The Eagles are coming off an embarrassing loss against the Dolphins to take on the Giants. The Giants haven’t enjoyed much success this season, and every game is now a “must win” for the Eagles, if they wish to make the playoffs. Can the Eagles rebound in a major way? Here’s what to watch for tomorrow:
1 – Diversification: The Eagles’ offense was very pass oriented against the Dolphins. Carson Wentz threw 46 times, and the run game totaled only 19 carries. The Dolphins have a porous run defense, yet the Eagles didn’t capitalize. How will the Eagles structure their offense against the Giants? Like the Dolphins, the Giants don’t have a strong defense; however, the Eagles’ offense was limited in the last three quarters by the Dolphins. Can the Eagles make the right adjustments?
2 – Awesome Alshon: Alshon Jeffery made his return to the Eagles against the Dolphins, and he returned to notch a dynamic performance. Jeffery registered 9 catches on 16 targets for 137 yards and a touchdown. He was targeted more than the second and third receivers were combined. Jeffery is the only WR that is a threat right now. Nelson Agholor, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and Greg Ward didn’t add much worth noting. Somehow, Jeffery is going to have to be even better if the Eagles wish to remain relevant.
3 – TE Dependency: The crux of the Eagles’ offense is the TE position. Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert make up a large majority of the targets and receptions, and Wentz leans on them plenty throughout the course of the game. The Eagles need to embrace this – since it’s not going away – and they need to figure out how to be more efficient with it. I want the Eagles to spread it around more, but I don’t know who they are supposed to target. The Eagles need to hit Ertz and Goedert early and often.
4 – What defense: What unit will the Eagles bring defensively in this match-up? Will it be the unit that limited Russell Wilson and Tom Brady in back-to-back weeks? Will this be the unit that got shredded by the Dolphins? The Eagles still have yet to have a game where both the offense and defense both work successfully. The Giants don’t have a prolific offense, but neither do the Dolphins, and they just shredded the Eagles.
5 – History: The Eagles have won the last five match-ups against the Giants, and they have won 9 of the last 10. The all-time series is tied at 85-85-2. Can the Eagles take the lead in the series, or will the Giants find a way to stop the trend of history?
Eric Fenstermaker 