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An inside look at Sunday’s Giants-Eagles Week 18 matchup at MetLife Stadium.
Marquee matchup
Eagles RT Lane Johnson vs. Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux
Little known fact: Kayvon Thibodeaux, still early in his NFL career, has played a total of seven games against the Cowboys and Eagles, and he does not have a single sack in those games.
He needs to do more against the better teams.
Johnson, one of the best in the league, handled Thibodeaux in last year’s NFC divisional playoff game and two weeks ago held Thibodeaux without a single tackle or sack.
With a team-leading 11.5 sacks, Thibodeaux is closing out a strong second season.
But he is not finishing strong, with no sacks in his past three games and just two half-sacks in his past five games.
Paul’s pick
Gauging incentive this time of year is always tricky.
Of course the Giants want to win, but no one wants to get hurt in Week 18 and spend the offseason rehabbing an injury.
This is a final tuneup for the Eagles before a playoff game the next week, and they want to be sharp but also remain healthy.
It would be nice if Sterling Shepard can get a catch or two in his last game with the team.
Eagles 27, Giants 13
Four downs
Goal in sight: Sure, it would mean something to Saquon Barkley if he can reach 1,000 rushing yards for the fourth time in his six seasons.
He is sitting at 916, so he needs 84 more yards. He ran for 80 yards on the Eagles on Christmas Day. Despite missing three games early in the season with a high ankle sprain, Barkley has shown durability, playing in the final 12 games and carrying a heavy load. To be honest, I feel good, I feel really good,’’ Barkley said. “Just a tough year. Tough year for individuals, a tough year as a team, as an offense.
“There are a lot of excuses and a lot of things I can say, but for me, I feel like, finish this game off on a high note, come out of it healthy, and get back to the drawing board.’’
New lesson plan: Let Dexter Lawrence, the best defensive player the Giants employ and their only Pro Bowler, express his feelings about the possibility of playing in 2024 not for Wink Martindale but for a different defensive coordinator: “It sucks learning a new scheme, if that is what happens,’’ Lawrence said. “So that probably would be the most heartbreaking thing, honestly, and him being just a good leader of men. Things like that would probably be the hardest thing to go about.’’
There is some friction between Martindale and head coach Brian Daboll that needs to be smoothed over before Lawrence gets his wish.
Bird watching: So, what is up with the Eagles?
They were riding high at 10-1, then were grounded, losing four of their past five games and no longer control their destiny, as far as winning the NFC East title it looks like they have blown.
This past week, star receiver A.J. Brown came to the defense of head coach Nick Sirianni, who suddenly is under some pressure after leading the Eagles into the Super Bowl last season.
“They got good players, good coaches,’’ Daboll said. “Everybody goes through stuff during the season. That’s a good-ass football team.’’
Isn’t that special? It was too turbulent of a season for special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.
The Giants struggled to find a punt returner out of the gate then got on what McGaughey called “the kicker train” — going through four of them, which is fairly unheard of.
“I think we were up and down,’’ McGaughey said of his group. “We didn’t start fast like we wanted to. Last year, we had some pretty big splash plays early in the year, and obviously, this year was the opposite. I think we got better as the year went on, but the continuity was there a little bit more towards the end.’’ McGaughey singled out punter Jamie Gillan for praise.
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