Thursday Night Football: Eagles vs Giants Preview

After the second consecutive loss last Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens, the Eagles are back on a short week tonight for Thursday Night Football against the New York Giants.
The Eagles will be wearing their all black uniforms tonight which is a good sign given the fact that they are 6-0 against the Giants when wearing them. Over the last 24 meetings, the Eagles are 20-4 against the Giants. Regardless, the injury ridden Eagles will look to get a much needed win to improve to 2-4-1 on the year with an NFC East title still in reach.
Carson Wentz’s offense will be limited with several key pieces still missing. Zach Ertz and Miles Sanders are inactive after being hurt on Sunday. Alshon Jeffery also was not ready yet and looks to be aiming for Dallas next week to return. Lane Johnson is active but fighting an ankle injury. Matt Pryor is being lifted off of the COVID-19/Reserve list to replace recently cut Jamon Brown. Jack Driscoll is out for likely two weeks so backups on the O-Line are thin.
The birds will have DeSean Jackson back on the field for the first time since Week 3. DeSean is recovering from a hamstring injury and looks to help bolster a receiving group led by Travis Fulgham. Fulgham has impressed the last several weeks and the hope is he can continue his high production. John Hightower and Greg Ward also hope to also make an impact. Ward has been consistent and Hightower has a knack for getting open but needs to catch the freaking ball.
Richard Rodgers and Hakeem Butler lead the Tight Ends with Jason Croom joining them on the active 53 this week. Boston Scott will be the lead ball-carrier for the Eagles while Miles Sanders is out with a knee injury. Scott has had his best games as an Eagle against the Giants rushing for over 100 yards and 4 TD’s combined from both showings in 2019.
On defense, not much has changed. The defensive line will be short a man with Malik Jackson being out for 1-2 weeks with a quad injury. The obvious concern for the group is the linebackers. There is no sign they will move away from Nate Gerry so the question is if the Giants will capitalize on that.
For New York, their offense has hurt without star Saquon Barkley. Barkley tore his ACL earlier this year so Devonta Freeman has stepped up being their starting back. Sophomore Daniel Jones commands an offense without many targets. The player to watch will be TE Evan Engram. Philadelphia has had major problems with Tight Ends in weeks prior so expect New York to target him often.
On defense, Jabrill Peppers and Logan Ryan are the players to watch in the secondary. The Giants’ defense has been very hit or miss. Leonard Williams is the Giants best D-Lineman but one would expect Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson to easily contain him.
There are so many setbacks for this Eagles team, especially on offense. Carson Wentz has shown time and time again he can step up no matter who he lines up with. The NFC East is completely up for grabs and seems to be the Eagles to lose. If there are no stupid mistakes made the Eagles should walk into Dallas week coming off a win.
I can’t legally bet but here’s what the TLL crew has been talking about this morning. The Eagles opened the week as 6-point favorites vs the Giants tonight. That line has now dropped to 4.5 points. The o/u for the game sits at an even 45 points.
Take the Eagles -4.5 and the over.
Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch USA TODAY Sports