The Eagles (10-4) return home to the Linc to host the Giants (5-9) in an NFC East battle as they try to snap a three-game skid.
Here are some key matchups to watch:
Eagles run defense vs. Saquon Barkley
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The Saints did a great job bottling up Barkley last week limiting him to 14 yards on 9 carries and 23 yards on 2 receptions. But Barkley is still a dynamic running back who is doing a lot of this on his own in 2023. In 11 games, he has still managed to rush for 797 yards with 3 touchdowns and has 33 catches for 2016 yards.
The Eagles gave up some chunk runs and missed some tackles on Kenneth Walker on Monday night. Walker ended up with 86 yards and a 4.5 average as the Seahawks rushed for exactly 100 yards. It wasn’t a horrible performance but it wasn’t great either. And the Eagles have been a noticeably different team against the run since the bye week:
Weeks 1-9: 66.3 yards per game (Best in NFL)
Weeks 11-15: 145.0 yards per game (28th in NFL)
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The Eagles need to get this shored up and fast. It starts up front with the defensive line but it needs to be a collective effort with this group.
Eagles’ defensive line vs. shaky Giants O-line
The Eagles’ defensive line hasn’t been as dominant this season as last year when they had 70 sacks. While it was hard to envision a repeat performance like that, the Eagles are on pace for just 47 in 2023. Right now, they’re tied for 13th in the NFL, which isn’t awful. But they simply haven’t been taking over games the way they probably need to for this defense to hum.
The Giants’ offensive line isn’t very good either. They have given up 76 sacks this season, which is by far the most in the NFL. The Jets are No. 2 with 61 sacks surrendered. This is the second-most sacks ever allowed by a team through 14 games behind just the 1994 Eagles, who surrendered 94 sacks in 1986.
Josh Sweat will have the toughest matchup in this game, facing left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is one of the best in the game. But the rest of the defensive line should be able to feast against an inferior opponent.
Eagles pass defense vs. Darius Slayton, Darren Waller
The Giants’ passing offense, even with Tommy DeVito doesn’t have teeth. Give credit to DeVito; he’s been more than a meme quarterback. But this is the NFL’s worst passing offense. The two guys you have to worry about in the passing game are Darren Waller and Darius Slayton.
Slayton leads the Giants in receiving with 512 yards on 38 receptions and is coming off a 63-yard performance against the Saints last week. And Waller returned last week after missing five straight games. In 9 games, Waller has 40 catches for 424 yards.
Given the state of the Eagles’ secondary and their linebackers, stopping Slayton and Waller will be important for this game.
Eagles’ banged up iOL vs. Dexter Lawrence?
The Eagles will be without Landon Dickerson in this game after Dickerson had surgery on his thumb during the week. But the good news is that it looks like Cam Jurgens is going to return from missing the Seattle game with a pectoral injury. The more important injury is Dexter Lawrence’s hamstring. Lawrence missed practice to start the week and his status is worth monitoring.
Because Lawrence against a banged-up interior would be a big advantage for the Giants. If Lawrence isn’t able to play then it’ll be a big boost for the Eagles. While Lawrence’s numbers are down a bit in 2023 — he has 4 1/2 sacks and 19 QB hits in 13 games — he’ still an absolute monster in the middle of that defense.
D’Andre Swift vs. bottom-feeder run defense
The Giants have one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL. They have given up 131.6 yards per game on the ground this season, which ranks 29th in the NFL. And they’re giving up 4.7 yards per attempt, which ranks tied for second-to-last in the NFL. Just the Broncos (5.2) have been worse this season.
The Giants have given up 100+ rushing yards in 11 of 14 games this season. Amazingly, they gave up just 87 on the ground last week against the Saints but still lost 24-6.
The Eagles ended up rushing for 178 yards on Monday night against the Seahawks, which is one of their better rushing performances this season. But 82 of those yards came from Jalen Hurts. D’Andre Swift had 74 yards and Kenny Gainwell had 21. Swift hasn’t had more than 80 yards in a game since Week 3. But this could be a game where he breaks out, unless the Eagles decide to feed Giant Killer Boston Scott, in which case we wouldn’t blame them.
Jordan Mailata vs. Kayvon Thibodeaux
The Giants have one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL but they’re only slightly better as a passing defense. They rank 19th in the NFL. Their top pass rusher is Thibodeaux and the 2022 first-round pick is playing at a really high level. He has 11 /12 sacks and 14 QB hits this season. Thibodeaux’s 11 1/2 sacks rank just outside of the top 10 this season.
While Thibodeaux does play on both sides of the line, he lines up more against left tackles, which means he’ll be facing more of Mailata if that holds true in this game.
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