The Giants/Eagles NFC Divisional Round Match-Up!

After a sluggish end to the season, the New York Giants looked a lot better beating the Minnesota Vikings and to move on to Saturday’s Divisional Round match-up with the Philadelphia Eagles. Will they bring the offensive firepower we saw from them in Minnesota to the City of Brotherly Love?

Meanwhile, The Eagles looked like Super Bowl favourites for most of the regular season until QB Jalen Hurts got injured in a December 18th win over the Chicago Bears. He came back for a quick tune-up in their season-ending victory over these Giants but wasn’t as sharp as he looked pre-injury. Was the week off enough to help him return to form and justify the Eagles being a 7.5 point favourite in this one? Let’s get into it!

Quarterbacks

This would be an easy choice if not for Jalen Hurts’ sprained AC joint on his throwing shoulder. Daniel Jones had a monster game last week with over 300 yards passing, 2 TDs, and 78 yards rushing. I wouldn’t expect him to replicate those passing numbers again this week though, as it was only his 3rd game this season with more than 228 yards passing. All 3 of those games came against 2 of the 3 worst passing defences in the NFL.

However, Jones has had a breakout year as a runner. He ran for career highs of 708 yards and 7 TDs on the season. He’s a big, athletic guy, and the Giants are finally putting that athleticism to use. Part of this is out of necessity, as the Giants don’t appear to trust him throwing the ball.

The Eagles, on the other hand, trust Jalen Hurts to do it all. And he’s justified that by having a career year throwing the ball while remaining a dynamic threat on the ground as well. He finished 2nd in rushing TDs among all players despite missing those 2 games. The big question mark is that sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder.

How will it affect his passes? Will he be less likely to run so he can protect it? Unfortunately, I don’t own a crystal ball, but I’m still giving the nod to the Eagles here because 75% of Jalen Hurts is still better than Daniel Jones.

Advantage: Eagles

Running Backs

While each team’s QB plays a major role in them being top 5 rushing offenses, they also have 2 monsters at running back. After back-to-back seasons where he looked like a fraction of himself due to injury, Giants RB Saquon Barkley bounced back with a career year that saw him finish as the 4th best rusher in the league.

Who was behind him at #5? Eagles RB Miles Sanders. And it was Sanders who had the monster game in their Week 14 match-up, finishing with 144 yards and 2 TDs on just 17 carries in the blowout Eagles’ win. His breakout season led to his 1st Pro Bowl selection.

As far as pure ability is concerned, Barkley is the slightly better player. But, while he did have 2 TDs last week against the Vikings, he hasn’t rushed for more than 100 yards since Week 10. In fact, all of his sub-40 yard performances have come since Week 10, which is also when the Giants startled struggling. This is the most amount of touches that he’s had since his rookie season, and it’s looking like it’s caught up to him.

A fresher Sanders coming off a bye week is better than Saquon.

Advantage: Eagles

Receivers/Tight Ends

This will be the biggest disparity we talk about with these two teams. The Giants' top 2 wideouts, Darius Slayton and Reggie James, combined for fewer receiving yards than Eagles' top WR AJ Brown, who finished 4th in the league with 1496 yards. He was joined in the top 10 by teammate Devonta Smith, giving the Eagles 2 1000-yard wideouts.

In fairness to New York, their best receiver is probably midseason acquisition Isaiah Hodgins, whose numbers, including 4 TD catches in his last 5 games, would probably lead the team if he’d been there the full season. And there’s always the hope, however small, that Kenny Golladay will turn into what the team thought he would be when they signed him to that 4-year, $72 million deal.

The TE position doesn’t get much closer as the Eagles have the reliable Dallas Goedert to the Giants’ rookie Daniel Bellingham, who is more of a prototypical tight end and in need of more experience.

Advantage: Eagles

Offensive Line

At first glance, this looks a lot like the QB matchup. Both are very good at blocking the run (again, these are 2 top 5 rushing offenses), but the passing game is the true separator. Some of that is related to playing style, as the Giants are committed to establishing the run. However, when they’ve had to pass, Jones has been pressured over 25% of the time. Compare that to 18% of the time for Jalen Hurts.

Again, like the QB matchup, the big question mark here for the Eagles is health. Pro Bowler Lane Johnson, who may even be more crucial to this team’s offense than Hurts, is questionable after missing the final 2 games with a torn adductor in his groin. He’s said he’s playing, so it’s more of a question of how effective he’ll be since this is an issue that’s going to require surgery to repair.

They certainly have plenty of talent with fellow Pro Bowlers Landon Dickerson and Jason Kelce, but protecting an already banged-up Hurts is a top priority if they want to win a Super Bowl. Picking the Eagles’ unit here, but keep an eye on how Johnson looks.

