PHILADELPHIA vs NEW YORK

GIANTS WIN 34 – 17

• Story of the Game – The Eagles may officially be in trouble

While it’s only Week 6 and the Eagles are now sitting at 4-2 there’s been red flags with this team all year and I think it’s clear that everything’s starting to boil over after two frustrating losses that are not only causing issues for the Eagles within the media and their fan base but what’s most worrying is from an outside perspective it seems to have made its way into their locker room as well. You have a story nearly every day at this point about how AJ Brown is frustrated with his role and there’s constant talk about the play-calling and game management issues on the offensive side of the ball especially. While I think this Eagles team is still very strong and has a chance to compete for the NFC the way everything is spilling in and out of this locker room is very concerning and whether it’s moves that need to be made or simply having a meeting to get every one on the same page something needs to happen and quickly at that. With the next four games being Cowboys, Bears, Chargers, and Raiders they very well could be back on track and this stretch could end with the Eagles being 8-2 or 7-3 very easily with the worry and concern all behind them. If they do struggle against another division rival in Dallas or come out of this stretch floating closer to .500 though this could be a very interesting team to watch down the stretch of this season and what frustration and disappointment will do to a very talented Eagles team. I trust them to get back on track but there’s a lot to clean up and it’s not just on the offense at this point as their special teams unit looked really rough against the Giants and the injuries on defense have left their secondary and pass rush questionable to say the least. The Giants on the other hand have to be feeling more optimistic than they ever have under this Daboll and Schoen regime as their current rookie class, especially Skattebo and Dart, put on a show against their division rival and have brought a new energy to this team and organization as a whole. While there’s still very clear flaws on this team and not having Nabers for the rest of the season is brutal this game should buy some time for Daboll and even Schoen as well as this win gives a new found hope that they have a chance to turn into something very tangible throughout this year if they handle it correctly. I’m not certain that this will be the regime heading into next season as it’s been more down than up for the entirety of their regime but beating your division rival who’s coming off a Super Bowl run last season certainly doesn’t hurt their chances of sticking around another year.

• Key Notes for the Giants

The combination of Cam Skattebo and Jaxson Dart took over this game not only from a play perspective but a feeling and energy perspective as well. Dart was outstanding against a tough Eagles defense as he looked incredibly calm and confident in the pocket as he stood in and took hits on multiple throws and when he had to extend plays with his legs he managed to weave in and out of traffic nearly every time and seemed to pick up 3rd downs no matter the distance and situation he was faced with.  Truly an incredible showing from a young QB as he not only played a fantastic game but also brought an energy and edge to a Giants team that’s lacked any sort of feeling like that for a significant amount of time. Speaking of energy and edge the guy that established that even more so than Dart throughout this game was rookie RB Cam Skattebo who wracked up 3 rushing TDs and 110 total yards between rushing and receiving and more than anything established an energy and attitude on the field which seemingly shocked the Eagles. It was an incredible from a young Giants core as a whole and I’m excited to see how they continue to build on this moving forward. 

The Giants OL also deserves a ton of credit tonight as they had their best game this year in my opinion. They did a great job of creating consistent pockets for their young QB and continuing to fight as Dart scrambled when they broke down and I thought they consistently got push against a tough Eagles DL. Even through an injury to their starting C, John Michael Schmitz, they continued to open up holes for Skattebo and the rest of these backs and I thought overall did a great job at wearing the Eagles front all night long.

The defensive showing from the Giants was a bit up and down early as their pass rush would have moments of brilliance and seemingly disappear for a number of snaps if not an entire drive and despite the Eagles largely not capitalizing on them they also had a couple of rough coverage snaps on the back end that could have resulted in explosives for the Eagles. Despite the rough moments ealry both the pass rush and secondary rounded out and really helped put this game away including a crucial pick in their own territory where Cor’Dale Flott came away with a huge INT by jumping an out route to Devonta Smith and a big punch out by Dane Belton on AJ Dillon that in turn caused a fumble that was recovered by the Giants. You obviously hope to clean up a few of the mistakes on the back end and get a bit more of consistent pressure up front (credit to the Eagles OL as well) but overall a very solid showing from a group that’s been up and down throughout this year so far. 

• Key Notes for the Eagles 

This Eagles offense, just as I said last week, continues to feel like they’re lacking any real identity. They started off early with two really strong runs from Saquon Barkley and this OL throwing the Giants DL around but that quickly ended as they took Saquon off the field and proceeded to run two more times with Dillon and Hurts which led to a 3rd & 10. In the 3rd & long situation they were forced to take a check down (happened multiple times throughout the game) and ended up settling for a FG. After that first possession they had a quick three and out on their second but rallied for their third by popping off a couple of explosives to Brown and Goedert. This up and down play continued all game long as it seemed they lost track of any real plan of attack or game plan and were dependent on their guys “out talenting” the Giants. While the Eagles are very good team and have a ton of talent this isn’t a league where you can lean on that to win consistently. This Eagles offense is beginning to feel more and more like the 2023 version of the themselves where they were out schemed nearly every game after losing OC Shane Steichen.  

The Eagles special teams unit was a real issue all game as they had 3 separate penalties and struggled with kickoffs on both sides as they gave up multiple quality returns, they muffed a kickoff out of bounds while returning, and had a miscommunication/mistake early on that also put them inside their own 10. Overall a really rough day that included penalties, giving up short fields, and putting their offense in bad field position multiple times.

While this Eagles defense is banged up it’s clear they have real issues on the backend with or without Quinyon Mitchell healthy. Obviously they’re in a much worse position if Mitchell’s hamstring is a long term issue as he’s their one quality outside CB but whether he’s on the field or not you have a real hole at outside CB and without him you have two. Adoree Jackson and Kelee Ringo are legitimate liabilities and Dart made that clear early and often targeting anyone that was matched up with Ringo including their first 3rd down where Dart lobbed a ball up to Lil’Jordan Humphrey. If I were the Eagles/Vic Fangio I’d begin to experiment with Cooper DeJean outside and moving Andrew Mukuba into the slot or at least someone/something other than Ringo and Jackson as they’ve made it clear through 6 games that they can’t be trusted as full time starters. Along with the holes in the secondary this pass rush was non existent for quite a bit of this game and while I understand there’s a number of injuries up front you’d like to see someone have a bigger impact against a Giants OL that has largely struggled this year. 

• Standout Performers 

NYG

Jaxson Dart – 17/25  195  1/0 – 13/58  1 TD rush

Cam Skattebo – 19/98 3 TDs – 2/12 rec

Wandale Robinson – 6/84  1 TD

Lil’Jordan Humphrey – 4/55 

• Darts favorite target all game

Cor’Dale Flott – 3 Tackles  1 TFL  1 INT  1 PBU

Brian Burns – 7 Tackles (3 Solo)  2 Sacks  2 TFLs 

Dane Belton – 5 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 FF  1 PBU

PHI

Saquon Barkley – 12/58 – 2/9 rec

Dallas Goedert – 9/110  1 TD

Jaylx Hunt – 6 Tackles (1 Solo)