NY Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Is the NFC East Gap Closing?

The New York Giants are hoping to win the NFC East for the first time since 2011, but in order to do that, they will need to dethrone the Philadelphia Eagles, who have won three of the last four division titles.

The Eagles are currently favored to win the division once again in 2026, according to FanDuel, while the Giants are currently forecasted to finish fourth in the division yet again.

But as history has shown, things can turn around very quickly in the NFL. Since the NFL re-aligned to its current eight divisions in 2002, 27 last-place teams have finished first the following year, an average of just over one per season.

Giants head coach John Harbaugh is certainly moving ahead with the intention of pulling the Giants out of the NFC East basement, but for that to happen, the Giants not only are going to have to find a way to avoid major injuries that cost them valuable man games lost among their stars, they’re going to need to outhustle the Eagles and the rest of the division for that matter.

Since the Eagles are the reigning division champions, let’s see how the Giants currently stack up against them.

Quarterback

Last year, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts finished sixth among NFL quarterbacks in scoring (33), 19th in completion percentage (64.8%), and passing yards (3,645), but Jaxson Dart of the Giants wasn’t that far behind Hurts in those categories, scoring 24 touchdowns, completing 63.7% of his pass attempts, and throwing for 2.759 yards.

Considering that Dart kept pace with Hurts despite playing in four fewer games and despite not having his top receiver (Malik Nabers), it sure would seem as though the Giants are fast closing the gap between themselves and the Eagles at quarterback.

That said, Dart still has work to do in his development, such as making better downfield decisions and becoming more comfortable under center, but it’s fair to say that quarterback is no longer an issue for the Giants, who now have someone who can compete for the position.

Competitive Edge: Even

Running Back

The Eagles have one of the best running backs in the league in Saquon Barkley, who is coming off back-to-back 1,000+ yard seasons. The Giants, meanwhile, have had a 1,000-yard running back since Barkley wore their uniform.

There was talk earlier in the offseason about the Giants wanting to add a power running back to their mix, but that didn’t materialize in free agency. Could that happen in the draft with Jeremiyah Love being the target in the first round?

One can’t rule it out, especially given how Harbaugh has always aimed to have a power running game on his teams. Tyrone Tracy, who last year ran for 740 yards, isn’t quite a power back.

While a case could be made for Cam Skattebo filling that role, he’s still working his way back from a broken ankle he suffered against the Eagles last year.

Competitive Edge: Eagles

Wide Receiver

For the time being, A.J. Brown is on the Eagles despite rumors of them looking to move on from him. Besides Brown, the Eagles have Devonta Smith and have added Hollywood Brown to their roster.

The Giants sought to upgrade their receiver corps as well by adding Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin III to a group that is hoping to have a fully effective Malik Nabers ready to go by Week 1 from his torn ACL.

As ineffective as the Giants' receivers were in 2025 after Nabers went down with his injury, there wasn’t that great of a gap between the receiving yards that the Giants receivers (wide outs only) racked up (2,203, 19th in the league) and what the Eagles racked up (2,409, 17th in the league).

That said, when it comes to the competitive edge, we have to give it to the Eagles at the moment only because of questions regarding Nabers and how he might look when he returns, and the fact that the Giants don’t really have another proven X-receiver on the roster who can help take some of the onus off of Nabers.

Competitive Edge: Eagles

Tight End

Last year, the Giants' tight ends generated 821 receiving yards in the passing game, while the Eagles had 707. A big part of that was the Giants switching to 12-personnel more often once Nabers suffered his season-ending ACL tear.

This year, the Giants signed Isaiah Likely from the Ravens with an eye toward him having a big role (no pun intended) in the passing game this year as a big slot receiver.

But before that, there wasn’t that much of a difference in terms of production between Giants tight end Theo Johnson, who had 528 receiving yards, and Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert, who had 591 yards.

Where Goedert bested Johnson was in catch reliability. Goedert recorded three dropped balls to Johnson’s league-leading (among tight ends) seven per Pro Football Focus.

Two other areas where Johnson topped Goedert were:

average yards per reception (11.7 to 9.8)
average air yards per target (8.32 to 7.11)

The addition of Likely gives the Giants a little better overall boost to the tight end group, as does the projection of having him more involved in the passing game.

Competitive Edge: Giants

Offensive Line

Philadelphia Eagles offense | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Eagles' offensive line has been one of the best in the NFL for many years, though it will be interesting to see if that holds true this year, given that long-time offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland has moved on.

