New York Giants Week 14 Storylines: Eagles Week

It's Philly Week, and you know what that means.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Dec 7, 2022 8:00 AM EST

In this story:

The Philadelphia Eagles are rolling into MetLife Stadium this weekend to face the New York Giants. The Eagles, who can clinch a playoff berth this weekend with a win, have had a string of good fortune against their NFC East rivals, regardless of where the game has been played.

They are 88-86-2 in regular-season games against the Giants but have won 13 of their last 16 meetings. But if you're the Giants looking for a shred of hope, the Giants are 2-2 against the Eagles since 2020.

However, as we all know, the past is the past, and it's about the here and now. And right now, the Eagles are soaring with an 11-1 record, the best mark in the NFL. They have a loaded roster with very few weaknesses, and their offense is currently ranked second in points scored and third in total yards, while their defense ranks seventh in points allowed and second in fewest overall yards allowed.

Simply put, the Eagles are a tough customer and a good test for a Giants team that is coming off an emotionally charged tied game against Washington. The stats and odds suggest the Giants don't have a chance at winning this game, but the next time a game's outcome is determined on paper instead of the gridiron will be the first.

The Giants, who are clinging to a postseason berth, might not match up well against their division foes, but that doesn't mean all is lost. The Eagles present an outstanding measuring stick for the Giants, who might get that spark necessary for what lies ahead if they can somehow remain toe-to-toe with their foes. (Similar to the 2007 Giants team caught a spark in their regular-season finale against the Patriots, a losing effort.)

Here are a few storylines to keep an eye on this week.

Who's In, Who's Out?

According to head coach Brian Daboll, the Giants came out of last week's game relatively healthy. Still, one injury concern that bears watching is that of defensive lineman Leonard Williams (neck).

It's never a good week to potentially entertain the thought of being without Williams. But this week, in particular, would not be ideal if he has to sit out, considering the Giants are facing the league's fifth-best rushing attack (154.6 yards/game). Williams has the best run-stop percentage (8.4) among Giants run defenders with at least 100 run-defense snaps.

Williams is also key to the pass rush in terms of pushing the pocket. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has completed 43.8 percent of his pass attempts under pressure, the third-lowest completion percentage among quarterbacks with a minimum of 106 dropbacks this season.

Williams isn't the only injured Giant that the team would probably like to have available this weekend. Cornerback Adoree' Jackson would surely be a big boost to a defensive secondary dealing with DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown.

After recovering from a sprained MCL, Jackson could see some limited reps this week. Even if he does, we think it's probably more realistic (and makes more sense) to have him for next week's game against Washington, who are nipping at the Giants' heels for a playoff berth.

The same could be said about safety Xavier McKinney, now eligible to return from NFI. Daboll said he didn't think McKinney could operate with a club on his injured hand at this point, which suggests there could still be concerns about contact jarring the hand and undoing any progress he's made, even though it would be wrapped up.

Opening Up the Offense

Daboll said he hasn't lost faith in the offense or coordinator Mike Kafka, but actions speak louder than words. To be fair to Kafka, he's been operating with a MASH unit at receiver, with guys currently receiving the bulk of the pass targets but might otherwise be fourth, fifth, or practice squadders on another team.

As such, the Giants have been unable to take advantage of Daniel Jones's deep ball strength--they are currently last in the league in big-play passes of 20+ yards (20).

As for the running game, the Giants are still a top-10 unit, but their recent struggles of late could be tied to the offensive line's performance (another unit that's been affected by injuries) at the second level.

Per Football Outsiders, the Giants are 23rd in the league in average second-level yards (1.12 yards), the second-level yardage being anywhere from five to ten yards gained past the line of scrimmage.

Not that things have been that great before the second level. The Giants have been stuffed on 19 percent of their rushing attempts, 21st in the NFL.

Given the personnel situation, there's probably only so much the coaches can do to open up the offense some more. Still, it's sure to be a topic of interest this week, given the conservative nature of the offense last week.

Sharpen Up the Tackling on Defense

The Eagles make heavy use of RPOs (run-pass options). They have run 107 RPOs (second most in the league) and have gained 724 yards on those plays, 575 coming via the pass.

Two ways to thwart RPOs include sliding linebackers in coverage, especially when there are three receivers lined up on one side of the formation, to take away the quick passes. That could be asking a lot of a Giants linebacker group whose best coverage member is Jaylon Smith (97.5 NFL coverage rating).

Defenses can also use the safeties to keep the RPOs under control and limit yardage after the catch. That means that the tackling will need to be crisp, unlike the last two weeks in which the Giants had eight missed tackles against Washington and Dallas.

Simply put, the Giants can't be missing that many tackles--they shouldn't be missing any. But missed tackles against a team that uses heavy doses of RPOs could be especially damning.