New York Giants Week 16: Examining the Philadelphia Eagles Offense

The strength of the Eagles is their offensive line. Can the Giants find a weakness to exploit?

The Philadelphia Eagles lost offensive coordinator Shane Steichen this past off-season as he was hired as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. The New York Giants face a Brian Johnson-led offense that’s struggled consistently this season.

Personnel

Jalen Hurts was still considered an MVP candidate until recent weeks when he’s struggled to lead the offense to consistent points in losses. It hasn’t all come down to Hurts’ play, but he particularly struggled throwing the ball last week against the Seahawks, though he was battling the flu.

This season, Hurts has accounted for 33 total touchdowns (19 passing, 14 rushing) and 12 interceptions. There isn’t a single player on this offense who’s felt the loss of Shane Steichen more than Hurts has this season, which is unsurprising as the starting quarterback.

D’Andre Swift’s usage as the lead back has been inconsistent, but he’s been consistently productive in most games. His first year in Philly led him to see a career-high in carries despite not starting the first game. He’s also had multiple games with 12 or fewer carries to go with his one game of 28 carries.

Also, in the backfield, Kenneth Gainwell has become more of a pure passing-down specialist and more of a decoy than anything else lately. His snap count hasn’t changed much, but usage for Gainwell has fallen off a cliff.

The dynamic duo of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith are still dominating on the outside with a revolving door of role players around them in the receiver room. That duo has combined for over 2,200 yards and 13 touchdowns already.

Dallas Goedert has been the only Eagles tight end to contribute in the passing game, as Jack Stoll rotates in and plays in two tight end sets but is a complete non-factor on dropbacks. Goedert recently returned from missing a month due to a fractured forearm, an insanely quick turnaround for the tight end.

Scheme

The biggest difference when going from Steichen to Brian Johnson has been the usage of RPOs. Steichen has continued to be one of the most consistent and dynamic at calling RPOs for the Colts, but under Johnson, there’s been little consistency with calling RPOs - which Hurts thrives at operating.

One thing that Johnson has loved to call this season is QB draw. That’s something Johnson picked up from his days at Florida under Dan Mullen. A staple of that spread offense was to give the quarterback an empty backfield, and if the opposing defense comes out with four or five defenders in the box, then run QB draw and trust your guys to win their battles.

Johnson isn’t as married to the concept, but it’s still something he looks to break out multiple times a game.

Another run that the Eagles frequently turn to is the tush push, the brotherly shove, or whatever people may want to call it. The Eagles offensive line and practically power-lifter at quarterback allow them to just bully defenses in short-yardage situations.

With Brown and Smith at receiver, the Eagles aim to throw the ball short, underneath, and intermediate, with the receivers running in-breaking routes to keep them moving after the catch.

What This Means for the Giants

Simply put, with how good this Eagles offensive line is, pressure won’t be easy to find for the Giants. The strategy should be to always have four or five players on the line of scrimmage with another two off-ball defenders in the box to discourage the Eagles from running that QB draw.

Focus on covering underneath and trying to force this offense into third and long situations, where Hurts has struggled recently throwing downfield. I also think Wink Martindale needs to have this Giants' defense playing zone coverage frequently to consistently have eyes on Hurts in the backfield.

In theory, it’s easier said than done to defend the Eagles. Make them challenge over the top, don’t let Hurts escape the pocket, don’t allow big runs. When an offense has elite players all along the offense, that’s a tall task.

Final Thought

The Giant's defense has been a bright spot for this team once they got past their rocky start but ended the season on a grueling three-game stretch against the Eagles, Rams, and then Eagles again.

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