The Philadelphia Eagles (14-3), and New York Giants (9-7-1) will meet for a third and final time on Saturday in the NFC Divisional Round.
A win in this game will get the Eagles a spot in the NFC Championship Game, while the Giants have never lost three games to Philadelphia in a single season and will enter this contest loose and relaxed.
It’ll be the second time in three weeks that Jalen Hurts has faced his division rival and he’ll look to wipe away the disastrous performance from the 2022 Wild Card round loss to the Buccaneers.
With kickoff fast approaching, here are four keys for the Eagles’ offense.
Lets Jalen Hurts do his thing
Hurts set new career highs in passing yards (3,701), touchdowns (22), completion percentage (66.5), interception percentage (1.3), and passer rating (101.5). Hurts also rushed for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
Hurts also earned his first selection to the Pro Bowl along with second-team All-Pro honors.
Philadelphia lost two games after Hurts missed Weeks 16-17 due to a shoulder sprain and during his return for the regular-season finale, the third-year quarterback completed just 57.1 percent of his passes for 229 yards while only gaining 13 yards on nine carries (1.4 avg.).
Hurts is no longer on the injury report and although he’s not fully healthy, the Eagles have to allow their star signal-caller to be himself while protecting his injured throwing shoulder.
Efficient run-pass ratio
The Eagles can dominate any defense through the air, but Saturday night should be about establishing the running game and physicality against the Giants up front.
Even with two 1,000-yard receivers, the Eagles were fifth in the NFL with 147.6 rushing yards per game.
The New York Giants struggled against the run this season allowing 144.2 yards per game (27th) and Shane Steichen has to feature a nice dose of Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell early and often.
Feed the BatMen
The Giants have to give up something on defense and if they chose to take away Miles Sanders while limiting Dallas Goedert, then Jalen Hurts needs to feed his BatMen.
A.J. Brown had 11 catches for 165 yards and a score in two games against New York this season and DeVonta Smith had 12 receptions for 131 yards in the two wins.
If the Giants get gutsy and plan man-to-man on the outside, Hurts has to feed his guys.
Re-Establish Dallas Goedert
The Eagles tight end had 55 catches for 702 and three touchdowns in 12 games this season. Before suffering a shoulder injury, Goedert was among the league leaders in yards per catch and yards after the catch.
If the Giants play less man-to-man and force Philadelphia to sustain drives, Goedert has to be the underneath outlet for Hurts down the stretch.
