Behind Enemy Lines: Insider Analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles

When the 2022 NFL schedule came out, who would have thought that come Week 18, it would be the Philadelphia Eagles who have something to play for and not the New York Giants?

That's exactly where things stand as the curtain descends on the 2022 NFL regular season. The Eagles still haven't locked up the NFC East--Dallas is breathing down their necks. So come Sunday, when the Giants roll into town to try for their first win at Philadelphia since 2013, the Eagles will have something to play for.

The Giants? They're in the postseason, locked in as the No. 6 seed in the seven-team tournament. There is talk that they might sit a few of their starters who are banged up or who have had a heavy workload, but head coach Brian Daboll is keeping that information close to the vest, much like he's done all season when it comes to personnel decisions.

Let's check in with Eagles Today publisher Ed Kracz for the temperature of this Eagles team ahead of their big game Sunday.

Let’s start with the biggest burning question: What do you see as the final call on QB Jalen Hurts?

It will be whether he can take a hit on his ailing throwing shoulder and not damage it worse. His throwing seems fine. At practice last week, he was zipping the ball with velocity and accuracy, but he did not do any ball security drills, where coaches try to knock the ball free with dummy bags and boxing gloves attached to long poles.

The Eagles have lost their last two games without Hurts. Has he been that much of a difference-maker, or have there been other contributing factors to the losses?

There seemed to be a school of thought by some that you could plug any QB into head coach Nick Sirianni’s scheme, and he would succeed. Well, we saw that wasn’t the case. The Eagles were 13-1 with Hurts in the lineup and are now 0-2 with Gardner Minshew stepping.

Those numbers speak for themselves, but it’s also evident that with Hurts' ability to extend plays makes pass rushes less effective, and his ability to pick up yards on the ground makes the running game – specifically, Miles Sanders – much more effective.

So, to answer the question, yes, not having a playmaker like Hurts out there has made a big difference in how this team operates.

The Giants haven’t won in Philly since 2013. What makes that place so tough for an opponent to play in?

I think part of that is the Giants haven’t been very good in the past ten years or so, but I think another piece of it is the Eagles have had some things go their way. Take their 2017 Super Bowl season, for instance. Philly needed a career kick from jake Elliott of 61 yards as time expired to squeeze out a 27-24 win.

Interestingly, two of the Eagles’ three losses have come at home this season, so it’s a double-edged sword for them.

If they get off to a slow start, as they did in last week’s 20-10 loss to the Saints, they will be booed early and often.

If they get off to quick starts, the fans will be behind them 100%, and the noise they create makes it challenging for offenses looking to come back and win.

The weight of the world is on the Eagles, who have to win. Do you sense they’re taking this in stride, or do you see signs of them maybe starting to press a little bit more than they should?

A huge game for them. What looked like a foregone conclusion weeks ago that they’d be the top seed in the NFC playoffs has come down to a must-win because a loss would be their third in a row. I’m not sure they’d be able to overcome the mental toll it would take to have that suddenly taken away and have to go to Tampa for a wildcard game against Tom Brady and the Bucs.

Talking to some players during the week, some suggested that they probably got caught looking ahead, that human nature stepped in, and that led to some complacency.

How big is Lane Johnson’s absence for that offensive line, and do you think they can survive his loss against a Giants pass rush that’s started to wake up?

It’s a very underrated loss. The Eagles aren’t the same team when he’s not in the lineup. They are 9-22 without him since he was drafted fourth overall in 2013. Nick Sirianni will tell you that none of it matters because he has only been around for the past two years. But even still, the Eagles are 1-4 without Johnson on Sirianni’s watch. However, one of those losses came in last year’s meaningless regular-season finale when the Eagles rested all their starters against the Cowboys because they were already locked into the final seed of the playoffs.

It's hard to say there’s a lot of confidence that NY’s pass rush won’t give the Eagles trouble, especially if Minshew is the quarterback after they surrendered six against the Saints last week.

Again, though, Hurts has been able to cover up whatever pressure other teams have generated this year because of his mobility.

Not having Johnson, though, is a huge blow that could torpedo whatever postseason run they hope to embark upon.

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