Eagles Have No Excuses Against Giants
By Rob Maaddi
No excuses. The Eagles must beat the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football.
It doesn’t matter who plays or who can’t go or who gets hurt during the game. The Eagles are the better team and they need to start winning games.
With a home game coming up next week against the Cowboys and another matchup with the Giants on the road following a bye, the Eagles should be favored to win their next three games. Doing so would put them at 4-4-1 and easily make them front-runners to win the worst division in the NFL.
But they’re not good enough to look ahead. First, they have to take care of business against an inferior opponent.
It starts with the franchise quarterback. Carson Wentz carried the depleted offense in the fourth quarter against Baltimore, leading three touchdown drives and falling a 2-point conversion short of tying the game.
He did it without Miles Sanders and Zach Ertz against one of the toughest defenses in football. The Giants aren’t close to the Ravens. Get the job done.
Here are three other matchups to watch:
1. Eagles WR Travis Fulgham vs. Giants CB James Bradberry
Fulgham has been a tremendous find, catching 18 passes for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns in just the last three games. With DeSean Jackson expected to play, Fulgham should have more space to operate.
Bradberry has two picks, 10 passes defended and matches up well with Fulgham size-wise. Fulgham had success against excellent cornerbacks last week and look for him to continue to prove he’s no fluke.
2. Eagles nickel CB vs. Giants WR Golden Tate
While everyone is fascinated with the Darius Slay-Darius Slayton battle, the inside matchup will be significant. Cre’Von LeBlanc or Nickell Robey-Coleman will start at the nickel spot, depending if Avonte Maddox returns from injury to play outside corner, and should see plenty of Tate.
Tate’s snap totals have decreased and he got only one target last week but injuries at receiver could force the Giants to use the veteran much more this game. Tate spent half the 2018 season with the Eagles and most definitely wants to stick it to his former team.
3. Eagles DL vs. Giants OL
Rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas has struggled for the Giants and was benched for disciplinary reasons at the start of the last game. Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat have the advantage. On the opposite, Brandon Graham is on his way to his best statistical season with 5 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and 9 QB hits through six games. He’ll cause problems for Cameron Fleming and Vinny Curry could even find his way to the quarterback.
Daniel Jones has nine turnovers in six games so pressuring him should lead to a few turnovers.