Week 16 Eagles vs Giants Picks
It’s been rough for the Eagles as of late. Last Monday night saw the Eagles suffer a crushing loss against the Seattle Seahawks in the final minute. Three straight losses have not only stripped the Eagles of the number one seed but the division title as well. There were rumors of a lack of belief in the Eagles schemes by their players and more fuel was added to the fire when the Eagles announced that defensive coordinator Sean Desai would no longer be calling plays before Monday night’s game. The defense looked better at times throughout the game, but it still was far from great.
The performances of the last three weeks have taken away a lot of the hope Eagles fans had for the playoffs. However, the season isn’t over, and the Eagles will have three weeks to get things on a better track heading into the playoffs. This week, the Eagles will match up with the 5-9 New York Giants on Christmas day. The Eagles have already clinched the playoff berth and are still very much alive to win the division title. The Dallas Cowboys have a tough game they may lose against the Miami Dolphins this week and with an Eagles win they could re-capture the lead in the NFC East. Regardless, the Eagles need to get back to winning and playing well and this week needs to be the week.
Giants Win by Managing Games
It hasn’t been a pretty season at all for the New York Giants, but they have found some success as of late with quarterback Tommy DeVito at the helm. Their offense runs on taking care of the ball and getting one or two big plays a game through the air, through Saquon Barkley, or through DeVito’s legs. Where they win is through the turnover battle, as they currently rank sixth in turnover differential in the league. Alternatively, the Eagles rank 26th in turnover differential.
The Giants lack true playmakers at receiver, thus making it almost impossible for them to come back from early deficits in games. They rely on grinding out first downs and drives with Barkley and short passes and runs from DeVito. Against the 49ers and the Seahawks last week, the Eagles struggled some against the run, especially in the tackling department. With the weaknesses in the secondary, the Eagles must lock down the run and avoid having to put extra players in the box. If they cannot, the defense gets stretched too thin trying to account for everything, as seen against the 49ers and Seattle. Against the Giants, if the Eagles can stifle the run, they will be in a great spot to win the game.
Are the Eagles Offensive Issues Fixable?
Every week for the past month or two, there have been constant questions and complaints about the Eagles offensive performances. The Eagles have all-star talent on that side of the ball but have played far from an all-star level. A lot of scrutiny has been aimed towards offensive coordinator, Brian Johnson, and Nick Sirianni wanted to redirect that this week. Sirianni told the media that he should be the one to receive the blame for the offensive woes of the Eagles. Sirianni said, “This is my offense. The criticism unfairly goes to [offensive coordinator] Brian Johnson because he’s calling the plays. The criticism should go to me. The offense has been similar throughout my three years.”
Whosevers fault it may be, there needs to be some major correction. It seems as if the offense has not evolved and that defenses have a great feel and understanding of how the Eagles want to attack on any given play. Yet, the general play-calling of the offense has been leading to far too many third and longs. The least this offense can do to improve is to just play safer. Especially this week against the Giants, there’s no need to constantly call and look for deep plays to Brown and Smith. Not everything needs to look so pretty and explosive with this offense, they need to just grind out yards and drives like everyone knows they can and have seen them do. It doesn’t matter how talented an offense is if they’re constantly putting themselves into third and long situations.
Eagles vs Giants Picks: Bottom Line
Eagles Win 24-10
The Eagles need a spark desperately, and this can be a perfect game to do so. All the commotion of the last three weeks has depicted an image that the team is crumbling down the stretch. Another fourth straight loss here to the Giants could be a point of no return for the team. The Giants defense is solid overall, but struggle against the run and that should be a very exploitable weakness for the Eagles. The Giants have a weak offensive line going against an Eagles defensive line that is still very good, and the Giants don’t have many playmakers that could expose the Eagles secondary. The Eagles should outlast the Giants at the very least in this game, but another uninspiring win won’t quell any concerns. Yet, they’re running out of time to change course and start playing good football again.
Main Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
