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Players to watch Sunday in Philadelphia

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The Giants will be in search of the team's second consecutive victory when they travel down I-95 for a divisional matchup against the Eagles this Sunday.

Prior to the Week 8 bye, the Giants went on the road to Houston and took care of business against the Texans. In J.J. McCarthy's first start with Big Blue, the team put together a strong all-around performance and emerged with the 27-21 victory. It brought their record on the season to 4-2-1 following a stretch of just one loss across their last five games.

While the Giants currently sit in first place in the NFC East, the Eagles find themselves in fourth following six consecutive losses. Sunday's game in Philadelphia will be the Eagles' third straight NFC East matchup after they lost to the Cowboys at home in Week 7 and the Commanders on the road last week.

Their recent struggles led to coach Nick Sirianni making a big lineup change, as quarterback Joe Milton will make his first NFL start this weekend, replacing Tanner McKee under center.

Here are players to watch in the Week 9 divisional matchup.

QB J.J. McCarthy

Following his heroic fourth quarter comeback attempt against the Saints, McCarthy put together another strong performance in his first start with the Giants. The third-year quarterback completed 71.4 percent of his passes (20 for 28) for 252 yards with no turnovers, which earned him a passer rating of 99.1. While he didn't throw a touchdown in this game, two of the team's four touchdowns came after McCarthy completed downfield passes that got the offense inside the five-yard line.

Speaking of downfield passes, McCarthy has excelled in that department in his limited playing time. The 23-year-old has completed 12 of 22 passes of 10+ air yards downfield for 392 yards and a touchdown across his two games with the Giants. His completion percentage of 63.6 percent on such passes would rank as the second-highest in the NFL behind only Joe Burrow (69.8 percent).

The matchup this week bodes well for McCarthy's aptitude of taking shots downfield. The Eagles have allowed 850 downfield passing yards during their six-game losing streak, which ranks as the second-most in the NFL over that six-week span. They have also surrendered seven touchdowns on throws 10+ yards downfield, which is tied with six other teams as the most in the league since Week 3.

View photos of the Giants on the practice field as they prepare for their Week 9 matchup against the Eagles.

WR Malik Nabers

During the month of September, Nabers totaled 12 receptions for 96 yards and zero touchdowns across three games as he began to work his way back from last year's knee injury. Leading up to the Week 4 matchup against the Cardinals, Nabers told the media he was beginning to feel like his normal self again. Well, the star wide receiver backed up those feelings, and then some, with a historic stretch of football.

Across four games in October, Nabers totaled 36 receptions for 509 yards and two touchdowns. The 36 receptions were the second most in the league from Weeks 4-7, while his eight receptions of 25+ yards and his 22 first downs via the pass led the NFL. He registered 100+ receiving yards in all four games, which tied him for the longest active streak in the league and marked the second-longest streak in Giants history. This led to Nabers being named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month, making him the first Giant to win the award since Eli Manning in 2008 and the first wide receiver in franchise history to earn the honor.

Since McCarthy took over at QB, Nabers has caught 11 of 14 targets for 206 yards across 45 routes, resulting in an average of 4.6 yards per route run. To put that in perspective, Seattle's Jaxson Smith-Njigba ranks first among 95 wide receivers with at least 100 routes run with 3.8 yards per route this season. Heading into Week 9, the Eagles rank in the bottom three of the league in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns allowed to wide receivers this year.

OLB Abdul Carter

Despite recording just two sacks on the season, Carter has made his presence felt through the first seven games. According to Next Gen Stats, the second-year outside linebacker leads the team with 27 quarterback pressures. He has recorded a 2.46-second average time to pressure, which is the second-quickest mark among 85 edge rushers with at least 10 pressures on the season. Carter drew several holding penalties against the Texans back in Week 7 as he got into the backfield on a consistent basis.

