Week 3 Preview: Eagles set for defensive fight against Giants in Philly

By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Well the day has finally arrived. Football has returned to Philadelphia in the form of a classic showdown between two NFC East rivals, the Eagles and the New York Giants.

This Week 3 matchup features a team that could use a win, and a team that must win in order to, for the most part, keep their season alive.

The Eagles are already 1-0 against NFC East teams, as they defeated the Redskins in Week 1, and then fell to the AFC West's Kansas City Chiefs. While a loss to drop the Eagles to 1-2 wouldn't be ideal, the Giants would like to avoid falling to 0-3 at all costs.

That's what makes today's game intriguing. The Eagles are clearly the stronger team at the moment, especially offensively. But the Giants are desperate, and sometimes desperation is the key to victory.

That's why the Eagles can't become complacent in situations during today's game. While racking up the points on the scoreboard would be pretty nice to see, the Giants' defensive front can still penetrate the rather disappointing as-of-late offensive line and pressure Carson Wentz into either running the ball or throwing a costly interception.

In the trenches, both teams will be tough to stop. You're going to see a ton of defensive pressure on both Wentz and Eli Manning in this game. So much pressure, that a running game would be ideal in these situations, but the Giants haven't had success in two games, and well, head coach Doug Pederson refuses to run the ball.

Through two games, the Giants have the 27th ranked rush defense in the league, so running the ball shouldn't be an issue today for Philadelphia. That is, if they actually utilize that.

LeGarrette Blount had one touch last week in Kansas City, a reception that turned into a loss of yardage. It will be interesting to see how Pederson uses Blount and how effective he will be used against this lackluster run defense.

For the Giants, Odell Beckham Jr. might be the biggest X-Factor when it comes to really taking over this game. Against the Eagles, OBJ can either be explosive or have minimal success. In 6 games against the Birds, he has 41 receptions, 524 yards, and four touchdowns.

In his last game against Philly, OBJ had 11 catches for 150 yards and no touchdowns. The previous game before that, four catches for 46 yards and two touchdowns.

Whoever is covering Beckham Jr., in this case is Jalen Mills this week, will have to do enough to limit the amount of times he gets the ball. If the ball is in his hands, he knows exactly what to do with possessions.

But that's the issue with the Eagles, a decimated secondary due to many injuries. No Jaylen Watkins or Corey Graham, and of course, no Ronald Darby for the second straight week.

The lacking secondary in most cases would give OBJ a field day to take over the game, but without an offensive line that will be able to protect Eli Manning from Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, the Eagles will hope that the ball barely makes it to the receivers.

This will be a game of who's defense will be able to prevail, and whether running games will be established for either side. For that reason, including being a desperation game for the Giants, the team that puts the most pressure on the opposite team's QB will come out the winner today.

Injury Report

As mentioned above, the Eagles will be without CB's Ronald Darby (ankle), Jaylen Watkins (hamstring), and Corey Graham (hamstring). Alongside Jalen Mills, rookie Rasul Douglas will likely be the other corner playing today vs. New York.

DT Destiny Vaeao is also inactive due to a wrist injury. Elijah Qualls looks like he will take the place of Vaeao on Sunday.

S Rodney McLeod Jr. is questionable with a hamstring injury. He will likely be a game-time decision. WR Torrey Smith is also a questionable start due to illness, but he'll most likely be ready to play once game-time rolls around.

For the Giants, LB's B.J. Goodson (shin) and J.T. Thomas (groin) will be inactive from Sunday's game. Goodson missed the Week 2 matchup against the Lions, but in Week 1, he had 18 tackles against the Cowboys. OT Bobby Hart (ankle) will also be out for New York.

Questionable for the Giants is CB Janoris Jenkins (ankle) and TE Evan Engram (concussion). If Engram can play, he's a very dangerous tight end option. He has eight catches 93 yards and the Giants' lone TD this season. As of Friday, he was still in concussion protocol.

Broadcast Information:

Time: 1:00 p.m. EST

TV: FOX

Radio: 94.1 WIP, commentary by Merrill Reese and Mike Quick

Online: NFL Game Pass