New York Giants Week 16 Opponent First Look: Eagles Offense
On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Eagles handled the COVID-19 riddled Washington Football Team and prepared to face a struggling New York Giants team on a short week. The Eagles beat Garrett Gilbert, a quarterback who was just signed to Washington due to the positive COVID tests of Taylor Heineke and Kyle Allen. They will now possibly face Jake Fromm, a Buffalo Bill quarterback just three and half weeks ago.
The Giants threw a wrench in Philadelphia's plans the last time the two teams played. New York forced three Jalen Hurts turnovers, and a Boston Scott fumble, as the Giants escaped MetLife Stadium with a 13-7 week 12 victory. Philadelphia is now 7-7 and hasn't lost since that game.
The Giants, however, have not won since that upset home victory, and the Eagles have not lost a game in the two contests that ensued. The season continues to spiral as the Mike Glennon experiment has failed. Starting quarterback Daniel Jones' season is over, and New York may turn to Jake Fromm to handle the typically hostile environment down the turnpike.
Let's check in on the Eagles offense since last we saw them.
Quarterback
Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew led the Eagles to an easy 33-18 victory over the New York Jets after the Giants' loss. The bye week followed, and Jalen Hurts returned against the Football Team. After a rough start, Hurts finished the game strong 20 of 26 for 296 passing yards and a touchdown through the air to go along with two rushing touchdowns and 38-yards on the ground.
Hurts' presence forces defenders to respect every defense gap, leading to an already potent rushing attack being more dangerous. The Eagles rushed for 238 yards against Washington and have eclipsed more than 200 rushing yards in four of the last six games. They ran for 208 yards against the Giants as well, but an opportunistic defense and some poor drops from receiver Jalen Reagor led to the Eagles' defeat.
Hurts completion percentage is 61.3, and he's thrown for 2,731 yards this season to go along with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. On the ground, Hurts has 731yards rushing and ten touchdowns. He's truly dangerous with the football in his hands, and he's beyond wise when judging when to run with the football.
The New York Giants will have to spy Hurts frequently. They attempted to do this in the first matchup, forcing Hurts to throw the ball more. The Eagles strayed from their rushing attack confusingly during the Giants' first matchup.
New York wanted Hurts to throw the ball, leading to several mistakes from the second-year quarterback. The Giants will align TITE and have their backside defenders be very disciplined to account for Hurts, and the zone read play that head coach Nick Sirianni will run.
Rushing Attack
Miles Sanders returned from injured reserve and rushed for over 100 yards in two consecutive games. Sanders is explosive, talented, and shifty in space. He is still looking for his first touchdown on the ground.
Sanders has 709 yards on the ground, a 5.5-yards-per-carry average. The Eagles run a mixture of power and zone rushing plays with many unique TRAP/WHAM block concepts; expect more against the Giants to allow easier offensive line releases up to the second level of the defense.
Jordan Howard just returned from an injury and was the secondary back and the fourth quarter running back against Washington. He is a bit more physical than Sanders but still quick. Howard has 343 yards on 66 carries, an average of 5.2-yards, to go along with three touchdowns.
Boston Scott, a name Giant fans know all too well, has played a role this year. He's a short, powerful, and explosive back that typically does well against New York. Scott hasn't played much for the Eagles since his late fumble that led to the Giants' Week 12 victory over Philadelphia.
Rookie Kenneth Gainwell was the third-down back early in the season, and he now plays a role as more of a slot receiver that will align in the backfield during catchup mode. He's more of a threat through the air than he is on the ground with a healthy Sanders and Howard on the roster.
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Receiving Game
Giant fans are familiar with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner Devonta Smith who the Eagles traded up in front of the Giants to acquire. He's undersized, but it doesn't matter; he's playing very well for a rookie as the top receiving option in the Eagles' passing attack. Smith has 741 receiving yards on 53 catches with four touchdowns.
