Five Storylines For Eagles-Giants Week 8 Matchup, With Final Score Prediction

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles’ trick on Sunday will be finding a way to beat a New York Giants team that beat them by 17 points just 17 days earlier. Turning around a 17-point deficit in that short a span won’t be easy without the services of three starters.

Not only will receiver A.J. Brown, center Cam Jurgens, and cornerback Adoree Jackson not be available due to injury, but any emotional lift they were hoping to get with the return of Brandon Graham won’t happen, either. The Eagles (5-2) chose to let the unretired defensive end have another two weeks to get his body in football shape for the Monday night game in Green Bay, waiting on the other side of the bye.

The Giants (2-5) will be without cornerback Paulson Adebo and defensive lineman Chauncey Golston, with safety Jevon Holland questionable, and defensive lineman Brian Burns questionable.

Here are five storylines:

The injured. The Eagles are 2-2 without Brown in the lineup. Look for Jahan Dotson to be targeted more than he has in recent weeks and John Metchie to get into the act, too. Darius Cooper could be a surprise addition after having his practice window opened earlier in the week. He was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report.

At center, the Eagles are likely going with Brett Toth, and maybe a week to prepare at a position he has never made a start in the NFL will help lessen some of the mistakes he admittedly made when he stepped in for Jurgens during last week’s game.

Without Ojulari on the outside, the Eagles are terribly thin there, with only Jalyx Hunt, Josh Uche, and Patrick Johnson. Jihaad Campbell can play outside, but he was a liability in the run game against Minnesota.

Stopping Giants Rookie RB

Stopping Cam Skattebo. The Giants’ rookie running back pounded the ball at the interior of the Eagles’ defensive line until it was softened up enough to let him get 67 of his 98 rushing yards in the second half. He also scored three touchdowns. Jalen Carter was ruled out just before kickoff in the first meeting, so maybe his presence will help.

Quarterbacks. Jalen Hurts vs. Jaxson Dart could be a premier matchup twice a season, with Dart showing the moxie to be a franchise QB in New York. He hurt the Eagles in game one with 253 total yards, with one rush and one pass TD.

Hurts achieved a 158.3 passer rating, which is a perfect score, in last week’s game. He threw his first and only interception of the season against the Giants 17 days ago, but he has accounted for 16 total touchdowns - 11 passing, five rushing - and has a passer rating of 108.9, which is fifth-best in the league.

The Eagles’ run game. Every week, the question is asked: Is this the week Barkley runs for more than 100 yards? So, I won’t ask it.

History. The Giants haven’t beaten the Eagles in 12 straight years. The last time they did was Oct. 27, 2013, when they emerged with a 15-7 win in a game that Matt Barkley had to take over for mid-game for an injured Michael Vick.

“Obviously, we played a pretty good, strong game against them a few weeks ago,” said NY receiver Darius Slayton. “Obviously, we're going to try to go out there and replicate that again. Whether that's home or away, it's kind of irrelevant. You want to go out there and play a sound football game, but obviously it would be nice to beat them at their place.”

Prediction. After allowing the Broncos to score 33 points in the fourth quarter of what became an epic 33-32 collapse last week, the Giants could be playing for Brian Daboll’s job. A loss and they are 2-6 with their coach boasting an unsightly 20-38-1.

The Eagles are injured at key positions, so it won’t be easy to secure a win, but the way they played in Minnesota last week could be a a big confidence boost and I expect them to be 6-2 going into their bye.

Eagles 27, Giants 20

Season record: 3-4

More NFL: Saquon Barkley Says He's Still The Same Player Despite Numbers Dip