Eagles Opponent Profile: Can Eagles Snap Losing Streak To Play Spoiler For Giants?
By Kevin McGuire
The Philadelphia Eagles have a short week to prepare for a Thursday night home game against the NFC East rival New York Giants. The Giants have been enjoying quite the run and are in the hunt for a playoff spot—and potentially a division championship—with a little help. The Eagles may have let one slip away earlier this season against the Giants, but can Philadelphia find a way to rally together and snap a five-game losing streak?
Season Record: 10-4
The Giants' 10 wins on the season team may have caught many following the NFL by surprise, but Ben McAdoo has been having a successful debut season as head coach. New York has turned a 2-3 start to the season around with wins in eight of their last nine games. The only loss came on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers. One of the wins during this run came early on against the Eagles, with a 28-23 victory over the Birds in the Meadowlands.
Giants on Offense
The Giants have had trouble scoring points in the last three games. New York has scored 14, 10 and 17 points in each of their last three games. Despite having Eli Manning (3,491 passing yards 25 touchdowns) and Odell Beckham Jr. (1,173 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns), the Giants float around the middle of the league in passing offense (No. 17).
The running game has been an area of concern as well, with the Giants ranking 30th in the league with just 81.2 rushing yards per game. Manning tossed four touchdown passes against the Eagles back in November, with two going to Beckham. The G-Men managed just 302 yards of offense and 16 first downs, so big plays will be the key for the Giants against the Eagles defense.
Giants on Defense
While the Giants offense has been a bit of a quagmire this season, New York has been playing well on defense. The Giants have held four of their last five opponents to 16 or fewer points, including the Dallas Cowboys (seven) and the Detroit Lions (six) in their last two games.
Against this Eagles offense, the Giants defense could be locked in for another shutdown type-of-game. Few teams have fared well on the scoreboard against the Giants, as New York ranks third in the NFL in scoring defense. Keeping the offense on the field was difficult for the Eagles the last time these division rivals played. The Eagles converted just three of 15 third downs, although Philadelphia did rack up 443 yards of offense.
Giants Players to Watch
Left Guard Justin Pugh: The Giants received a bit of a boost up front with the return of Pugh to the offensive line this past weekend against Detroit. His return had a huge impact in improving the running game. Pugh missed the previous five games with a sprained MCL in his right knee.
Defensive End Olivier Vernon: Vernon has been hitting his stride, as was the case this past weekend against Detroit. Vernon should be a concern in pass rushing after five tackles, a fumble recovery and two hits on Matthew Stafford of the Lions.
Outlook
Given the way the seasons have been going for both the Giants and Eagles since the last time they played, this looks to be a difficult hurdle for the Eagles on a short week. The Giants are beatable, but the Eagles absolutely have to play a crisp game, which is something they have been unable to do since September. New York is also still looking to lock down a playoff spot, and potentially keep the pressure on the Cowboys in the division race. The Giants are the only team to beat the Cowboys this season and could win the division if the Cowboys take a hard stumble in their final two games.