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10 Things To Watch For

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10 things to watch in Giants vs. Eagles

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QUICK TURNAROUND

The Giants were unable to extend their winning streak to two games this past Sunday as they fell to the Saints in New Orleans. After jumping out to an early lead, turnovers on five consecutive possessions resulted in a 26-14 loss. The team did not have much time to harp on their Week 5 mishaps, though, as they have spent the short week gearing up for their first matchup this season against the Eagles.

"The most important thing is how can you respond to it and how you're able to make adjustments, how you're able to take accountability for mistakes and then clean those things up and put your team in the best situation," quarterback Jaxson Dart said when asked about facing adversity. "I think that's the hardest thing about this game is you never know how people are going to respond at times, and that's what makes the players the greatest of all time. Being able to see the guys just growing up who are the best at being able to respond to adversity, so it's definitely important."

The Giants are looking to pick up their first divisional win of the year after losing to the Commanders and Cowboys to open the season. Meanwhile, the Eagles are coming off their first loss of the season after falling to the Broncos, 21-17, in Philadelphia.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The New York Giants (1-4) will host the Philadelphia Eagles (4-1) on Thursday, Oct. 9, at MetLife Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET on PRIME and FOX 5 locally.

This will be the 181st regular-season meeting between the two teams, with the Giants trailing the series, 86-92-2. They lead the series at home, 49-41-1.

The teams last met in Week 18 of the 2024 season at Lincoln Financial Field. The Giants' most recent victory over Philadelphia was on Jan. 7, 2024, when they defeated the Eagles at home, 27-10.

View rare photos of the historic rivalry between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.

INJURY REPORT

Giants

Out: LB Swayze Bozeman (Ankle), LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (Hamstring), WR Darius Slayton (Hamstring)

Questionable: T Jermaine Eluemunor (Back)

Eagles

Out: TE Grant Calcaterra (Oblique), G Landon Dickerson (Ankle)

Questionable: LB Nakobe Dean (Knee), DT Jalen Carter (Heel)

HOW TO WATCH, LISTEN & STREAM

TV

Channel: Amazon Prime

Announcers: Al Michaels (Play-By-Play), Kirk Herbstreit (Analyst), Kaylee Hartung (Sideline)

Local TV channel: FOX 5 NY

Radio

Channel: WFAN 101.9PM / 66 AM

Announcers: Bob Papa (Play-by-Play), Carl Banks (Analyst), Howard Cross (Sideline)

Pre- and Postgame: John Schmeelk, Tiki Barber

Pregame: Giants Gameday begins at 6:15 PM, presented by Hackensack Meridian Health.

Postgame: Giants Extra Point

Stream

This week's game can be streamed on NFL+.

STOPPING THE RUN

For the last few years, the strength of the Eagles offense has been its run game. We saw their rushing success elevate to another level last year after bringing in Saquon Barkley, which led to the Eagles having tremendous success on the ground. Barkley has gotten his season off to a bit of a slow start with an average of just 3.2 yards per carry through five weeks. Despite the early struggles, the Giants are well aware of how big of a threat the talented running back is.

"Could be teams scheming for him," defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence said about the start to Barkley's season. "It happens, but you don't want to be the team to let him get hot. So, you've got to stay disciplined Thursday and go win."

In addition to Barkley's abilities in the run game, the defense will also have to keep an eye on Jalen Hurts using his legs. Hurts is already up to 43 rush attempts for 182 yards (4.2 avg.) and four touchdowns this season, including four of five games with nine or more rush attempts. After averaging 140 yards on the ground in their first two games, the Eagles have averaged just 73 rushing yards per game the last three weeks. Look for Philadelphia to try to establish the run early on Thursday.

STEPPING UP IN THE RED ZONE

One of the biggest differences between the 1-4 Giants and the 4-1 Eagles is production in the red zone. The Giants come into this game having scored a touchdown on a league-low 31.6 percent (six of 19) of their trips inside the opponent's 20. Meanwhile, the Eagles have scored a touchdown on 92.3 percent (12 of 13) of their trips inside the red zone, the best mark in the NFL. On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants rank 9th in the league in the red zone, while the Eagles come in at No. 3.

The Giants took a step in the right direction when it came to the red zone last week. They scored a touchdown the first two times they got inside New Orleans' 20, before failing to score on their next two trips. The defense stepped up with their backs against the wall, though, keeping the Saints out of the end zone on all three of their trips inside the 20.

"This is a defense that historically doesn't give up a lot of big plays with the way they play," Brian Daboll said in his 1-on-1 interview with Giants.com. "They force you to execute your plays. They do a good job in the red zone and tighten up and try to hold the offense to three. That's an area we've been working on. I thought there was improvement on both sides last week, but it'll be big for us this week."

PLAYER TO WATCH

LT Andrew Thomas – After missing the first two games of the season, Thomas has looked like his normal self since returning to the field in Week 3. The left tackle leads all tackles with a minimum of 50 pass block snaps in pressure rate allowed this season at 1.2 percent, which trails only Panthers center Austin Corbett (1.1 percent) among all offensive linemen. Thomas is also one of only two left tackles to have allowed just one total pressure in two consecutive starts this year, according to Next Gen Stats.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

CB Paulson Adebo vs. WR A.J. Brown – While the Eagles have jumped out to a 4-1 start, it's safe to say it's not because of their passing game. Philadelphia ranks 31st in the league in passing yards this season, which of course means that Brown's numbers are down from what we're accustomed to seeing (his 1.3 yards per route run this season is a career-low). Adebo has been up and down this season while matching up against some very talented wideouts. Thursday's matchup against Brown will be his next opportunity to try to shut down the opposing team's top receiver.

EAGLE TO WATCH

RB Saquon Barkley – Barkley is averaging just 2.7 yards after contact per carry this season, which ranks as the fifth-lowest among running backs with 40 or more carries. However, the Giants' 4.5 rushing yards after contact is the most in the NFL this year. Barkley has shown throughout his career that he is more than capable of breaking a few tackles and busting loose for a long touchdown. The Giants' defense must be at its best when it comes to tackling on Thursday.

STAT TO KNOW

The Giants are the only team to have three players with more than 15 pressures this season. Carter leads the team with 25, while Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux are tied for 14th-most in the league with 19 apiece. When all three outside linebackers are on the field together, the Giants have pressured opposing quarterbacks on 45.7 percent of drop backs and allowed a drop back success rate of 40.2 percent. When only two of them are on the field, the pressure rate drops to 32.1 percent while the drop back success rate increases to 46.8 percent.

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