What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 6 vs. the Giants

The Eagles don’t have an offensive identity, they have two — Jekyll and Hyde.

It was yet another tale of two halves for the Eagles against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, as they blew a 17-3 lead going into the fourth quarter and conceded 18 straight points for their first loss, 21-17. The Eagles’ passing game stalled out in the second half and the running game never got off the ground, with penalties partially to blame.

A quick turnaround looms as the Eagles prepare to take on the New York Giants on Thursday night. The Giants ought to be reeling, too, as they gave up an 11-point lead over the Saints in the second quarter Sunday as former Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore earned his first win with New Orleans.

Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles going into their Thursday night matchup against their NFC East rival:

Saquon Barkley is slated to return to MetLife Stadium for the second time as a Giants opponent ... if he’s able to overcome the knee injury that rendered him a non-participant on Monday’s estimated injury report. Still, the state of the Eagles’ running game is a bit different from what it was the last time he visited.

By Week 7 — their road matchup against the Giants — last year, the Eagles offense had pivoted to a run-first approach that served as the foundation for their success the rest of the year. That 28-3 win over the Giants was a microcosm of their rushing success, as Barkley surged to a then-season-high 176 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

» READ MORE: Penalties, called and uncalled, proved critical in Eagles’ loss to Broncos

With the Eagles well on their way to a blowout victory, Nick Sirianni went to Barkley before he benched the starters and asked if he wanted to try to beat his personal best of 189 rushing yards. He declined, insisting that he’d “rather see the young boys eat.”

Almost one year later, nobody’s eating in the Eagles’ ground game. Barkley had just six carries for 30 yards against the Broncos. Aside from one explosive 17-yard gain, Barkley averaged 2.6 yards per carry. It has become increasingly clear that his blockers are struggling, especially on the interior offensive line.

But the runs that didn’t occur are just as concerning as the ones that did. Barkley had just one carry in the final 15 minutes of the game. He finished the game with just nine touches.

“I think every game is going to present different challenges,” Barkley said. “I really don’t know what people want. If I touch the ball too much sometimes, we’re not throwing enough. If we throw it too much, I only have nine touches. … I’m not in the business of: What are we doing enough? I’m in the business of winning football games.”

Still, the Eagles didn’t put themselves in situations in the fourth quarter when they could run the football and bleed out the clock, as they did so many times last season when they had a lead. That was their own doing. Negative plays and penalties pushed them back. With Barkley putting up meager yardage on the ground, handing off the ball wasn’t a viable option, much to their detriment.

Could the Eagles build some confidence in the running game against the Giants, so long as Barkley can play? Their run defense is conceding 5.3 yards per attempt this season (No. 29 in the NFL), but that average surges to a league-worst 8.0 outside the tackles (that figure is impacted by quarterback scrambles, too).

The Giants tightened up on the ground Sunday, as Saints running backs Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller combined for 18 carries for 68 yards (3.7 yards per carry). They sniffed out designed runs for gadget player Taysom Hill, too (six carries for minus-1 yard).

» READ MORE: Eagles muzzle Saquon Barkley and the run game. It speaks volumes about Jalen Hurts.

The Broncos sacked Jalen Hurts six times, which tied his single-game career high. In Hurts’ other game as the full-time starter in which he took six sacks — in 2024 vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — he was sacked five times when the defense sent extra rushers.

That wasn’t the case against the Broncos. In fact, Hurts was overwhelmingly successful against the blitz, completing 13 of 14 attempts (92.9%) for 137 yards and two touchdowns, which according to Next Gen Stats is the highest completion rate against the blitz by a quarterback with at least 10 drop backs this season.

The Broncos were much more effective utilizing a four-man rush, specifically on simulated pressures, in which the defense shows a blitz at the line then drops those extra faux rushers into coverage after the snap. Denver generated 10 of its 14 pressures and five of its sacks when it deployed four or fewer pass rushers, according to Next Gen Stats.

On some of those sacks, it appeared as though Hurts either didn’t like his options in the passing game or didn’t have any. On others, the Eagles’ protection fell short. Regardless, this seems to be a trend over the last few weeks, with defenses opting for simulated pressures over blitzes to confound the Eagles’ passing attack.

Will the Giants continue the trend? Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s group has a 33.8% pressure rate when it doesn’t blitz, which ranks 10th in the league. The Giants have eight sacks in those situations, although the majority of them were simply four-man rushes. But until the Eagles can improve against sim pressures, they should expect to see more of them.

A talented Giants defensive front that features the likes of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and edge rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns got more formidable with the addition of Abdul Carter.

The No. 3 overall draft pick out of Penn State, Carter has been one of the best players on the Giants defense through five games. He leads the team with 25 pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. Carter was particularly impressive against the Saints, generating a team-high six pressures and also contributing four “stops” in the running game, defined as unsuccessful plays for the offense.

Both Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata are likely to see Carter on Thursday, as the rookie edge rusher tends to move around to either side of the defensive front. The entire offensive line — which has been banged up this season, including the latest ankle injury to Landon Dickerson — is going to have its work cut out for itself against this Giants defensive front.

For the first time this season, the Eagles did not force a turnover, which is uncharacteristic for a team that ranks No. 5 in the league in turnover differential (plus-4). They came close in the first quarter when Cooper DeJean nearly had a strip-sack of Bo Nix that Jalyx Hunt recovered, but officials deemed the play an incomplete pass.

In the second half, a turnover would have been a boon to an Eagles defense that was on the field for 19 minutes, 27 seconds while the offense was unable to sustain drives. The opportunities should be there for the defense to force turnovers against the Giants, who are tied for third to last in the league in turnover differential (minus-5) thanks to their five-turnover performance on five consecutive possessions against the Saints.

Three of those turnovers came at the hands (or, rather, hand) of quarterback Jaxson Dart. The Giants rookie tossed a pair of interceptions to Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry in the fourth quarter as New York attempted a comeback, once while scrambling and another time while standing in the pocket.

Dart also fumbled while on the run in the first quarter when he had just one hand on the ball. Running back Cam Skattebo and wide receiver Darius Slayton also contributed a pair of fumbles. The Eagles defenders should enter this game with the ball on their minds.

When the locker room opened to the media on Sunday, the players were already in recovery mode to prepare for the Giants game on a short week.

Players were sprawled out on reclining chairs while wearing compression therapy boots to aid with muscle soreness. Whatever they’re doing under Nick Sirianni, it’s working. The Eagles have a 4-1 record in the last five seasons in Thursday night games, tied for the second-best winning percentage in the league in that span (.800). That includes their season-opening win over the Dallas Cowboys this year, which was something of a pseudo-short week given that it was the first week of the season.

The Giants have not had the same success in that span. They are 0-5 on Thursday night games in the last four seasons, with three of those losses coming against the Cowboys.