisional matchup will no doubt result in the abuse of bragging rights, but also has important implications for the NFC playoff picture and the Eagles’ shot at the one seed and a first round bye. This will no doubt be one of the most intriguing and exciting matchups all year, so let’s dive right in.
Giants’ Strengths
Saquon Barkley
Much like I noted Derrick Henry was last week, Saquon is both literally and figuratively the legs of this offense. His explosiveness and big play ability is almost unmatched as a running back, and it’s been a treat to see him return to his 2019 form after some devastating injuries these last few years. Limiting Barkley’s impact is only possible by giving him as much attention as possible, and making sure he doesn’t have lanes where he can hit top speed and burn your entire defense. This guy is going to get his due, so making sure his timing is off is crucial to eliminating any possible runs this Giants offense could produce.
Pass rush
For as much talent as the Giants lack, their front four on defense is a legitimately scary unit. It all starts on the interior, where the duo of Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence has proven itself the best defensive tackle grouping in the entire NFL. The interior pressure these two generate on a consistent basis has been a major part of the Giants success in close games this season, and the reason they rank in the top 10 for team pass rush win rate. The players on the edge are hardly slouches either, as Azeez Ojulari and Kayvont Thibodeaux are both young, explosive, and productive pass rushers who seem to get better every single week. It’s hard to keep tabs on all of these guys, so making sure your gameplan on offense focuses around their destructive potential is a must.
Coaching
The story behind this Giants team so far this year has been coaching. It pains me to say this, but it seems New York has found their long-term coach in Brian Daboll, who has done an incredible job with the limited talent on this roster. Daboll knows what his team’s strengths are, schemes well to his opponents, and energizes his players to play hard for him every sunday. The Giants are a team coached to win gritty, close games, and they know how to drag a superior opponent down to their level and make them win on their terms.
Eagles’ Strengths
Offense
It’s truly wonderful watching this offense week in and week out. Save for a strange series of false start penalties, this passing game was full throttle against the Titans, and following up a week with 300 rushing yards with a week of 300 passing yards shows just how well-rounded this offense is. We know these guys are great.
Defense
Gannon bounced back after a rough week against the Packers, holding the Titans to just 10 points in a dominant performance last Sunday. Perhaps the most impressive thing this offense accomplished was holding Derrick Henry to just 2.8 yards per carry and 30 yards, especially after a week where that was their main weakness. The additions Howie made in the off-season and before the trade deadline are the stars of this unit, and combining them with Gannon will hopefully lead to its continued growth and success.
Giants’ Weaknesses
Passing attack
As good as Saqon has been on the ground this year, the rest of the offense is noticeably devoid of talent. While Andrew Thomas has been an absolute stud at left tackle, the rest of the O-Line is simply not playing well at all. There’s also a clear lack of talent at wideout – Darius Slayton would make a nice wide receiver 2 or 3 somewhere, but he’s pretty much asked to carry this unit alongside names like Richie James and David Sills. Being real, it doesn’t help to have a milquetoast QB like Daniel Jones at the helm, either. This is simply a rough unit.
Run defense
It’s pretty surprising how poor this run defense is, judging on how good this pass rush and interior defensive line is on paper. The Giants are near the bottom of the league in all run-defense metrics, and have been diced up on the ground this year. Whether it’s the linebacker corps or a lack of gap discipline, this is a part of the defense that is obviously exploitable.
Overall talent
While this is sort of a broad weakness, the reality is that this Giants team lacks talent on both sides of the ball. There’s hardly any true “studs’ ‘ outside of Saquon and the interior defensive line, and with the numerous injuries they’ve sustained, it’s virtually impossible to maintain any type of consistency with genuinely proven players like Adoree Jackson and Xavier Mckinney.
Eagles’ Weaknesses
This might seem a bit strange, but there simply isn’t a discernible weakness with this squad. Sure, there have been struggles with penalties and some questions with the defense, but we’ve seen the ability to adjust from this coaching staff and I have no reason to believe the Eagles have any glaring holes with the coaches or the roster.
Keys to Victory
Stay aggressive
The reality is that the Eagles players are better than the Giants players. Getting a lead early and dominating is the key to making sure that you don’t play this game on New York’s terms.
Bottle up Saquon
Saquon is the only true threat on offense, and hitting him in the backfield is key to keeping the Giants from moving the ball.
Score Prediction
The Eagles are a better team than the Giants, but we’ve seen how scrappy New York can be even with the obvious lack of talent. I think that the coaches know that to win this game, being aggressive is key, and will make sure to pound the rock when necessary and take shots when the opportunity presents itself.
Score: 35 – 17 Eagles
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Noah Berger is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Noah, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
