The Giants continue their miserable season after a lopsided lost to the hands of the Dallas Cowboys last week 21-6 and now must set their attention on another NFC east division rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. The last time the Giants won at Philadelphia was on 10/27/2013 (15-7); that’s eight years old Giant fans and it’s not like they didn’t have chances to break that streak over the years. The most notable and most recent was their 22-21 loss back in 2020 that TE Evan Engram failed to make a very catchable ball, but also the defense failed to stop the Eagles offense on two consecutive possessions late in the 4th quarter. The Giants won their 1st meeting against the Eagles this year 13-7 and if they want to break this losing streak in Philadelphia; here are my top 5 ways for them to achieve it.
- Giants/Eagles running attack: The Giants have been rushing the ball a little better with the return of Saquan Barkley to a clip of 94.2 yards per game. However, the Eagles have been down- right scary leading the NFL with a rushing attack averaging 160 yards per game. In their previous meeting, the Giants managed to win the game despite allowing the Eagles to rush for 208 yards; compared to their 70 yards. If the Giants surrendered this many yards (or close to it) again, the final score will be a lot different.
- Giant’s defensive encore: The Giants defense played arguably their best game against the Eagles, but still could have lost that game if only WR Jalen Reagor remembered how to catch a football. The Giants defensive front 7 must stuff the running lanes and create enough pressure on either Jalen Hurst or Gardner Minshew as the Eagles are still in the playoff picture. The Giants secondary needs to shut down the Eagles receivers and not allow any big plays behind them.
- Turnovers: The Giants have a +2+2-turnover ratio with the Eagles with an even ratio. These games between these two teams usually are close and it comes down to either one play or another team’s mistake. The Giants need to force the Eagles into making mistakes if they want to walk away with a win.
- Red Zone: Nothing like beating a dead horse here, but the Giants must, and I mean must do better in the Red Zone if they expect to finally win in Philadelphia since 2013. The Giants continue to be dead last in the NFL in the Red Zone (47.6%) as the eagles ranked 7th in the league with a 63.64% ratio. Clearly, the Eagles have a major advantage here and it will be up to the Giants defense to give the team a fighting chance by limiting the Eagles Red Zone conversions into field goals instead of touchdowns.
- Time of Possession: Both teams are fairly close in this category as the Eagles average 29:12 to the Giants 28:17 in times of possession. I really don’t expect the Giants to somehow dominate in this category, but I do expect them to keep this stat line close with the Eagles and hopefully the Giants can utilize their offensive possession more efficiently.
QB Jake Fromm should be getting his first NFL start this week and all eyes will be on the former Bulldog as he’s auditioning for 2022. I don’t project the Giants to put the ball in Fromm’s hand to carry the Giants in this game. I do believe the Giants offensive game plan should be a 70/30 split towards the running game with Fromm sprinkling in a few high percentages passes in between. This should be a low scoring affair and very similar to the team’s first meeting with lots of emotion as the Eagle are still in the playoff picture and Giants would like to play the spoiler. In the end, the failure to win in Philadelphia continues to be the monkey on the Giants back as they will fall short in another close game.
Final Score: Eagles-16/Giants-13