While they will be under new leadership, the top players remain the same. Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Juergens, Tyler Steen, and Lane Johnson are expected to return.

The Giants, meanwhile, are returning Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan, John Michael Schmitz, and Jermaine Eluemunor at four of their five spots.

Statistically speaking, the Eagles, per PFF, gave up fewer sacks (35) than the Giants (48) last season. However, a closer look at the stats shows that 28 of the Giants' sacks were directly on their quarterbacks, whereas 13 of the Eagles' sacks were on theirs.

After adjusting the numbers, the Giants' offensive line was directly responsible for just 2 more sacks than the Eagles.

Overall, though, the Giants' offensive line allowed 140 pressures–ten fewer than the Eagles. The Giants finished fourth in regular-season pass-blocking efficiency rating, whereas the Eagles finished 13th.

That all being said, the Eagles get the advantage here because they had far more injured players on the offensive line than the Giants, the injured including center Cam Jurgens (herniated disc/sciatic nerve), left guard Landon Dickerson (knee/back), and right tackle Lane Johnson (sprained foot).

Competitive Edge: Eagles

Defensive Front

Oct 9, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) celebrates his sack of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

On the surface, one might say the Giants have the edge at this position group thanks to the presence of Dexter Lawrence and the outside duo of Brian Burns and Abdul Carter.

But trade rumors aside regarding Lawrence, the Giants’ depth is the very reason why the Eagles get the edge in this group, given their deep rotation of talent that includes Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis as the main men, and Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith, Jr.

If the Giants can add more depth along the interior, they might even out the score in this area, but until then, the Eagles have the competitive edge.

Competitive Edge: Eagles

Linebackers

Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49) poses for a television camera with cornerback Jaylon Johnson (1) after recovering a fumble | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

The Eagles’ linebackers are Zack Baun (weakside) and Jihaad Campbell (middle). The Giants took a first step toward upgrading their linebackers, adding Tremaine Edmunds to replace Bobby Okereke. They also brought back Micah McFadden for the weakside role.

If we’re being frank, the depth at this position still seems to be lacking some firepower for the Giants. Perhaps if the Giants draft Sonny Styles with the No. 5 overall pick, they could have an edge at the position, but for the time being, the Eagles have the competitive edge.

Competitive Edge: Eagles

Cornerbacks

Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Although the Giants added former Browns first-round draft pick Greg Newsome II to replace Cor’Dale Flott, who left in free agency, the Giants still don’t appear to have a legitimate CB1 among their depth.

The same can’t be said about the Eagles. Quinyon Mitchell is one of the best cornerbacks in the league, while Cooper DeJean is a solid nickel back.

The Eagles also signed Riq Woolen from the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks this offseason, giving them one of the best-looking trios of corners in the league, at least on paper.

Competitive Edge: Eagles

Safeties

Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants safety Jevon Holland (8) reacts after defensive stop during the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Eagles are going to have to figure out how to replace Reed Blankenship, who signed with the Houston Texans this offseason. They do have Marcus Epps and Andrew Mukaba as their projected starting safeties.

The Giants, meanwhile, are slated to return Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin as their starters, and have added Ar’Darius Washington to replace Dane Belton, who left for the Jets. Both players had their share of struggles last year, but the possibility of the team adding Ohio State safety Caleb Downs would instantly improve this unit.

We’re not sure we’d give either side a competitive edge at this point, as it will all come down to what they do in the draft.

Competitive Edge: Even

Special Teams

Philadelphia Eagles running back Will Shipley | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Eagles return kicker Jake Elliott and punter Braden Mann this year, but are looking for a new long snapper. Philadelphia also has one of the best return specialists in the league in running back Will Shipley, whose 26.8 kickoff return average last season ranked tenth in the NFL.

Meanwhile, Giants kickoff returner Gunner Olszewski wasn’t too far behind, averaging 262 yards per kickoff return, 14th in the league last year, and averaging 9.0 yards per punt return, 12th. Olszewski is back on a one-year deal, but despite his production last year, he’s not a lock to make the roster.

The Giants completely made over their kicking battery, replacing Jamie Gillan with Jordan Stout, a 2025 Pro Bowler who has a better record of flipping the field to his team’s advantage.

They also added journeyman long snapper Zach Triner and will have a competition at kicker between first-year man Ben Sauls and long-time veteran Jason Sanders, the latter, who’s returning from a season-ending hip ailment.

Because of the uncertainty at kicker for the Giants, we’ll give the Eagles the sight advantage in this category.

Competitive Edge: Eagles

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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