Three Keys To NFL Divisional Playoff Game Between New York Giants And Philadelphia Eagles

For the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants, there’s a significant amount of familiarity ahead of their third matchup, this time in the NFC Divisional Playoff round Saturday night at 8:15 PM at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

I guess you would say that they know us well, and we know them well,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told the media Tuesday. “You know the personnel really well. You know the schemes really well. So, there are advantages and disadvantages to both ends of that…. But it’s familiarity, and that can be both good and bad because it’s not like we’re just familiar with them; they’re familiar with us, as well.”

And yet, there have been evolutions, injuries and other key aspects to both teams that have changed since the first two games these two have played — a 48-22 romp by the Eagles in Week 14, and a 22-16 Philadelphia victory against a Giants team that largely sat its starters in Week 18.

Perhaps there is no greater question hanging over this game than precisely how the Eagles plan to use quarterback Jalen Hurts, and exactly how effective he can be in the scheme they have planned for him. Hurts returned from a shoulder injury in time to face New York in Week 18, but performed at a level well below the dominance he displayed in the first Philadelphia-New York game, failing to record a touchdown pass and gaining just 13 yards on the ground.

The Eagles have been quiet about exactly how they plan to utilize him after these two weeks to recover, provided by the bye week Philadelphia earned with the Week 18 win, and that continued in Sirianni’s answers again this week.

“He’s better today than he was two weeks ago, and he’s continuing to get better, and he feels good,” Sirianni said. “I’ll let him tell you how he feels.”

For their part, the Giants are preparing for the Hurts who threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 77 in the Week 14 Philly win.

“No, he wasn’t on the injury report,” Daboll said when asked if he’s expecting anything less than the full Hurts experience. “So, I’m expecting his best. And that’s what he’s given every time I’ve been around him.”

It is worth noting, however, that New York has some key players available to counter what Hurts does, particularly in the passing game. Both Week 14 and Week 18 for the Giants came and went without the services of Adoree’ Jackson, who was out with a knee injury. Jackson is now not only healthy enough to play, but largely shut down Justin Jefferson of Minnesota in the Giants’ 31-24 win last weekend.

As for Xavier McKinney, he played sparingly in Week 18, didn’t play at all in Week 14, but is at full strength, as exhibited by the game-winning tackle he made in the final moments of the Minnesota game.

“I think with whoever we have in there, we do as much as we can do,” Daboll said of Jackson and McKinney. “And I think all of our players understand our system and how we want to approach things. We’re week-to-week. So, whether it was J-Pin (safety Jason Pinnock) or Belton or T-Jeff (safety Tony Jefferson) – whoever it may be – everybody knows what to do. It’s always good to have starters back that have missed some time. It’s good to have those two guys back.”

No matter what the defense does to limit Hurts, the Giants simply won’t win without limiting the historic Philadelphia pass rush. The Eagles registered 70 sacks during the regular season, third-most of any team since 1982, and are the only team since 1982 with four different players in double figures in sacks.

““It definitely starts with how many guys they have,” Giants lineman Andrew Thomas said of Philadelphia’s pass rush. “Most teams, they have a premier pass rusher, and they have a rotation of guys after that. They have guys that rotate that would start on other teams. That obviously just lets you know the talent level. Their coaches do a good job with scheme. They don’t just straight rush all the time. They run different schemes depending on which D-tackle is in. That makes a difference, too.”

Thomas will be tasked primarily with slowing down Josh Sweat, who practiced this week and is expected to play. But for New York to win, there cannot be a repeat of Week 14, when the Eagles sacked the quarterback seven times.

For his part, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones expects a different result this time.

““They’ve got good players and they know how to get to the quarterback,” Jones said. “We’ll have a plan for those guys, and we’ve got a lot of confidence in our guys up front. They’ve played really well the whole year and they’ll be ready to go.”

One thing is clear in Eagles-Giants this year: familiarity has not yielded the same outcome. New York is hoping there’s a change on the scoreboard this time, too.