The Philadelphia Eagles are just moments away from facing the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. With the Eagles looking to put space between first and second play in the NFC East, we sat down with Dan Benton of The Giants Wire to forecast Sunday’s matchup.
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1. Daniel Jones is a young quarterback and still feeling his way through the NFL. What are your thoughts on the Giants potentially moving on for Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields? Why are so many teams enthralled with cutting bait on young signal-callers so early?
The Giants aren’t moving for Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields and head coach Joe Judge has made that abundantly clear. Unlike the previous two coaches, this one doesn’t cave to the will of the armchair general managers or shock jocks who need to say outlandish things for ratings. That’s good news for the Giants. As far as the desire to cut bait and run so early, I think the answer is more about society than football. We live in an instant gratification era where people lack patience and will, and would rather throw things away and buy new than be patient. But as they say, repeating the same cycle and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
2. Leonard Williams is having arguably his best season as a pro. What do you attribute to his success? Can he sustain that level of play?
From a sack standpoint, Leonard Williams is certainly having one of his better seasons. And in these trying times, perception is reality. Unfortunately for Williams, as solid as he’s playing this season, his pressure percentage is actually down and he’s not collapsing the pocket as much as he did a season ago. On the plus side, he focused on upper body strength during the offseason which has allowed him to take quarterbacks down at the point of contact. It has also drastically improved his already solid run defense. Sustaining his current level of play is really just about remaining healthy and engaged despite the losing. Neither of those appears to be an issue for Williams.
3. The Giants have lost eight straight games to the Eagles and 20 of the past 25 meetings. Why? How has that impacted your psyche?
Every game in the NFL is different, so I don’t think anyone on the current roster cares about what happened between the Giants and Eagles in 2016 or 2017 or even in Week 7 for that matter. But what I do believe is that the reasons for Philly’s success are evident: Since 2011, the Giants have dealt with endless changes in the scouting department, at general manager, at head coach, at the various coordinator positions, complete and total roster turnover, which includes a quarterback change. Consistency is essential in the NFL and the Giants have been anything but consistent for a decade. They haven’t just been smacked around by the Eagles, they’ve been smacked around by just about everyone.
4. Wayne Gallman has been something of a touchdown monster over the past few weeks. The Eagles have been susceptible to being gashed on the ground. How has Gallman looked to you and what should we expect going forward?
Wayne Gallman is a very focused, hard-nosed guy who never complains and just comes to work to do his job. Even with the presence of Saquon Barkley, he has spent years preparing for the No. 1 role, and now that he’s finally got the opportunity again, he’s making the most of it. His style of running obviously differs from that of Barkley, so it took a little while for the offensive line and tight ends to get used to him. But now that they have, we’re seeing the results. Gallman is a more than capable NFL runner who will give 100% on every single play. Hopefully, the league is watching because he deserves to start somewhere when Barkley comes back.
5. Is Austin Mack a player to watch on Sunday and why?
With Golden Tate returning, Austin Mack might see fewer targets than he did in Week 9, but he’s certainly earned the right to be involved. He’s another solid worker who comes in every day, prepares hard, asks questions, puts the time in, and studies. When his number was called, he was ready and he produced. Joe Judge has a soft spot for players like that, so he’ll have some sort of role against the Eagles, but we’ll see just how much. There’s a lot of potential in Mack and I have a feeling he’s not done flashing yet.
6. Who wins and why?
I am a bit concerned about the depth Philadelphia is getting back, but the Giants seem to compete until the end no matter who lines up across from them. I expect this to be another close game that comes down to the wire — only this time, Evan Engram catches the game-winning pass dropped into the palm of his hands. Giants 24, Eagles 23