Advantage: Eagles

Kicking

If you know me, you know I’m a reluctant Carolina Panthers fan. So I’m quite familiar with the Graham Gano Kicking Experience and had many sleepless nights because of it. Sure enough, now that he’s not on a team I pull for, he has become one of the more consistent kickers in the game. He converted more than 90% of his kicks just once in 7 seasons with Carolina. He’s been above 90% in 2 out of 3 seasons with the Giants.

Jake Elliott has gotten back on track for the Eagles after a rough 2020 campaign, including making the Pro Bowl last year. He’s been an extra point machine this year thanks to the Eagles’ high-powered offense, hitting 51 of them to lead the NFL. I’m still going with Gano here though. For him to not only still be in the league, but also be this effective, he must possess mountains of mental toughness. Which is exactly what you want in a kicker come playoff time.

Advantage: Giants

Offense

The injuries to Jalen Hurts and Lane Johnson worry me a little bit. The Eagles are just way more explosive on that side of the ball though. The run-heavy Giants’ O features a running back who has not looked like himself the second half of the season, and I think they’ll be in big trouble if Daniel Jones is forced to win the game with his arm. I’d much rather have the NFC’s #1 scoring offense, even if it’s a little banged up.

Advantage: Eagles

Defensive Line

It might be worth it for the Giants to stick with the run simply to keep Daniel Jones off the ground. This Eagles’ DL led the league in sacks and it wasn’t even close. DEs Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, and DT Javon Hargrave each set career-highs with 11 sacks this year.

Hargrave is joined inside by a rotation of former All-Pro Fletcher Cox, Linval Joseph, and human mountain Jordan Davis. As good as that size and experience has been at getting to opposing QBs, they’ve only been average at stopping the run. They’ll need to be better at that if they want to get the Giants into passing situations where they can tee off on Jones.

The Giants’ DL doesn’t put up big numbers at all, but I think that has more to do with the units behind them. Very solid group led by Dexter Lawrence. Are they good enough to overcome the problems behind them against this Eagles’ OL? Meh.

Advantage: Eagles

Linebackers

This group has been a pleasant surprise for the Eagles. Haason Reddick is the standout here. He finished tied for 2nd in the NFL with 16 sacks and tied for the league-lead with 5 forced fumbles. T.J. Edwards was among the league leaders in solo tackles himself. Kyzir White is solid, although he has struggled in coverage at times. The X-Factor here will be their ability to keep Jones in check as a runner.

The Giants’ run defence would have to improve mightily to even be considered average. They finished near the bottom of the league in rushing yards per game allowed and yards per attempt allowed. A lot of this falls squarely on the shoulders of the linebacking crew. It’s not all bad though. Rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux has started to show some of the pass rushing ability that made him a top 5 pick, and led the league in snow angels this year. However, there’s no snow in the forecast for Saturday.

Advantage: Eagles

Defensive Backs

Aided by that pass rush we talked about earlier, the Eagles gave up the fewest amount of passing yards in the league this year. When they do give up completions, it’s not for much as they’re tied for 2nd best in the league with 10.1 yards per completion allowed. Darius Slay is headed back to the Pro Bowl, and CJ Gardner-Johnson tied for the league-lead in interceptions despite missing 5 games.

In fact, Gardner-Johnson’s 6 picks equals the number of interceptions the Giants had as a team this season. Now, the Giants’ DBs aren’t as bad as that stat would lead you to believe. In fact, they’re actually pretty good. The concern is you need to make plays when you’re the less talented team like they are, and that’s where they come up short.

Advantage: Eagles

Punters

How do you pick against a guy nicknamed the Scottish Hammer? Jamie Gillan has been solid all season for the Giants. Eagles P Brett Kern was on the practice squad most of the season until starting P Arryn Siposs went down with an injury. He also does NOT have a nickname.

Advantage: Giants

Defence

The Eagles big play ability combined with an impressive defensive backfield make them the choice here. While the numbers don’t tell the full story for the Giants, their run defense leaves a lot to be desired. They also don’t force a lot of turnovers and gave up the 3rd most 1st downs in the NFL this season. That’s a recipe for disaster against an offense as good as Philadelphia’s.

Advantage: Eagles

The Verdict

It looks like an easy choice here when the only advantages I see for the Giants are their punting and kicking units. However, I believe this one has the potential to be closer than expected. The Eagles have been trying to get back in a rhythm after dealing with injuries while the Giants scored a huge confidence-boosting road playoff win last week. At the end of the day though, the Eagles have too many options on offense to lose at home in this one.

Eagles win and move on to the NFC Title Game!

Brandon Silvers