He's an elite route runner who creates solid separation and does a good job with the football in his hands. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham focused on Smith and tight-end Dallas Goedert during the team's first matchup. The chess match between the two coaching staff should be fun to monitor. Expect a lot of James Bradberry on Smith.
Smith is a hit, but 2020 first-round selection Jalen Reagor, selected over Justin Jefferson, is a bust so far in his career, and that was more than evidence against the Giants in Week 12. Reagor dropped three total passes, two of which would have won the Eagles the football game.
Reagor still runs routes and plays for the Eagles with little positive impact on the team. The coaching staff designs plays to get Reagor in space, maybe give him some confidence, but it hasn't worked much this season. He has 29 catches for 265 yards and two touchdowns this year.
The third receiver is Quez Watkins. He has 505 yards on 33 catches with no touchdowns. He's fast but doesn't offer much other than his vertical speed. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is a former second-round pick who has a big frame but struggles to create separation. Like Reagor, he hasn't lived up to his potential coming out of Stanford back in 2019.
Zach Ertz was shipped out of town earlier in the season to Arizona, and the tight end room now belongs to Dallas Goedert, who is a solid blocker, but an excellent big-bodied receiving threat. Goedert is coming off a massive 7-catch, 135-yard team-leading performance against the Football Team. He has 731 yards, and 48 catches to go along with four touchdowns on the season.
This season, the Giants have struggled against tight ends, albeit they did a very good job against Travis Kelce and Darren Waller earlier in the year. Goedert is dangerous as a receiving option, so the Giants will have to be aware of his presence.
Former Buffalo (the college) quarterback Tyree Jackson is attempting to pull a Logan Thomas and play tight end. He's dressed in three games this season for the Eagles as a tight end, with his snaps increasing each week.
He's 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds and will be a considerable threat in the red zone. The Eagles also use Jack Stoll in their 12-personnel packages. Stoll is the second tight end, while Jackson is more of a developmental player, but Stoll injured his knee after a catch against the Football Team.
Offensive Line
Some cornerstones of the Eagles 2017 Super Bowl team still exist and are playing well on this line. Center Jason Kelce may be 34-years old, but he's still one of the more athletic centers in the league. Kelce is great in space, has smooth feet in pass protection, and is a veteran who understands how to manipulate leverage.
Lane Johnson is arguably a top-three right tackle in the NFL. He combines great size with elite athletic ability and movement skills. Johnson has only 11 pressures allowed on the year, and he hasn't allowed a sack.
Big Jordan Mailata is the left tackle. The former rugby player who was a seventh-round developmental selection that turned into a unique tackle that is 6'8, 350-pounds, has proven to be a great find by Howie Roseman and his staff. Mailata grades very well in PFF's grading system, and his length and athletic ability are rare to find. He was mixing it up quite a bit against some of the Giants' defenders.
Former Auburn tackle Jack Driscoll and Alabama center Landon Dickerson are the two guards for the Eagles. Driscoll plays on the right side while Dickerson is on the left. The latter would have been a first-round pick in 2021, but several injuries throughout his time at Alabama and Florida State led to a slight draft day slide for Dickerson.
Driscoll and Dickerson couldn't dress last week. Driscoll was placed on IR with an ankle injury, and Dickerson landed on the COVID-19 list. It is uncertain if Dickerson will play against New York on the short week.
Nate Herbig filled in for Driscoll against the Football Team. He allowed three pressures and a sack. Iosua Opeta played for Dickerson and allowed a sack and four pressures while committing a penalty.
If the Giants can create enough interior pressure and get Jalen Hurts flowing laterally, and the Giants can still maintain contain while Hurts abandons the pocket, then they could affect the quarterback's ability to impact the game with his arm and legs.
This is what Graham was able to do a few weeks ago; force Hurts to throw, mitigate his rushing lanes, and take advantage of his mistakes. It's not going to be easy to replicate this effort, especially on the road, but it isn't impossible as long as the Giants' offense doesn't wholly implode like they did the last few weeks.
One other note: Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni tested positive for COVI on Wednesday and could miss the game depending on how soon he can test out of the protocol.
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