THE STORYLINE:
I have said all along, other than the obvious win-loss record (19-36-1), the two things that are going to get Brian Daboll fired are his inability to win in the NFC East and his inability to secure a winning defensive coordinator. Daboll’s record looks even worse when you consider seven of his 19 wins came before November 14, 2022. His record against the NFC East? 4-15-1, with three of those wins and the tie coming against the Washington Commanders without Jayden Daniels. To be clear, he has never beaten the Dallas Cowboys (0-7) and has only one win against the Philadelphia Eagles (1-6), a meaningless, season-ending game in January 2024.
The Eagles and Saquon Barkley may not yet be playing as well as they did last year, but the New York Giants are everyone’s “get-right team.” The Giants have given the Cowboys, Chiefs, and Saints their first wins. They gave Spencer Rattler his first win. The only two wins the Saints have in their last nine games have come against the Giants. Need to out of a funk? Play the Giants.
The loss to the Saints was catastrophic. The Giants could have been 2-3, with a 2-game winning streak, an undefeated rookie quarterback, and a chance to pull to .500 against their hated rival. MetLife would have been rocking. Instead, they are 1-4, and the fragile psyche of the team and fans is once again in the toilet. Tickets most likely have been sold to Eagles’ fans coming up the Turnpike and MetLife will likely seem like a road game.
The bottom is about to fall out.
THE INJURY REPORT:
- QB Jaxson Dart (hamstring – probable)
- RB Tyrone Tracy (shoulder – probable)
- WR Darius Slayton (hamstring – out)
- RT Jermaine Eluemunor (back – questionable)
- ILB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (hamstring – out)
- ILB Swayze Bozeman (ankle – out)
- CB Dru Phillips (hip – probable)
- S Jevón Holland (calf – probable)
- S Tyler Nubin (groin – probable)
- S Dane Belton (shoulder – probable)
GIANTS ON OFFENSE:
Joe Schoen has had his hands on this roster for four years. That’s an eternity in today’s NFL. This is his roster, his team, his salary cap situation. He has signed as free agents or drafted almost every player on this roster. For two seasons, the Giants saw their entire offense sabotaged and collapse due to a complete lack of depth on the offensive line. Now we are about to witness the same situation at wide receiver. The Giants wide receiver room is the worst in the NFL. That is being exposed with the loss of Malik Nabers, just like the offensive line depth was exposed by the loss of Andrew Thomas. Schoen drafted Wan’Dale Robinson (2nd round) and Jalin Hyatt (3rd and 4th round picks on trade up). He re-signed Darius Slayton to a 3-year, $36 million contract. That’s as bad as it gets. If you were giving him a letter grade, it would be an ‘F’.
The Giants will enter this game without Nabers and Slayton, against a secondary that the Eagles have invested a lot of resources into. This will be a complete mismatch. Jalin Hyatt, Beaux Collins, Wan’Dale Robinson? LOL. Jaxson Dart will most likely be left holding the ball too long and/or taking off because no one is getting open. We already saw one of his two interceptions being caused by Collins quitting on a route. The soft Hyatt is the poster child for the word quit. Eagles slot corner Cooper DeJean, already one of the best in the business, should have no issues handling Robinson.
The only hope the Giants have here is if they can use their tight ends and running backs effectively in the passing game, combined with a somewhat respectable ground game. That’s not likely to be good enough. It’s 2025, not 1940.
GIANTS ON DEFENSE:
The Giants went out and gave Shane Bowen everything he could possibly hope for in one offseason: Paulson Adebo ($54 million), Jevon Holland ($45 million), Chauncey Golston ($18 million), Roy Robertson-Harris ($9 million), Abdul Carter (3rd overall pick), and Darius Alexander (3rd round). The returns are in. Bowen sucks. Spencer Rattler even talked trash about his defense BEFORE the game and backed it up with performance. Rattler is 1-10 as a starter in the NFL. He thanks Bowen and the Giants for his first win.
The Eagles are not clicking on offense, most notably running the football, but also passing the football as well. Expect that to change on Thursday night. Bowen is over his head.
GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
One of the primary reasons the Eagles are 4-1 is their special teams. Expect the Giants to lose here too.
QUOTES:
Brian Daboll on how the team views Jaxson Dart: “I think they all respect Jaxson for his talents, one, and how he is. He’s a pretty humble guy. They see how he works. They know he’s a rookie. Again, there are going to be ups and downs. There’s no young quarterback I’d rather have to work with than Jaxson.”
THE FINAL WORD:
For all their “issues,” the the defending Super Bowl Champion Eagles are 4-1, facing a 1-4 Giants team with a shitty defensive coordinator and the worst wide receiver room in the NFL. Expect a breakout game by Saquon Barkley, perhaps Jalen Hurts and the passing game too. Why not?
Stating the obvious, the Brian Daboll watch is on. Joe Schoen should be sweating more than usual too, but ownership probably will use any excuse to retain him.