Three Adjustments Giants Should Make to Beat the Eagles

The New York Giants' first meeting with the Eagles was a complete nightmare, but they can reverse the outcome this week in a few ways.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

For the first time in ten grueling weeks, the New York Giants finally broke free from the chains of defeat that were weighing them down to enter the win column for just the third time this season. 

They’ll have one more chance to do it again before the dismal 2024 campaign wraps up and it’ll feature a road rematch with their NFC East rivals in the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Of course, every meeting between these two familiar yet hostile rivals means something to either side, but no season has elevated that disdain more than the one in front of them. 

The stakes were high back before their first duel in Week 7 at MetLife Stadium as it would be the first since former running back Saquon Barkley left the Giants to don the Eagles green, and earn more guaranteed money on his new deal, in free agency.

Barkley would ultimately earn the last laugh in that matchup as he ran amuck on his former teammates for 176 yards and two touchdowns to help Philadelphia rout the Giants 28-3 and drop them to their second loss of that aforementioned 10-game streak. It was one of the most embarrassing moments for the Giants organization in the storied series and a slap in the face from a superstar they let walk away.

Compared to that first battle, the circumstances are set up to be vastly different yet still impactful. The Eagles, who sit at 13-3 on the year, are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture with no room to improve or weaken their standing with a result on Sunday, and thus they will be resting most of their starters including Barkley for that promising run. 

On the other hand, the Giants are in the exact opposite scenario with a 3-13 that has already dropped them out of contention for the top pick in the draft for the moment after beating Indianapolis in Week 17. 

They would love nothing more than to wrap up the season with a rare road win over the Birds that last happened in 2013. 

“We put everything we got into it,” said head coach Brian Daboll who also said he doesn’t intend to sit his starters despite the Eagles planning to do so. “That's what we'll do this week. We’ll do everything we can do to play and coach as well as we can.” 

Indeed, try telling a locker room full of proud professionals who’ve worked hard to get to this level that need to lose or should go out and play with a potential draft pick in mind. 

A win would not guarantee an end to the rash of uncertainty that is set to preside over the organization after the final whistle, but it would leave a positive taste in their mouths that hasn’t been there for much of the season. 

Thinking from that perspective as the Giants approach their final game of the slate, there are a few ways that they can flip the script from the first meeting and avenge their long losing history to their archrivals in Philadelphia. 

 It will take these three adjustments in particular to do that even with a vastly different roster composition than the one in October. 

Dec 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) is tackled by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson (41) and safety Damontae Kazee (23) during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Slowing Down the Run

It wouldn’t take much more than a simple look at the box score from the Giants and Eagles first meeting to see that the Giants did not excel at stopping the opponents’ run game from the start.

While Barkley would lead the charge with his 176 yards and two touchdowns which was just 13 yards shy of his 2019 career-high set with the Giants, the Eagles would do more damage on the ground to the tune of 45 carries for 269 yards and three touchdowns while earning an average of 6.0 yards per rushing attempt.

With that level of efficiency in their rushing attack, the Eagles would set the tone for the ball game and completely dominate the clock with the lead in their hands. They would wind up having the pigskin for over 35 minutes of game time with most of the Giants’ share coming late in the second half and collect the largest rushing output by any opponent against New York this season. 

In the second game, the Eagles won’t be running Barkley out there to punish his former team a second time after electing to rest many of their starters in advance of the postseason. They also won’t have quarterback Jalen Hurts’ big body frame converting big downs to worry about either, but they still have a couple feisty young players who can do damage when paired with a porous run defense like New York’s.

After Barkley and Hurts, who are the team’s top two rushers, Philadelphia will likely feature a mixed dosage of Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley on the ground on Sunday. 

Gainwell, a fourth year member of the Eagles backfield, has only accumulated 276 yards and one touchdown this season, but can also offer production in the passing game making his low numbers a little skewed. 

Meanwhile, the rookie in Shipley saw some brief action in the first meeting after Barkley told the coaching staff he didn’t want to chase his career-high and let the younger guys play. 

He only has 50 yards this fall, 15 of which came against the Giants in Week 7, but has a resume at Clemson of over 2,700 yards, two double-digit touchdown seasons and an average haul of 5.2 yards meaning he can push the ball with the right gaps. 

The Eagles offensive line is also going to be looking a little different with the main starters resting, but they still have a room of excellent blockers that can come in and do a decent job in opening up lanes for the running back. The Giants need to find ways to take advantage of their lack of playing time and put them on their toes early by getting into the backfield and disrupting plays. 

The Giants have done better at slowing down the run in recent weeks despite the injuries that have cut down their depth on the interior. They’ve given up five 100+ yard games in the last six weeks, but have kept four of those teams under an average of 4.0 yards per game while forcing seven total turnovers, including a three last week against Indianapolis. 

However, in the first game with Philadelphia, that was not the case with a healthier unit, as they allowed six yards per carry, killed the Giants with speed, and forced missed tackles in space. That has to be prevented in Week 18 to have a shot at winning for a Giants defense that ranks 31st in rushing yards and 21st in touchdowns allowed entering the season finale. 

On the Eagles side, they will welcome the Giants as a top-5 team in every rushing category even though the bulk of that work has been done by Barkley and Hurts in the starting backfield. 

New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) celebrates after a touchdown during a game between New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Protecting the Quarterback

It was almost laughable that the Giants offensive line, as beat up as it was entering the Colts game from injuries, managed to provide the team’s best blocking performance of the year against an opponent with a decent pass rush and their draft selection on the line, but against Philadelphia that was not even close to the same case. 

