Eagles Need To Beat Giants To Keep Hope Alive
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Six weeks into their Super Bowl title defense and the Eagles may be staring down the barrel of their season Thursday night when the they visit the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Both teams are rebounding from Week 5 losses, and the Eagles are lugging a two-game losing streak.
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Last week, Carson Wentz passed for 311 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Eagles' 23-21 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Wentz, who passed for 348 yards in Week 4, has thrown for at least 300 yards in back-to-back games for the third time in his career. Tight end Zach Ertz led the Eagles with 10 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown last week and leads all NFL tight ends in receptions (41) and receiving yards (437) this season.
What's ailed the Eagles are turnovers.
They lead with an NFL-high 13 fumbles, and also have an NFL-high seven lost fumbles entering Week 6. Philadelphia is 28th overall in the important takeaway/giveaway ratio, with a minus-4, tied with the 2-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who beat the Eagles in Week 2, and the 1-4 Oakland Raiders.
The 1-4 San Francisco 49ers are the worst in the NFL in takeaway/giveaway with a minus-8, followed by the underachieving Jacksonville Jaguars, who are 3-2, with a major reason why is the minus-7 in takeaway/giveaway category, despite leading the NFL in total defense, giving up 292.2 yards a game.
Last season, the Eagles lost a total of 11 fumbles and were intercepted nine times throughout the season. But they also caused 31 turnovers, making them a plus-11 in the takeaway/giveaway margin in 2017. This season, they've caused five turnovers -- three interceptions and two fumble recoveries -- and turned the ball over nine times -- two interceptions and seven fumbles. After five games in 2017, the Eagles lost three fumbles and were a plus-2 in takeaway/giveaways.
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Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. has eight receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown and threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Saquon Barkley in New York's loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Barkley had 129 scrimmage yards and two touchdown receptions, his first-career multi-touchdown game, in Week 5 and became the third player in NFL history to record at least 100 scrimmage yards in each of his first five games to begin a career.
Fast Facts
- LEADER: Giants lead all-time series, 83-81-2
- STREAKS: Eagles have won past 3
- LAST GAME: 12/17/17: Eagles 34 at Giants 29
- LAST GAME AT SITE 12/17/17
Eagles
- PTS. FOR/AGAINST 20.6/20.8
- OFFENSE 363.8
- PASSING Carson Wentz: 82-122-914-5-1-99.6
- RUSHING Jay Ajayi: 45-184-4.1-3
- RECEIVING Zach Ertz (TE): 41-437-10.7-1
- DEFENSE 343.2
- SACKS Fletcher Cox: 3
Giants
- PTS. FOR/AGAINST 20.8/25.6
- OFFENSE 337.8
- PASSING Eli Manning: 134-187-1381-6-3-96.6
- RUSHING Saquon Barkley (R): 71-308-4.3-3
- RECEIVING Odell Beckham, Jr.: 39-462-11.8-1
- DEFENSE 353.8
- SACKS B.J. Hill (R): 2