The Eagles offensive line has lost some key members since the start of the season with the trade of Cam Jurgens and the retirement of Lane Johnson. In the four full games without those two dating back to Week 5, Philadelphia has allowed a 2.40-second average time to pressure, the quickest mark in the NFL. The O-line has surrendered pressure in under 2.5 seconds on a league-high 26.3 percent of dropbacks during this same span. This came after the unit gave up a quick pressure on just 11.3 percent of dropbacks with Jurgens and Johnson in the lineup, which was the fourth-lowest rate in the league during those weeks. Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee were sacked 11 total times in those four games without the two linemen, with the sacks occurring 4.00 seconds after the snap on average, which was the fourth-quickest mark in the league during that span, according to NGS.

Carter and the rest of the Giants defense will be faced with a new challenge on Sunday as quarterback Joe Milton will make his first NFL start. Appearing in five games with the Patriots and Cowboys over the last two seasons, Milton has completed 37 of 53 passes (69.8 percent) for two touchdowns and two interceptions while adding 66 yards and an additional touchdown on the ground.

View photos of the New York Giants' 2026 roster as it currently stands.

LB Arvell Reese

Despite being just seven games into his NFL career, Reese continues to show the ability to do a little bit of everything. In the Week 7 win, the 21-year-old registered seven tackles (five solo), including one tackle for loss and a half-sack. According to NGS, Reese has four games in which he has rushed the passer, dropped into coverage, and defended the run on at least 10 snaps apiece, the third-most "triple-doubles" among all defenders. The rookie has forced six tight-windows on his 21 targets faced in coverage, the most among off-ball linebackers.

"He's all football and he's all gas, no brakes," defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson told the media Thursday. "I mean, that's what he is. That's what we saw in college. That's why everybody in this building wanted to bring him in this building to be a part of this defense and be a part of this organization. He loves football and he takes nothing for granted.

"That's part of his life, his journey to get to where he's at. When he was at Ohio State, his journey to get here to the NFL, that's who he is. And he had ups and downs as a young man and he's fought through them. And just like as a player, he fights through everything. He wants to be the best player on the field when he lines up out there."

Reese will be part of the effort to slow down Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. While playing at less than 100 percent in recent weeks, the veteran has still displayed his classic explosiveness that has made him one of the league's top backs. Despite dealing with hamstring and back injuries over the last two games, Barkley has still averaged 4.6 yards per carry while finding the end zone twice and totaling 125 yards from scrimmage. In three games against the Giants over the last two seasons, Barkley has averaged nearly 9.0 yards per carry.

CB Deonte Banks & CB Greg Newsome II

The Giants enter Week 9 allowing just 184.9 passing yards per game, the third-lowest mark in the NFL. A big reason for that has been the place of starting outside cornerbacks Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome II.

Banks is coming off perhaps the best game of his young NFL career in Week 7. Going up against Texans star wide receiver Nico Collins, the fourth-year corner allowed just one reception for four yards across 14 matchups, 10 of which he played in man coverage. Additionally, all four of his targets when lining up against Collins were in a tight window, his second-most in a single matchup in his career. On the season, Banks has forced a tight window on 48.6 percent of his targets, the second-highest tight-window rate among 85 outside cornerbacks that have been targeted at least 15 times in coverage. His 17 tight window throws forced across 35 targets is the third-most in the NFL, and that is with him having missed two games early in the season.

Newsome is having a strong season of his own. While Banks ranks second among outside cornerbacks in tight-window target rate, Newsome is right behind him at fourth with a 46.7 percent rate. Newsome also ranks sixth among all defenders in time in tight coverage with 133.3 seconds, despite only playing in six games this season. Both outside corners have played a significant role in the Giants defense forcing a tight window on 21.5 percent of all passes this year, just a half-percent behind the Lions for the highest rate in the NFL. Newsome was rewarded for his strong play this season with a three-year contract extension earlier this week.

It remains to be seen which Eagles wide receivers suit up this weekend, as starters DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks are both dealing with injuries that have sidelined them in recent weeks. But Joe Milton has shown the tendency to unleash passes downfield in his limited action, so Banks, Newsome and the rest of the Giants defense will have to keep their strong play going this Sunday.

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

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The Giants Foundation 5K & Kids Run

Bring your friends, family and neighbors out to run The Giants Foundation 5K Presented by Quest® on Sunday, November 8th and finish in the end zone at MetLife Stadium!

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