Giants Talk

The Eagles have already played the Giants twice this year so there aren’t a lot of unknowns in this matchup. The Giants are a better team than they were in the first meeting. They are peaking at the right time.

Let’s take a look at some things that stand out.

Daniel Jones is coming off his best game of the year. You can argue that’s the best game of his career. He put up some amazing numbers.

Daniel Jones is now the first QB in NFL postseason history with 300+ pass yds, 2+ pass TD & 70+ rush yds in a playoff game.#TogetherBlue @Giants https://t.co/s2NCZdhJm7

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 16, 2023

Wow. Danny Dimes has come a long way.

The tape backs up the numbers. He passed the eye test, showing good pocket presence, smart decisions and accurate throws. That’s exactly what you want from your QB, especially in a big game.

It always means more to me when non #Giants analysts weigh in and @MarkSchofield told me the biggest jump he's seen from Daniel Jones has been v. the blitz.
I thought this was a good EX. He reads this so one so well. The hot throw is coming across flat. DJ didn't hesitate. pic.twitter.com/Jg9oaNsn5X

— Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) January 18, 2023

This is the best I’ve seen Jones play since he left Duke. He’s always been physically gifted. You could see that even in his bad games. He finally has good coaching and the right pieces around him. That’s allowed him to make a big jump.

All of that said, the Vikings defense was awful last week. Dreadful. Embarrassing. They didn’t pressure well. They didn’t cover well. They didn’t tackle well. There were plays when effort was an issue. The Vikings were 31st in the league in yards allowed this season and you saw why in that game. Yikes.

Jones still played well, but it was too easy. He was able to sit in the pocket and make reads. His receivers were running wide open a lot of the game. Kudos to him for taking advantage of the situation.

The Eagles will make life much harder this weekend. They have a much better pass rush and a much better secondary. Jones will have his hands full.

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The Giants do have a good DL. The star of the show is DT Dexter Lawrence. He was dominant in the win over Minnesota, racking up 6 tackles, 4 QB hits and a TFL. Lawrence was disruptive even when he didn’t make the play. He is big and strong, but also quick and agile.

https://twitter.com/Rubenfvargas/status/1615613585626898432

He’s pretty funny, too.

The Eagles have a much better interior OL than the Vikings. They limited Lawrence to 1 tackle and 1 QB hit in the first meeting. To be fair, Leonard Williams didn’t play in that game, which gave the Eagles an advantage. They could focus on Lawrence. Williams is back and will give the Giants another disruptive presence up front. The Eagles should still win most of the battles, but it won’t be easy.

Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux give the Giants a pair of athletic, explosive edge rushers. Ojulari had 2 sacks in the first game. He’s banged up right now, but said he expects to play. I’m surprised the Giants didn’t get more pressure on Kirk Cousins. He wasn’t sacked at all and finished 31 for 39 passing.

While the Giants DL is talented, they can be a bit inconsistent.

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Dallas Goedert has a chance to really impact this game. The Giants struggle to defend TEs. Vikings TE TJ Hockenson went 10-129 in the wild card game. He was wide open more than a few times. He caught short and intermediate passes. Hockenson also added RAC yards. He’s a good TE, but Goedert is even better.

The Giants just don’t have any defender who matches up well with TEs.

TJ Hockenson o50.5 Rec Yds in the first half alone!

No sweat needed ✅ pic.twitter.com/mftlMg9eaF

— Jared Block (@jaredrblock) January 15, 2023

Goedert can get open vs zone and man. It will be interesting to see how the Giants try to cover him.

He missed the first meeting so the Giants haven’t seen him in a real game this year (good gameplan, creative plays). This is an advantage for the Eagles offense.

*****

Almost every time the Giants played off coverage vs. Justin Jefferson, the Vikings threw him the ball. The only time they really didn't was a 25+ yard completion to TJ Hockenson on stick nod. He commands so much attention. pic.twitter.com/yzvTC4JDmE

— Matt Fries (@FriesFootball) January 18, 2023

If the Giants play off coverage against DeVonta Smith or AJ Brown, the Eagles should attack that over and over. Both receivers are outstanding route runners who can get open quickly. They are also both dangerous after the catch. Get the ball out quickly and let those guys make plays.

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The Eagles were able to limit Saquon Barkley to 9 carries for 28 yards in the first game. That sounds good, but you do need to remember that Barkley wasn’t fully healthy in that game. The Eagles didn’t give him room to run so I don’t know how much difference his health made.

He was 2-20 as a receiver in that game. I think that’s where he could have been more of a weapon. The Eagles LBs do not match up well with Barkley. I’m sure the Giants will try to get him out in space against them. The Eagles must tackle well and rally to the ball. Barkley had a 28-yard TD run and a 24-yard catch last week. The Giants coaches used him wisely and got big plays.

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Finally, let’s talk about the Giants coaching staff.

Brian Daboll and the offensive staff had an excellent gameplan for Minnesota. They knew the Vikings struggled in pass defense. Rather than sticking with a run-first attack, the Giants went to the air early and often. There were more than 40 called passes in the game. Remember that the Giants led or were tied the whole way. They controlled what happened. They chose to pass.

The coaches were creative and took some chances.

When the vibes are as good as the Giants' are right now, you can run whatever play you want pic.twitter.com/fzjy5oAuYc

— JM Football (@JomboyMediaFB) January 15, 2023

I think stuff like that is good for a team. It has to keep them from getting uptight. The coaches are mixing fun in so they must be confident. That attitude can then have a positive effect on everyone.

Wink Martindale has been creative with his defense, mixing in more zone coverage and blitzing less. For most of the year, he played man and blitzed about as much as anyone in the league. Still, the Giants have issues. The only team they’ve shut down recently was the awful Colts. Give Martindale credit for mixing things up and trying to give offenses more looks, but he doesn’t have a lot to work with in the back seven.

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