WEEK IN REVIEW
The New York Giants took care of business with a 27-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a very well-rounded victory by the G-Men. The offensive game plan was well-executed with a good run-pass ratio, no turnovers, and well-time Daniel Jones runs that caught Jim Schwartz’s defense off-guard. Jones spread the ball around to all three receivers: Slayton (7), Shepard (6), Tate (5). Darius Slayton had an extra impressive day battling Eagles’ star cornerback Darius Slay in man coverage.
This was the healthiest game the Giants have played in a long time. It was such a feel-good win, that many may start to speculate about what this offense could do with Saquon Barkley back in the fold next year. The defensive line terrorized the Eagles blockers all day, especially on the interior, and rushed Carson Wentz into not seeing several open receivers in the secondary. This is a great win for the Giants to build on going forward with an upcoming schedule that features defenses that this offense can score on if they play the way they did this past weekend.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
The Giants made an interesting coaching change on Wednesday with the firing of Offensive Line Coach Mark Colombo. The lack of development of first round Offensive Tackle Andrew Thomas, who was considered one of the safest players available in April’s draft, is one of the major reasons for this move. Midseason coaching changes are not typical, but Head Coach Joe Judge’s militaristic coaching style leaves little tolerance for failure.
The Giants offensive line has put forth their best two showings of the season over the past two weeks. Apparently, that progression is being credited to Joe Judge, and not former coach Mark Colombo. Judge has spent a large portion of recent practice time working with the offensive line and seems to be dissatisfied with the work Colombo was putting in. Colombo will be replaced by Dave DeGugliemo to allow Judge to resume his duties overseeing the whole team.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Giants need to remain disciplined through their bye week and continue their momentum into the ending stretch of the season. They have a very real chance of stealing the division from the loose grips of the Philadelphia Eagles. The division is extremely close because no team has been able to find sustained success so far this season. New York is only 1.5 games behind Philadelphia and that gap could close while the Giants recharge on their bye.
The path to the Giants claiming victory in the NFC (L)East comes through the remaining schedule. Of the Giants’ remaining opponents, the Browns, Seahawks, Cardinals, and Cowboys are all mutual remaining opponents of the Eagles. Outside of those games, New York only has to play Cincinatti and Baltimore, while Philadelphia will face Green Bay, New Orleans (likely after Drew Brees returns), and Washington, a significantly more difficult schedule. All the Giants need to do to take over the division is win one more game than the Eagles against their mutual opponents and win one more than the Eagles in the group of non-similar remaining opponents. Given the current momentum, this is a very possible outcome for the remainder of the year.