Despite having most of their starting offensive line intact for their first matchup, the Giants offense line let Daniel Jones get absolutely rocked by the Eagles’ prominent pass rush. They allowed a single game-high eight sacks in the 28-3 rout that was already exacerbated by Saquon Barkley’s antics and forced the Giants to punt within three plays or less in eight of their 13 possessions.

That performance was right on the heels of the Giants losing their stud left tackle Andrew Thomas to a Lisfranc injury in Week 6 that ended his fifth season with the franchise and since then the product has not been the same from the starting front that has allowed four or more sacks in four of the next 10 games and now deteriorated further with additional ailments to key guys. 

It’s been a complete turnaround from a unit that actually started the campaign near the top of the league in pass blocking metrics including sixth in team pass block win rate prior to Week 7. 

The factor has only added into their inability to gel offensively and provide the quarterback carousel with little time to operate in the pocket and get the football out to the Giants arsenal of receiving options. 

Yet, somehow it changed last Sunday despite the Giants only having two original starters—Greg Van Roten, who was shifted to center and right tackle Jermaine Eluemenor—against the Colts. New York pushed the Indianapolis defensive front back all afternoon and gave up zero sacks for the first time all season with under a handful of total pressures.

The solid protection helped quarterback Drew Lock receive extra time to fling the football and he completed a season-high 74 percent of his throws for 309 passing yards and five total touchdowns, the last one coming with his legs to ice the 45-33 win and send the playoff hopeful Colts packing. 

Prior to Friday’s practice, the Giants had three  offensive linemen listed on their injury report—guard Jake Kunas who has a shin problem, center John Michael Schmitz who missed the last game with an ankle injury and right tackle Evan Neal who has been dealing two rib and hip ailments. 

It’s likely Schmitz doesn’t make the final game as the Giants try to preserve his health for the long term and Neal has had a tough time staying on the field in what could be a decisive year for his future with the organization. The team probably hopes Kubas can go for the last rodeo given he has stepped in and played admirably with only four pressures allowed since Week 14. 

Either way, the Giants saving grace is they’ll be facing a revised version of the Eagles defensive line than the one that has helped them dominate up front this season. Still, they shouldn’t sleep on their morals as the birds can do some damage and pin the offense back quickly if the pass protection isn’t sharp enough. 

Per Pro Football Reference, Philadelphia ranks No. 1 in the NFL in passing yards and average yards per play and eighth in passing touchdowns allowed in 16 games. They’ve forced the sixth-most turnovers in the same span and that included a heaping 12 in the last six games and nine in the last two weeks. 

The Giants will look to preserve and improve their pass blocking percentage before the season wraps up. They currently rank 26th in team pass block win rate and will face a revised unit in the Eagles that is ranked eighth in the opposite category but could be more vulnerable with starters resting. 

Stepping Up in the Red Zone

While there will be questions about whether the Philadelphia Eagles show up and really give the New York Giants a competition on Sunday with a backup lineup and nothing much to play for in the NFC playoff standings, they are still a team that can capitalize in the red zone and the Giants must at the very least mimic that. 

In the first contest between the two sides, the Giants had a hard time getting closer to the Eagles end zone to really put a dent in the scoreboard short of a field goal attempt by then kicker Greg Joseph that kept the game from being a shutout. On the other hand, they allowed Philadelphia to finish as a perfect 3/3 from inside the 20-yard line and be pushed around in the trenches for those three scores.

With defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s future up in the air amid other potential changes to personnel in the offseason, one of the main things he’ll be judged on is the Giants performance in the red area. He has based his system since his Tennessee days in being stout outside of the goal line but that hasn’t always been the case.

As the Giants enter their season finale, their defense ranks 17th in opponent scoring percentage giving up points on nearly 40 percent of their drives. Inside the red zone, that number jumps up to 10th best in the NFL but the consistency factor is one to watch out for as depth has been a concern with injuries and poor tackling. 

Offensively, the Giants numbers are more sour. They are second to last in team scoring percentage with 27.6 percent of their possessions and are only averaging 16.2 point per game after the win against the Colts that had their first 40+ point explosion of the year. 

They’ve also scored the lowest passing touchdowns and red zone scoring percentage at just 44.2 percent which results from Brian Daboll’s frequent fourth down gambles in recent weeks.

Those trends felt like an anomaly with the way Daboll’s team played last Sunday with three trips inside the redzone and conversions on two of them. The other three came from two big touchdowns outside that range by Malik Nabers and a field goal by Graham Gano from 30 yards deep that capped off the 45-33 victory. 

However, the defense still was porous against Indianapolis and allowed them five redzone visits and scores on three of them, two of which went to Johnathan Taylor who had an 125-yard rushing day to torch the Giants for the fifth such statline in the last six contests. It was a two-score game for most of the affair and the Giants rested on their laurels a few times to let the Colts knock down the door of stealing the win from their hands. 

If that performance was to roll over to Philadelphia, the Giants would normally be routed as they have the 14th-best red zone scoring percentage and keep opponents to the eighth-lowest on the defensive side. 

The only difference will be the absence of their secret weapon down by the goalline in Jalen Hurts who has 14 touchdowns this season, many of which come via the infamous “tush push” play as he rests with a concussion suffered in Week 16. 

Still, if the Giants don’t keep their operation flowing on the offensive end and clean on defense, it’ll be tough to run away with a win in Philadelphia where they haven’t taken a game since the 2013 season when Eli Manning was still the starting quarterback. 

Not to mention it might help Brian Daboll’s case a tad bit if he can manage to create two consecutive offensive performances with heavy points like he had against Indianapolis otherwise it’s been a dismal scoring year for an offense he took over to try to provide a spark for.  

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