Giants will look to snap 10-game losing streak in Philly, but Eagles' pass rush presents a problem

The question posed to Darius Slayton was simple: Is Monday afternoon’s game against the Eagles in South Philadelphia one that he and his Giants teammates have to play or get to play?

The wide receiver’s answer was unequivocal.

“Get to play,” Slayton said after practice on Saturday.

For Slayton and the Giants (5-9), the game at Lincoln Financial Field against the Eagles (10-4) is a chance to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

The Giants have lost 16 of their last 19 games (including playoffs) against the Eagles, including 10 straight in Philadelphia. But they are facing an Eagles squad that has lost three straight.

Timing, in life, is everything.

“It would be huge,” Slayton said when asked what a win over the Eagles would mean. “Obviously, it would give us a win over a division opponent and [show] the people of this area, not players, but people that surround this franchise, they love nothing more than to beat the Eagles.”

In order to do that, the Giants will need to neutralize Philadelphia’s front four, which will present a fairly significant challenge for an offensive line that has allowed an NFL-high 76 sacks in 14 games.

Only the 1986 Eagles (104) and 1997 Cardinals (78) have allowed more sacks in a season.

It becomes a rather significant issue when factoring in Philadelphia’s 39 sacks.

“Their front four, front five guys are all unbelievable players,” Justin Pugh said. “So [as an] offensive line, we have to go out there and battle with those guys and hold up our end of the bargain. Get Tommy [DeVito] time, open up lanes for the running back.”

While the 2023 Eagles will remind no one of the 1985 Bears, they do possess a pass rush and rank seventh in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing 94.4 yards per game.

Their pass defense is another story, however. Philadelphia has allowed opponents to throw for 255.4 yards per game, which ranks 28th in the league. Overall, Philadelphia’s average of 349.9 yards allowed per game is 22nd in the league.

As a result, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni recently demoted defensive coordinator Sean Desai in favor of Matt Patricia. Patricia’s first game as defensive coordinator was a 20-17 loss to the Seahawks on Monday night.

“It’s hard to make a completely different schematic change at this point [of the season],” Slayton said. “Every team is what they are at this point, but every coach has their handprint, so to speak. But by and large, they’re mostly the same.”

To that end, could Philadelphia’s pass defense provide some opportunities for the NFL’s 32nd-ranked passing offense?

“I think there’s definitely holes, there’s [places] we can definitely exploit,” Slayton said. “At this point now, [we have] to go out and execute.”

If they are able to execute, would it be a case of the passing game opening up the run?

“It could be,” Slayton said. “But teams have run the ball on them pretty well as of late. We obviously have a pretty good running back, we have a good front, so I expect us to be able to run it and pass it.”

Earlier in the week, Saquon Barkley told reporters that he expected rookie Eric Gray to receive additional playing time. That evidently was news to Brian Daboll.

“Saquon will play as long as he can play,” Daboll said. “Saquon will be in there as he can be in there. Then we’ll see where the other guys go.”