The Giants don't have much of a pass game that the Eagles should be overly concerned about tonight when they square off at MetLife Stadium. Giants star wideout Malik Nabers is out for the season with an ACL injury and their other most experienced field-stretcher, Darius Slayton, is also out with an injury.
That leaves the Giants with fourth-year slot receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (8.6 yards per catch career), disappointing third-year wideout Jalin Hyatt (31 career catches), and undrafted rookie Beaux Collins (1 career reception) as the Giants' top three receiving threats.
Which is why you should expect to see the Giants run the ball as much as possible and attempt to complement their run with a horizontal pass game that slowly, methodically moves the chains as the team tries – key word, tries – to play ball control and limit the Eagles' possessions.
Without much at receiver, the Giants will feature more two tight-end formations (12 personnel) and will look to kickstart their ground game with rookie running back Cam Skattebo while also mixing in the mobility and athleticism of their rookie first-round pick quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Behind many of these heavy 12 personnel packages, the Giants have rushed for 297 yards over their past two games, a Week 4 upset of the Chargers followed by a blown lead and loss to the Saints at the Superdome, and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. Over their past three games, which includes Russell Wilson's last start, the Giants have rushed for 427 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per run.
Their offensive line isn't great, but it's better now that Pro Bowl left tackle Andrew Thomas is healthy, and it's much improved from a few years ago, when the Giants' o-line was an NFL laughingstock.
The two tight-end formations help them add a little more beef up front, and also usually force their opponents to respond with base defenses that substitute bigger, slower, run-stuffing linemen into the game in place of smaller, faster pass rushers. That helps the Giants work the play-action pass.
It'll be interesting to see if Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio thinks he can stop the Giants' run from his nickel defense to keep Cooper DeJean and his best edge rushers on the field, or if he leans heavily on his base defense.
Either way, the Giants' run game has a new face in rookie, fourth-rounder Cam Skattebo, who last year fueled Arizona State to the College Football playoffs and gave the national audience a glimpse of his powerful running and reliable hands in a close loss to Texas.
Skattebo leads the Giants with 63 carries and 240 rushing yards, and although he's averaging just 3.8 yards per carry, he's already showing that trademark downhill style and contact balance that made him one of college football's must-see ball carriers last year.
His showed both on his first career touchdown, Week 2 against Dallas:
Skattebo isn't a burner, but he rarely goes down on first contact. The Eagles need to swarm to him, and wrap up.
He doesn't need a whole lot of space, which helps because the Giants don't give him much.
Skattebo runs with patience and follows his blocks. He presses the hole while his feet stay churning. He's not going to rip off a bunch of Saquon Barkley-style highlights, but he can extend runs with power and contact balance.
Fundamental tackling will be important for the Eagles' defense, which also has to keep an eye on Dart's out-of-pocket acumen. The Giants have used Dart somewhat like the Eagles use Jalen Hurts on designed runs from spread formations that lighten the box, a real weapon in the red zone.
Dart didn't run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, and he's not super fast, but neither is Hurts. Both are excellent straight-line runners who have accurate internal clocks that tell them when it's time to get out of Dodge.
Dart is second on the Giants in rushing with 109 yards and averages almost 6 yards per run. He'll very likely be on the move behind an offensive line that should be overmatched against this Eagles defensive front.
The Eagles probably won't spy him – Fangio hasn't done that very often – but Fangio could employ more zone coverage than usual, like the Saints did in the video below, to make sure his defenders' backs aren't facing the quarterback.
Without Nabers and Slayton, the Giants are one-dimensional. It'll be the Eagles job on defense to make sure the Giants stay that way.
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