What We Saw: Week 7

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Eagles @ Giants

Final Score: Eagles 28, Giants 3

Writer: Riley Blum

The offenses started slowly in this game with seven straight punts and nine sacks between the two teams in the first half. The Eagles offense got going in the second quarter with Saquon Barkley picking up 55 yards on an outside run and capping the drive with a three-yard touchdown run. On their next possession, Jalen Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 41-yard touchdown on a 4th-and-3 play. The Eagles never looked back, dominating the Giants on the ground in the second half. The Eagles’ defense kept the pressure up, sacking Daniel Jones seven times (and another sack on Drew Lock). With the game all but decided, we saw the backup quarterbacks play most of the fourth quarter. Saquon Barkley got his revenge game, totaling more yards from scrimmage than the entire Giants’ offense, and the Eagles picked up the win.

Two Up

Saquon Barkley – After a down game against the Browns last week, Saquon returned to his dominant ways totaling nearly 200 yards from scrimmage against his former team and scoring a rushing touchdown. He flashed his explosiveness as well, ripping off multiple big runs.
A.J. Brown – In a game where Jalen Hurts only attempted 14 passes, A.J. Brown still delivered strong WR1 production.

Two Down

Devin Singletary – Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Eric Gray both saw the field before Singletary to start the game. Singletary only played five offensive snaps in the first half and finished the game with six total touches. The Giants’ run game struggled as a whole with only 12 total RB rushes. It’s still concerning for Singletary that Tracy is the preferred third-down back, and he may be the Giants’ preferred RB all around as he appears to have more explosiveness.
Daniel Jones – Jones felt the absence of his starting left tackle, Andrew Thomas, as he was constantly under pressure and was sacked seven times. Hopefully, the Giants game plan around this issue in their coming games. On the bright side, Jones won’t have to face the Eagles’ defensive line every week, and he looked better than his back up Drew Lock.

Philadelphia Eagles

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 10/14, 114, 1 TD, 7 carries, 22 yards, 2 TDs

Hurts did not have to throw much with Saquon Barkley dominating his former team on the ground. This led to a pedestrian passing line, though he did hit A.J. Brown for a long touchdown. Hurts turned in a strong fantasy performance himself due to scoring two tush-push touchdowns; that play is still very much alive even without Jason Kelce at center. Hurts did take four sacks in the first half, and he had a couple of plays where he held the ball instead of taking the quick pass to an open receiver. Overall, it was a solid performance in a game script that didn’t ask much of him, and Hurts’ fantasy managers should be plenty happy with the two rushing scores.

Kenny Pickett: 0/1

Pickett only attempted one pass, he was mostly just handing the ball off in mop-up duty.

Running Back

Saquon Barkley: 17 carries, 176 yards, 1 TD, 3 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards

Barkley returning to MetLife to face his former team was the big storyline heading into this game, and he delivered with 187 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Barkley ripped off multiple big plays with runs of 55, 38, and 41 yards. He ran hard, trucking the Giants’ defenders on multiple occasions. On his touchdown run, he was initially stopped but kept his legs moving and got a push to move the pile and get himself in the end zone. Fantasy managers won’t complain about his final numbers, but Barkley likely would have had an even bigger day had he not been rested for the entire fourth quarter.

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Missed Opportunities

Barkley was tackled at the one-yard line leading to Jalen Hurts’ first tush-push TD.
Barkley was wide open for a TD, but Hurts did not see him in time before he was put under pressure.
Kenneth Gainwell saw two goal-to-go opportunities in a row (from the five and the two-yard lines), which Barkley likely would have punched in for another score.

Kenneth Gainwell: 13 carries, 56 yards, 1 target, 1 reception, 11 yards

Gainwell got some run in this one, spelling Saquon Barkley after long runs and taking over for a possession in the fourth quarter with the game in hand. He looked good on his opportunities, but not as good as his superstar backfield mate.

Missed Opportunities

He had two straight chances from inside the five-yard line, but could not get into the end zone.

Will Shipley: 8 carries, 16 yards

Wide Receiver/Tight End

A.J. Brown: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 89 yards, 1 TD

Brown was the only productive Eagles pass catcher in this game, accounting for 89 of Jalen Hurts’ 114 passing yards. Brown continues to deliver elite production, most of which came on his 41-yard touchdown catch today.

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Devonta Smith: 2 targets, 1 reception, -2 yards

This was an awful game for Smith with Jalen Hurts only attempting 14 passes. Smith should see better production in games where the Eagles have to air the ball out more, but A.J. Brown is the clear alpha WR this season.

Grant Calcaterra: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards

Jahan Dotson: 1 target

Parris Campbell: 1 target

New York Giants

Quarterback

Daniel Jones: 14/21, 99 yards, 5 carries, 20 yards

This was a rough game for Daniel Jones as he was under pressure from start to finish. He was sacked five times in the first half and twice more in the second half. He didn’t get much help from his run game either, and by the time the Giants started to establish the run, they were playing from too far behind to stick with it. Jones was mostly forced to settle for short underneath throws as he did not have the time to allow deeper routes to develop. The Eagles have a strong defensive front, but the absence of tackle Andrew Thomas appears to be a big issue. Hopefully, the offense can figure it out going forward.

Missed Opportunities

Jones hit TE Theo Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown at the end of the second half, but Johnson was flagged for offensive pass interference negating the play.

Drew Lock: 3/8, 6 yards, 1 carry, 13 yards

Lock looked worse than Daniel Jones on the few drives he was given at the end of the game. He had a few off-target throws, and a throw to Malik Nabers that could have been completed had he put more zip on the ball. Anyone thinking he should start for the Giants should rethink their position.

Running Back

Devin Singletary: 5 carries, 18 yards, 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards

I’m not sure if it’s lingering injury concerns, or if Tyrone Tracy Jr. has claimed the RB1 role, but Singletary only played five snaps in the first half. He did get two straight carries to start the Giants’ first possession in the second half, but he did not do much else with the Giants playing catch-up. Tracy was also the main third-down back, likely due to his pass-catching ability.

Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 6 carries, 23 yards, 3 targets, 3 receptions, 9 yards

The Giants’ offense struggled as a whole, but managers who roster Tracy will at least be pleased to know he opened the game as the starting running back, he received the most RB touches, and he is the preferred back in passing situations.

Eric Gray: 1 carry, 2 yards, 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Malik Nabers: 8 targets, 4 receptions, 41 yards

Nabers led the team in receiving yards, and he finished second on the team in targets and receptions. He’ll usually lead the Giants in targets and receiving, but Daniel Jones was forced to throw underneath most of the game with the pressure the Eagles’ defense generated. Hopefully, this offense can at least look functional moving forward, and they should scheme Nabers more YAC opportunities.

Wan’Dale Robinson: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 23 yards

The Giants’ PPR merchant led the team in targets and receptions, but he was unable to do much with them. If the Giants continue to struggle to protect Daniel Jones, Robinson will see plenty of short targets, but he lacks the explosiveness of teammate Malik Nabers to do much damage after the catch.

Missed Opportunities

There was one short pass Daniel Jones sailed a bit too high for Robinson, though it wouldn’t have led to a big gain.
Robinson also failed to hold on to a pass in traffic that would have led to a first down on a curl route.

Darius Slayton: 3 targets, 1 reception, 11 yards

With Malik Nabers back in the lineup, Slayton returned to fantasy irrelevance.

Missed Opportunities