The Philadelphia Eagles defence, which hasn’t quite lived up to the hype thus far, will be up against the New York Giants defence, which has come together in the last month of the campaign.
The Philadelphia Eagles defence, which is mediocre on the field but appears strong on paper, hasn’t had a good 2024 season.
The defence, led by Jalen Hurts, averages 18th-most points per game while running the sixth-most plays per contest.
Hurts is not solely to blame for the team’s difficulties, though, considering that the Eagles are currently working with their third offensive coordinator in three years.
For a quarterback, consistency is maybe the most crucial external component that determines success, and Hurts is currently hindered by the coaches in this regard.
Saquon Barkley was acquired by the Eagles from the Giants over the offseason on a three-year deal worth $37,750,000, with $26,000,000 guaranteed.
The Eagles are among the few teams that don’t deploy a backfield by committee, since Barkley has been their only reliable running back this season.
Barkley ranks third in the NFL in rushing (486 yards), behind only Derrick Henry and Jordan Mason, despite missing just one game because of a bye.
The Eagles possess maybe the best wide receiver combination in the NFL in DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown, but Smith has only played in four games and Brown in just two due to injury.
In Week 6’s game against the Cleveland Browns, both receivers made their Eagles debuts and combined for 181 yards and two scores on nine receptions.
starting tight end who is currently employed Grant Calcaterra has an opportunity to replace Dallas Goedert, who departed the game against the Browns and is anticipated to miss some time.
Although Calcaterra is a physical pass-catcher who may cause the Giants a lot of mismatch problems, he is not a very useful blocker for a defence that prefers to run the ball frequently.
This season, the Eagles’ defensive line—which presently includes Fred Johnson, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Mekhi Becton, and Lane Johnson—has suffered injuries.
Jordan Mailata, who sustained an injury against the Browns, is replaced by Fred Johnson. Without a doubt, Johnson is the weak link in that line.
In pass protection thus far this season, the interior of the line has also suffered, suggesting that, if healthy, Dexter Lawrence would have another big game.
The Plan
For the first six weeks of the season, the Eagles’ passing approach is among the NFL’s more conservative ones.
Hurts ranks eleventh in the NFL for the percentage of passes he has completed between the line of scrimmage and ten yards downfield (49%), but he is averaging 8.4 yards per attempt on those passes, which is the second-highest rate in the league.
The cornerstone of this defence, which permits Barkley and Hurts to be dangerous ground players, is the zone run.
The Eagles defence under Moore doesn’t resemble the offences of his past, which relied heavily on the run game and pre-snap motion.If I were an Eagles fan—thank God I’m not—I would be concerned about the frequency and effectiveness of play action passing games.
For a team that is so committed to running the ball, they should ideally be more effective than they have been thus far. However, with this defense’s tendency towards stagnation, it doesn’t force defences to think quickly and adjust.
With Goedert out of the lineup, the Eagles will probably use fewer 11 and 12 personnel, who together account for 92.5% of their offensive snaps.
Summary
Given the defensive line problems, the Eagles are currently experiencing, the Giants defence ought to be able to exert some continuous pressure on Hurts.
The weak link in the Eagles tackle group has been Fred Johnson, who is listed at 6’7″, which I don’t typically give much credence to. However, this season, Azeez Ojulari has performed admirably against bigger offensive linemen.
This week, the Giants defence should put a lot of attention on Cover 2 to force the Eagles to attempt and find pockets deep downfield, an area where Hurts has had a lot of difficulty this season.
