Game Overview ::
By hilow >>
- First off, I really dislike when the NFL schedules two teams to play twice in a two-week calendar span. These two teams just met back on Thursday Night Football back in Week 6.
- The Giants have allowed a 16.6% explosive-run rate (fourth worst), 5.2 yards per carry (third worst), and the seventh-most yards before contact per attempt (2.24). For the third week in a row, Saquon Barkley is in a fantastic spot on paper to kickstart his season.
- WR A.J. Brown did not practice Wednesday or Thursday with a hamstring injury – the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reported Thursday that the “expectation is that Brown will be able to go” Sunday.
- C Cam Jurgens has yet to practice this week, which is a big deal for the Philadelphia offensive line.
- The Giants have four starting defensive players that have yet to practice this week in CB Paulson Adebo, OLB Brian Burns, DL Chauncey Golston, and S Jevon Holland.
- WR Darius Slayton got in two limited sessions to start Week 8 preparation. He has been out since Week 5 with a hamstring injury.
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How NEW YORK Will Try To Win ::
The Giants have actually been a fun team to watch after the injection of rookies Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo into the roster. After scoring nine points or less in two of their first three games this season with Russell Wilson under center, the Giants have scored 21, 14, 34, and 32 points in their four games with Dart starting. Those last two games came against the Eagles and Broncos, two teams that are no pushovers defensively. But beyond that, this team has found its identity. After a negative pass rate over expectation (PROE) greater than one standard deviation below neutral in Dart’s first start of his career, the Giants have been one of the most balanced offenses in the league since Week 5. They ran 72 offensive plays against the Saints in Week 5 and split 40 pass attempts and 29 rush attempts in negative game script following five consecutive turnovers. They then beat the Eagles with 39 carries and 26 pass attempts before 33 pass attempts and 32 rush attempts in their stunning loss to the Broncos. Expect another balanced game plan built around what they are able to establish on the ground, with the additional threat of Dart’s legs.
Skattebo remains the lead back following the return of Tyrone Tracy, a move that effectively removed Devin Singletary from the game plan. Skattebo has now seen 22 or more opportunities in each of his four starts. The bruising bowling ball is averaging 4.06 yards per carry, with a low 4.1% explosive-run rate and moderate 43.9% stuff rate. His low 1.21 yards after contact per attempt help to describe his running style – he’s a player that will gain what is blocked and will accept contact, typically gaining that extra half-to-full-yard post-contact. He’s not someone that is going to run away from anyone nor is he someone that is going to make people miss. That profile typically requires elite volume (he’s on the borderline) and multiple touchdowns (he scored three times against this Eagles team two weeks ago) to return a usable GPP score. He also has to compete with Dart – who has three touchdowns on the ground of his own – for red-zone carries. The matchup appears to be solid on paper against an Eagles defense allowing 4.6 yards per carry, but they have held opponents to just 1.78 yards before contact per attempt and a middling 12.7% explosive-run rate this season.
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The pass offense for the Giants is a highly concentrated unit, at least as far as snap rates are concerned. Wan’Dale Robinson, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and tight end Theo Johnson are the only players in near every-down roles with Slayton on the shelf. It remains to be seen if Slayton will make his return to the game-day roster considering he has not played since Week 5 and has yet to log a full practice, but I would simpy expect him to slide back into the role that Humphrey has held in his absence. Jalin Hyatt has been held to a situational role while tight end Daniel Bellinger rounds out the pass-catching corps. Bellinger’s snaps are likely tied to the game environment, likelier to see more snaps in neutral-to-positive scenarios. The Eagles have allowed only 15 explosive pass plays while playing above-average rates of man coverage, with no pass catcher in the Giants’ offense truly taking advantage of man coverage so far this year.
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