New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles: A Look at the Eagles Backup Offense

The New York Giants will face a Philadelphia Eagles offense with no Jalen Hurts or Saquon Barkley.

Brandon Olsen | Jan 2, 2025

Dec 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) runs with the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

In this story:

New York Giants

The New York Giants defense has the opportunity to play one of its best games of the season this week as it faces the Philadelphia Eagles, who will be resting starters in Week 18.

Personnel

I don’t expect any of the Eagles offensive starters to play this weekend unless they have a chance to hit contract incentives, in which they would likely try to get done early then bring in backups.

While it hasn’t been announced yet, Tanner McKee or Kenny Pickett will be the starting quarterback. There was a possibility for that regardless of Jalen Hurts's being in concussion protocol since week 16.

Former Giants running back Saquon Barkley will not be chasing the NFL single-season rushing record, which he is just 100 yards away from. Barkley was given the option, and as he’s done so many times before during his time with the Giants, he chose team over self.

Kenneth Gainwell will likely see the bulk of the work against the Giants and, knowing how the Giants have fared against backup running backs, will likely have a career day.

The Eagles' wide receiver position will be interesting because they will likely be playing Johnny Wilson, Ainias Smith, and Jahan Dotson.

While that group may not sound very scary, the 6-7 Wilson with the dynamic playmaking ability of Smith could open the door for breakout games.

I don’t think the Eagles offensive line will be playing in this game either, just due to how they may be the offense that is most reliant on the help of their line in the entire NFL.

Scheme

There may not be a more vanilla offense in the league this weekend than what we should see from the Eagles.

Considering the backup quarterbacks will be playing, the focus will likely be on running the football while getting easy completions underneath.

Without Hurts available, the quarterbacks won’t be nearly as much of a rushing threat as usual, although Pickett has shown the ability to make defenses pay with his legs when they don’t keep their heads on a swivel.

Overview

This may be the most boring offensive game of the season across the whole league, with the Giants offense being themselves and the Eagles backups running a vanilla offense.

Regardless, this is the last opportunity for Giants defenders who may be up in the air to come up and show their worth.

Considering the current level of talent on this Giants roster, there are going to be plenty of roster spots available this offseason.