Position Breakdown for Eagles-Giants and Which Team Has the Edge

The two teams will play for a third time on Saturday, this time with the winner moving on to the NFC Championship Game, but which team holds the positional advantage?

USA Today

Here is an early look at how the Eagles and Giants match up by position as they prepare to play in the NFC Divisional Round on Saturday (8:15 p.m./FOX) at Lincoln Financial Field:

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACK

NYG: Daniel Jones

PHI: Jalen Hurts

The shoulder injury Hurts is playing through could bring this position comparison closer than it may appear. 

Jones finished the regular season with 3,206 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions with 708 yards rushing and seven TDs He is coming off a terrific game in the win over the Vikings on Super Wildcard Weekend where he ran for 78 yards on 17 carries and threw for 301 yards and one score.

Hurts was named second-team All-Pro and was in the MVP conversation until an injury sidelined him for two games. Still, he closed the season with 3,701 yards passing, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions with 760 yards rushing and 13 TDs.

EDGE: Eagles, if only slightly

RUNNING BACK

NYG: Saquon Barley, Gary Brightwell, Matt Breida

PHI: Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Kenny Gainwell

Barkley had 1,312 rushing yards (4.4 yards per carry) with 10 touchdowns and is also a force in the passing game with 57 receptions for 338 yards.

Sanders has more help, though the Eagles’ lead back had a career year with 1,269 yards (4.9 ypc) and 11 touchdowns. 

Any conversation of Eagles RBs vs. the Giants has to start with Scott, who has scored 10 of his 17 career touchdowns against them. He is also 6-2 against NY in his career.

Gainwell came on strong late in the season, especially in the passing game, where he has a catch in seven straight games while, also over that span, he has made 14 receptions for 119 yards.

EDGE: Giants, if only slightly

RECEIVERS

NYG: Richie James, Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton, Kenny Golladay

PHI: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, Zach Pascal

Two 1,000-yard receivers vs. a group of no-names? This is the biggest mismatch on the field.

Granted Hodgins has been a find, coming from the Bills. In eight games, he has 33 catches for 351 yards and four touchdowns.

Still...

EDGE: Eagles - by a lot

TIGHT END

NYG: Daniel Bellinger, Nick Vannett, Lawrence Cager

PHI: Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra

Goedert is the best of the six, and it isn’t even close.

EDGE: Eagles

OFFENSIVE LINE

NYG: Evan Neal (RT), Mark Glowinski (RG), Jon Feliciano (C), Nick Gates (LG), Andrew Thomas (LT)

PHI: Lane Johnson (RT), Isaac Seumalo (RG), Jason Kelce (C), Landon Dickerson (LG), Jordan Mailata (LT)

Johnson will try to play through a tear in a groin muscle and the Eagles are simply a much different, and better, team when he plays. It’s an Eagles O-line with two first-team All-Pros in Kelce and Johnson.

EDGE: Eagles

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE

NYG: Dexter Lawrence (DT), Leonard Williams (DT), Azeez Ojulari (DE), Kayvon Thibodeaux (edge)

PHI: Fletcher Cox (DT), Javon Hargrave (DT), Haason Reddick (edge), Josh Sweat (DE).

Sweat is trending toward playing after suffering a neck injury that had him carted off on a stretcher in Week 17.

Lawrence has been a beast all season and with Williams healthy, they rival Cox and Hargrave on the interior, but the Eagles’ depth is better with Jordan Davis, Linval Joseph, and Ndamukong Suh. Brandon Graham had 11 sacks as a part-time player.

EDGE: Eagles, if only slightly

LINEBACKERS

NYG: Micah McFadden, Jaylon Smith, Landon Collins, Jarrad Davis

PHI: T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White, Nakobe Dean, Christian Elliss

Edwards and White both went over 100 tackles. The Giants' linebackers didn’t have anybody close to that number.

EDGE: Eagles

CORNERBACKS

NYG: Adoree Jackson, Fabian Moreau, Darnay Holmes (nickel), Nick McCloud, Cor’Dale Flott

PHI: Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox (nickel), Josiah Scott, Zech McPhearson

Maddox has been out with a toe injury so his status is in question. If he is out, Scott, and maybe Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, will work at nickel.

Still, Slay and Bradberry were two of the best tandems in the league this season, and Bradberry was named a second-team All-Pro.

EDGE: Eagles

SAFETIES

NYG: Julian Love, Xavier McKinney, Tony Jefferson, Jason Pinnock, Dane Belton

PHI: Marcus Epps, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Reed Blankenship, K’Von Wallace

Love led the Giants in tackles with 124 and had two interceptions while McKinney is healthy after missing seven games.

Epps has been steady if not spectacular with 94 tackles while playing virtually every defensive snap. CGJ tied for the league lead in interceptions with six despite missing five games with a lacerated kidney.

EDGE: Giants, if only slightly

SPECIAL TEAMS

NYG: Punter Jamie Gillan, kicker Graham Gano

PHI: Punter Brett Kern, kicker Jake Elliott

Brett Kern hasn’t distinguished himself since taking over for Arryn Siposs, who was injured in the Dec. 11 game against the Giants and is on IR, though may be ready to return. Boston Scott has shown some juice in the kickoff return game while Britain Covey is reliable though hasn’t flashed for big yards very often.

Gillan missed his foot while punting in the first game, which was a penalty, and he tried a fake field goal but was snuffed out.

Both placekickers are excellent.

EDGE: Push

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.