Eagles-Giants matchups to watch in Week 8
Eagles-Giants matchups to watch in Week 8 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles (5-2) are hosting the New York Giants (2-5) at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday in a rematch of a loss in North Jersey a couple weeks ago.
This will be the Eagles' final game before their Week 9 bye week.
Here are some key matchups to watch:
Eagles run defense vs. Cam Skattebo and Jaxson Dart
The thing that stood out most in the Eagles' 34-17 loss to the Giants a couple weeks ago is that they were bullied. The Eagles' identity for the last couple of years has been that they're going to be the more physical team and that simply wasn't the case against the Giants in Week 6 at MetLife Stadium. In that game, the Eagles gave up a season-high 172 rushing yards - 98 to Cam Skattebo and 58 to Jaxson Dart. They missed 11 tackles in that game and nine different players were charged with at least one, per PFF. That's not going to cut it in Week 8.
The rookies have infused some life into the Giants. Overall, Skattebo is 19th in the NFL in rushing but he is averaging 3.6 yards after contact per attempt, which ranks 13th in the NFL. Meanwhile, Dart is hurting teams with his arm and his legs. His 58 yards rushing against the Eagles a couple weeks ago is his career-high. He had just 11 rushing yards against the Broncos but in the previous three games had 58 against the Eagles, 55 against the Saints and 54 against the Chargers.
Obviously, very athletic, an elite scrambler," Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. I think their coaches have done a great job with him. They've developed the offense around him, throws the ball very well, intermediate and deep, and he's a good player."
Eagles CB2 vs. Giants receivers
Quinyon Mitchell returned last week in the win over the Vikings and performed very well against All-Pro Justin Jefferson. It was clear how much the Eagles missed Mitchell when he injured his hamstring in the first half against the Giants in North Jersey a couple weeks ago. In that game, the Eagles started Kelee Ringo opposite Mitchell before benching him for Adoree' Jackson. But then when Mitchell got hurt, the Eagles had to finish the game with Ringo and Jackson at corner and it didn't go well:
Ringo: 4 targets, 3 catches, 69 yards
Jackson: 11 targets, 6 catches, 44 yards
Jackson is in concussion protocol this week so it seems unlikely he'll be able to play against the Giants on Sunday. That leaves either Ringo or perhaps Jakorian Bennett available. Bennett this week had his 21-day practice window opened but would need to be activated to the 53-man roster by Saturday afternoon. That makes sense.
It's not like the Giants have a stud receiver - Malik Nabers is out for the season - but the Eagles couldn't slow down Wan'Dale Robinson or Lil'Jordan Humphrey in Week 6. Robinson had 6 for 84 and a touchdown and Humphrey had 4 for 55.
Jalen Carter vs. Giants iOL
A couple weeks ago, Jalen Carter popped up on the Eagles' injury report Wednesday with a heel injury and was then inactive for that Thursday Night Football matchup. The Eagles definitely missed him. The good news is that Carter returned against the Vikings and played really well. In fact, it was Carter who applied the pressure on Carson Wentz on that Jalyx Hunt pick-6. Carter played 97% of the Eagles' defensive snaps and had three tackles and a couple QB hits.
As much as we have talked about the Eagles' need for more edge rushers, getting Carter back to his peak is going to do wonders for this defense and it seems like the third-year defensive tackle is turning that corner.
This is a really advantageous matchup for Carter too. While the Giants are getting good tackle play from Andrew Thomas and (to a lesser extent) Jermaine Eluemunor, their iOL is much weaker. The Giants have allowed 70 pressures this year, per PFF, and 39 belong to the three starting interior linemen. Giants center John Michael Schmitz (concussion) missed the Giants' Week 7 loss, but even if he returns for Week 8 (and it's looking like he will), this is an area where the Eagles should thrive. Here's a look at the Giants' interior PFF rankings and stats:
LG Jon Runyon: 53/82 | 2 sacks, 4 hits, 17 pressures
C John Michael Schmitz: 14/35 | 0 sacks, 1 hits, 7 pressures
RG: Greg Van Roten: 38/82 | 3 sacks, 0 hits, 15 pressures
Eagles OL vs. Giants DL
The strength of the Giants' roster is obviously its defensive line. Jalen Hurts was sacked three times against the Giants in Week 6 and Brian Burns had 2. Burns this season is tied for the league lead in sacks with 9 - but Burns (hip) has missed the first two days of practice this week. But that's a D-line that also has Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter.
The Eagles in this game will likely be without Cam Jurgens (knee), which isn't great news as they get prepared to face Lawerence, who is widely considered the best nose tackle in the NFL.
The rookie Carter is playing very well; don't let his 1/2 sack fool you. Carter through seven weeks is 8th in the NFL with 29 pressures and leads the NFL in quick pressures (under 3 seconds) with 19. He has three more than Micah Parsons and Nik Bonitto - two of the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year.
Eagles WRs vs. Giants CBs
While the Eagles' offense clearly wasn't good enough the last time these two teams played, A.J. Brown did have some success against Giants CB1 Paulson Adebo. But this week, both Brown and Adebo have missed the first two days in practice. In that last matchup, Brown was targeted 7 times with Adebo on him and caught 4 passes for 55 yards. The matchup to watch in this game could be DeVonta Smith vs. Cor'Dale Flott. Smith is coming off the best game of his career. Against the Vikings (who had the No. 2 pass defense in the league before last week), Smith caught 9 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown.
This was a mismatch in Week 6 and the Eagles weren't really able to take advantage of it. But maybe they figured out enough in their passing game last week to make the most of it in Week 8. If Jalen Hurts plays like he did against the Vikings - he had a perfect 158.3 passer rating - the Eagles should be able to air it out.
Dallas Goedert vs. Giants defense
For the most part, the Giants' defense has been in the middle of the pack defending tight ends. That defense has given up 41 catches for 358 yards and 2 touchdowns against opposing tight ends. But a lot of that came from Dallas Goedert in Week 6: 9 catches, 110 yards, 1 touchdown.
Goedert in that game was able to catch a pass against five different Giants defenders. He caught 3 for 51 against second-year safety Tyler Nubin and caught 2 for 26 and a touchdown against veteran safety Jevon Holland, who is dealing with a knee injury going into this game.
Saquon Barkley vs. his old team
The Eagles haven't been able to get their run game going all season. They thought they would be able to do that the last time they faced the Giants and it didn't work. Barkley started off that game with an 18-yard and a 13-yard gain on the first two plays and then had just 10 carries for 27 yards the rest of the way. Through seven games, Barkley is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry and those big holes that propelled him to a 2,000-yard season in 2024 just aren't there.
So as we say every week: Maybe this is the game the Eagles find their run game.
Because the Giants have the NFL's No. 25-ranked run defense, giving up 130.7 yards per game. And they're No. 30 in yards-per-carry, giving up 5.2 per pop. That didn't matter in Week 6. Maybe it'll matter in Week 8.