The New York Giants have a different team heading into Thursday Night Football, despite the long, ugly road since the beginning of the 2017 season. And maybe their X-factor will make a difference. But the Giants face a golden opportunity to flip their 2025 NFL season narrative.
After a playoff berth in 2016, the Giants stumbled to a 3-13 finish the next season. They followed up with 5, 4, 6, 4, 9, 6, and 3-win years. And in 2024, they’re off to a 1-4 start.
However, the Giants have a better group on defense this year. And the game against the Eagles gives the team a great chance to shine with a big upset.
Giants are a major underdog, but there is hope
It starts on the defensive side of the football. The Giants rank toward the bottom in passing, rushing, and scoring on defense. But they have talent on that side of the ball.
Most notably, Dexter Lawrence II, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Bobby Okereke, and Abdul Carter should give the Giants a strong base in the front seven. However, the team has registered only 10 sacks on the season. That puts them tied for No. 18 in the league.
And here’s the key. If they can make things happen against the Eagles, everybody will take notice. The Eagles have just one turnover this season. Also, they’ve scored 12 touchdowns in 13 trips. That means it’s a challenge, but also an opportunity.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll said his team will try to get ahead of the curve when the Eagles have the ball, according to giants.com.
“They're important every week to try to get teams into unfavorable downs and distances offensively, so you can try to make them more one-dimensional,” Daboll said. “That's always a goal. On the other side, it's always trying to skip third downs or some of those long-yardage situations. So you basically have your entire playbook to attack the defense.”
Of course, it’s not all about the pass rush. That’s especially true against the Eagles because of Saquon Barkley. But Daboll said his team has momentum in slowing down the opponent’s ground attack.
“I thought we did a good job against a really good running back (Alvin Kamara),” Daboll said. “We're going to have to do that this week. Run defense takes all 11. It starts at the line of scrimmage, controlling the blocks and resetting the line of scrimmage, setting the edges, filling gaps, secondary support, tackling. I thought we did a good job of that last week. We're going to need to do it this week.
“Every running play has different blocking assignments. Some are zone doubles, some are gap doubles, some are down and around, some are toss crack, gap cancellation plays, draws. The defensive line has to do a good job of reading the blocking they're getting. But really doing a good job of attacking and trying to reset the line of scrimmage to get the back to stop his feet. Make it cloudy for them.”
QB Jaxson Dart provides a spark
Yes, Dart didn’t play as well against the Saints as he did against the Chargers. But it’s a new week and a new chance. And Dart clearly gives the Giants more juice than they got from Russell Wilson.
Plus, Dart is hoping for a chance to show what he’s got against Jalen Hurts, a quarterback he admires, according to ESPN.
“First of all, I love his mentality, his every-day accountability of himself, and at the same time raising the bar for his teammates,” Dart said. “That was something, as an early college player, being able to look up to guys like that. It's going to be really cool to be on the same field with him and being able to compete against him. At the same time, him just being a really good competitor and being able to do a lot of things with his arm and with his legs and putting his team in really good situations to win.”
RB Cam Skattebo is also emerging
One thing helping Dart find his way is the performances of Cam Skattebo. This is developing into quite a one-two punch, according to CBS Sports.
“Skatt's somebody who it doesn't matter where he is or who he is around,” Dart said. “He just acts himself. I think that is something early on, people try to figure out when you don't really know a guy. But when you figure out that it's genuine, you figure out what kind of friend he is, what kind of teammate he is. He'll do anything it takes to win. That is something that guys really rally around. He's a spark.
“The first [time we met] we said three words to each other and just head-butted each other. That was kind of like the start of our relationship. When we first got here to the [Giants] facility and met each other for the first time. We were able to spend more time on the plane to the [NFLPA] rookie premiere, and they put us right next to each. Obviously, we're still getting to know each other. I fell asleep on the plane, and I wake up to this dude wet-willying me and trying to put food on my face while I'm sleeping. That is kind of an accurate representation. It's 100% [who he is].”
