From Wedding To War, There Are No Friends In Eagles-Giants Clash

It's the first meeting of the year between the NFC East Division rivals and any friendships a certain running back made the past six years in New York are out the window in Week 7.

Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) celebrates following a sack against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – Dexter Lawrence sounds like he is licking his chops, eager to make a meal out of old friend Saquon Barkley on Sunday.

If there’s any doubt that a hip injury that kept the New York Giants MVP candidate out of practice on Wednesday will keep him out of Week 7’s date with the Eagles, forget about it.

“I’m playing,” said the defensive tackle who has looked like the second coming of Aaron Donald this season with seven sacks, five tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hits.

Lawrence is looking more at hitting Barkley in an NFC East Division game, perhaps even more than Jalen Hurts.

The two are good friends. Barkley attended Lawrence’s wedding on June 27 in North Carolina. They won’t be friends in this game, though.

“We caught up over that time and I told him that whenever we play, it's war and he knows that,” said Lawrence. “I'm just excited to play against him for a full game. …I'm excited to compete against Saquon for a full game. Just put my will on him a little bit.”

Lawrence tackled Barkley a few times during their five years together in New York. Both were first-round picks of the Giants, with Barkley going second overall in 2018 and Lawrence following a year later as the 17th overall pick in 2019.

“I had a chance to go against him in practice, in the (former Giants Head Coach) Joe Judge era,” said Lawrence. “Got a couple of tackles in on him then. Now it's time for a full game against him. I know what kind of player he is and his mindset going into games.”

Barkley’s mindset is to break tackles, get to the second level as quickly as possible, and to find whatever lane is open to make that happen.

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrate touchdown catch by wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

“We’ve got to stop Saquon from getting going,” said Lawrence. “We’ve got to clog the holes. We’ve got to get a lot of guys on him, a lot of bodies on him. …We’ve got to stop his feet before he gets going because then he's explosive.

“Elite (running) back. We’ve got to stop his feet. We’ve got to beat the guys in front of us on the offensive line and make sure Saquon doesn’t get started.”

The Eagles offensive line will be without left tackle Jordan Mailata, but it appears as if Mekhi Becton will remain at guard rather than move outside to take Mailata’s spot with Tyler Steen stepping in at guard. At least in the short term, and it could be the Lawrence effect that will prevent a potential switch from happening.

Becton has played well at right guard and has the size at 6-7, 363 pounds to match up with the 6-4, 340-pound Lawrence.

“You just gotta do your thing and try to get as many hands on hm as you can,” said Becton. “Don’t try to make sure it’s all about him, but you gotta be cognizant of that he’s still there. You gotta make sure you have all hands around him.

“Played against (retired Rams start Aaron Donald) my rookie year. He definitely has flashes in his game of Aaron Donald for sure. He’s playing really good ball right now. He’s doing his thing right now.”

For the Eagles to find success at MetLife Stadium a place they haven’t won much lately, they will have to find a way to minimize Lawrence’s impact and keep him from making a meal of Barkley.

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