New York Giants Week 16 Opponent First Look: Eagles Defense
The New York Giants upset the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12. Can they replicate that effort in Week 16 without Daniel Jones and on the road? It will be challenging, but at least they have the Eagles on a very short week, right?
The Eagles offense is playing excellent football and has rushed for over 200 yards six times over the last eight games, one being the Eagles' loss to New York. The Eagles' defense has applied solid pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Last week, they played Garrett Gilbert and sacked him three times, pressuring him 20. They may play a similar quarterback, one with little experience this week against the Giants' Jake Fromm.
The Eagles' defense currently ranks 15th in points allowed per game with an average of 22. Philadelphia allows the 11th fewest yards per game with an average of 329.1.
As for rushing yards allowed, they rank 10th with an average of 106.5, a significant upgrade from four weeks ago where they allowed ten more yards than that. They are also 11th by allowing 223.5 passing yards per game.
Overall, the defense is solid; it's middle of the pack in the league by many metrics. However, they only have 23 sacks on the season, which ranks near the league's bottom. Here are the PFF pressure stats from the Eagles defense on the season:
Defensive Line
The interior defensive line of the Eagles is a ferocious unit filled with explosive thick athletes that bring disruptive and violent hands to the trenches. Fletcher Cox is the defensive leader in the middle of the defensive line. Cox is on the wrong side of 30, and Javon Hargrave has produced more this season, but Cox has always made incredible plays against the Giants.
Cox is the ideal 3-Technique who can penetrate and really stress guards, so Matt Skura and Will Hernandez have their work cut out. Hargrave has 50 pressures on the year, and Cox has 37. He is coming off a season-best 7-pressure game against the Football Team.
After a solid stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers two years ago, Hargrave was signed in free agency. He leads the team in pressures and sacks from the interior. Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon plays all over the line. He's excellent at disrupting the B-gap from the 4i-technique, but he also plays around 12-15 snaps at nose/1-Technique.
During the 2021 NFL Draft, there was much discussion that the Eagles were very frustrated that the Giants traded ahead of them to select CB Aaron Robinson. It makes sense, in theory.
The Eagles needed secondary help, and Robinson is a versatile asset with a lot of upside. After purportedly being jumped, Howie Roseman selected Milton Williams in the third round.
Williams tested incredibly at the combine.
The Eagles love drafting athletic prototypes they can coach. Williams, drafted out of Louisiana-Tech, fits the description and has hovered around 25 snaps a game. He only has one sack and 12 pressures, but he could be in for a nice game after a solid outing against Washington with the Giants offensive front.
Former Colts defensive lineman Hassan Ridgeway plays around 20 snaps (give or take) as the fourth defensive lineman in the rotation. Ridgeway isn't as dynamic as Cox or Hargrave, but he can occupy space well enough to make a play every so often. He only has eight pressures on the year.
Edge
The Eagles employ a four-down front, and their edge rushers have developed into solid players. Josh Sweat was an often-injured player coming out of Florida State, and he's starting to scratch the surface of his athletic potential. Sweat is third in pressures and sacks, with 26 and 6, respectively. He's a long explosive pass rusher who uses an excellent rip and bend move around the edge.
The former first-round pick out of Tennessee Derek Barnett is another edge bender who starts at EDGE for the Eagles. Barnett has flashed through his career. He's not the most consistent player in the NFL, but his ability to get upfield will pose problems for both Nate Solder and maybe, even more specifically, Matt Peart, who has struggled to protect his outside shoulder. Peart played more down the stretch of the Giants week 15 loss to Dallas, so he may also earn snaps in this game. Barnett has 30 pressures this year.
Longtime Washington Football Team player Ryan Kerrigan is a situational pass rusher who can earn a couple of pressures per game. Kerrigan is one of the more underrated players throughout his career. At this point, he's a bit over the hill, but he has made so many plays against the Giants in the past, so why not make a few with a green jersey on?
Sixth-round edge out of Coastal Carolina Terron Jackson earned his second-highest snap share against the Saints. Jackson is a bit of a tweener between an edge and a defensive lineman. He was very productive in college and has been adequate in a few snaps.
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Linebackers
Howie Roseman and the Eagles have been notorious for not investing a lot of capital in the linebacker position. They did select Davion Taylor in the third round out of Colorado in 2020. He is athletic but out of position quite often--he was very raw coming out of college with limited snaps playing football. He hurt his knee against the Saints and may not be available for the matchup against the Giants.
If Taylor isn't available, Alex Singleton, a 2015 UDFA, will be the starting middle linebacker. Singleton will be a player to target in the middle of the field. He's played several positions for Gannon's defense this season at the second level, but he's a replacement-level player. He's played the most snaps at the linebacker position.
Former Wisconsin Badger T.J. Edwards is arguably the best player at linebacker for the Eagles. Edwards is a physical, sure tackling, undersized linebacker. Genard Avery is the situational linebacker who spells Singleton, Edwards, and Taylor. His role may expand without Taylor. He's more of a run defender than someone who would excel in sub-packages.
Edwards popped on film several times against the Giants, forcing PBUs and putting himself in a position to make solid tackles for STOPs. His PFF grades have steadily increased all season, and, from what I've seen, he's a good fit in the defense.
Cornerbacks
Slay has been all around the football in 2021. He has multiple touchdowns this season and three picks. Slay knocked a contested-catch away from Golladay that could have gone for six last time these two teams met. Slay, and Golladay will meet again quite often on Sunday.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers versatile defensive back Steven Nelson is the other starter opposite Slay. He's a good tackler who does a solid job in zone coverage; this works for Gannon's defense. The Eagles run the lowest amount of man coverage in the NFL; they are a zone-based defense.
The other cornerbacks are rookie Zech McPhearson and the recently resigned Avonte Maddox, who is their very solid slot cornerback. McPhearson only sees the field in dime situations, or any other cornerbacks get injured. Maddox is the nickel player who should see a lot of Kadarius Toney if he plays.
Safeties
There isn't a Brian Dawkins or Malcolm Jenkins with the current Eagles roster, but Anthony Harris, Marcus Epps, and Rodney McLeod are a solid trio of players on the backend of the defense. Harris is the single high safety with a lot of range. The Giants were interested in signing Harris two seasons ago, but the Minnesota Vikings franchise tagged him, and now he's on the Eagles.
McLeod is more of a box player who does a good job coming downhill, into the alley and delivering tough his on opposing ball carriers. He's not imposing by looks, and he's sub-200 pounds, but he can hit hard. Epps plays a lot of snaps as the third safety and will also play sub-packages, at times, over players like the rookie McPhearson. Expect to see all three of these players on the field this Sunday.
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