Eagles-Giants film preview: Containing Jaxson Dart, getting Saquon Barkley going, and protecting Jalen Hurts

The Eagles didn’t have much time to dwell on their home loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday before making the trip to New Jersey to face rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants on Thursday night.

After finding success against the Los Angeles Chargers and struggling with turnovers in his second start against the New Orleans Saints, Dart will face a strong Eagles defense. Containing him from making plays outside the pocket and with his legs will be crucial if the Eagles want to slow down the Giants offense.

Along with keeping Dart in the pocket, here are some other keys to the game for the Eagles, whose rushing attack looks poised for a resurgence against a struggling Giants run defense.

Dart, the 25th overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, has injected life into a Giants offense that was mostly cold with Russell Wilson starting the first three games. With Dart under center, New York has leaned into his mobility, upped its usage in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) from 26% under Wilson to 29% with Dart, and is running shotgun plays at a much higher rate (73% with Wilson, 83% with Dart), according to Sumer Sports.

Through two starts, Dart has 109 yards on 19 rushing attempts (nine for first downs), and the Giants got him comfortable in his first start against Los Angeles with designed runs and run-pass options.

The Eagles rank 26th in defensive expected points added (which measures team performance on a play-by-play basis) on quarterback scrambles (0.799), according to Sumer Sports. The league average is about 0.51 EPA per scramble.

Against 12 quarterback scrambles this season, the Eagles have allowed 8.5 yards per play (102 overall), six first downs, and one touchdown, according to Sumer Sports. Dart has particularly made his mark running the ball on scrambles, with 79 of his 109 yards coming after he escapes the pocket.

Head coach Brian Daboll has made a concerted effort to call quick-hitting passes to speed up Dart’s timing and minimize the pass rush pressure he faces. Of the 75 Dart dropbacks this season, 29 of them have come under 2.5 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats, and 42 of his 60 pass attempts have traveled fewer than 10 yards in the air.

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Dart seems to be particularly comfortable passing l to his tight ends Theo Johnson and Daniel Bellinger. Fourteen of his 39 completions this season have gone to either Johnson or Bellinger, and all three of Dart’s passing touchdowns have been caught by Johnson, the former Penn State standout.

The two areas where Dart has struggled most are on deep passes (0-for-8 on throws of 20 or more air yards) and taking sacks (six sacks on 75 dropbacks compared to Wilson’s eight in 129 dropbacks). When his initial reads are taken away, Dart looks to escape the pocket with his legs, but he hasn’t always gotten out of trouble cleanly. If the Eagles can pressure Dart and keep him inside the pocket, the rookie quarterback is more likely to make a mistake.

Last week’s game against Denver was the first time all season the Eagles defense didn’t record a turnover. Creating negative plays on early downs against New York should create more turnover opportunities if Dart is forced to throw downfield and the Giants get behind the sticks.

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The best run Eagles running back Saquon Barkley had against the Broncos came on an outside toss play that followed behind left tackle Jordan Mailata. The stats show Barkley was also most effective on rushes outside of the tackles in earlier games against the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.

Five of Barkley’s eight runs of 10-plus yards this season have come outside the tackles, according to Next Gen Stats, and the Giants have given up the second-most such runs (18). New York has the worst EPA per rush (0.38) and rush yards allowed after contact per carry (5.12) on run plays outside the tackles. They’re also allowing the most rushing yards per play (8.0) against such runs, according to Next Gen Stats.

New York’s struggles stem from their edge rushers attempting to win on the inside of tackles, poor linebacker play, and corners struggling to tackle in space.

It’s not just on runs outside the tackles. Teams are averaging 5.3 yards per carry against the Giants defense overall, which is fourth-worst in the NFL, and only two teams (the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills) have given up more 10-plus yard rushes this season (22).

If there was ever an opportunity for Barkley and the Eagles’ running game to find itself, Thursday night would look to be it.

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Like the Eagles faced last week against Denver, the Giants’ pass rush presents another daunting challenge for an offensive line that has been inconsistent this season — and will likely be without left guard Landon Dickerson on Thursday night. Denver, which sacked Jalen Hurts six times and pressured him on 14 of his dropbacks Sunday, had five of its sacks and 10 of its quarterback pressures come with four or fewer rushers, according to Next Gen Stats.

The Giants rank sixth in quarterback pressures with four or fewer pass rushers (48) and eight of their 10 sacks have come on four-man pass rushes, according to Next Gen Stats. Led by Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and first-round pick Abdul Carter, a North Philly native and Penn State product, the trio wreaks havoc up front, especially on third downs.

Carter leads the team in pressures (25) and quick pressures (15), but Burns leads the team in sacks (5). Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen utilizes Carter in a variety of spots, especially on third downs, occasionally moving him inside as an interior rusher to run pass rush stunts with Thibodeaux or Burns.

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This is particularly significant with backup Brett Toth set to start in Dickerson’s place. While Dexter Lawrence hasn’t been nearly as effective as a pass rusher as he was last season -- five pressures through five games in 2025 compared to 20 in the first five games of 2024 -- Thibodeaux and Carter have both been utilized as interior pass rushers and will test Toth, specifically on obvious passing downs.

As Hurts and the offense look to find consistency, staying ahead of the sticks will be key, along with punishing the Giants defense with the run game on early downs.