Eagles @ Giants
Final Score: Giants 34, Eagles 17
Writer: Geoff Ulrich (@thefantasygrind on X/Twitter)
Safe to say this game didn’t go how most people thought it would. The Eagles gave up a quick 14 points to the Giants early on, then turned on the afterburners, and, for a moment, things looked like they’d returned to normal for the Super Bowl Champs. Then the second half started, and they got outplayed from the starting whistle, getting absolutely dominated all half by Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo via the rush, and some nameless Giants receivers through the air.
So are the Giants the real deal, or are there some massive issues forming in Philly? Let’s dive in.
Three Up
- Jaxson Dart — Played very in control and used his best assets to his advantage all night.
- Cam Skattebo — Crushed on the ground all game
- Dallas Goedert — Looking like the number one option on this Eagles offense
Three Down
- Tyrone Tracy — Only a tertiary player at the moment, and didn’t look great
- DeVonta Smith — Third in yardage and targets
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 24/33, 283 yards, TD, INT | 7 carry, 13 yards, TD
I dare say the Eagles being bad on defense may actually be good for Jalen Hurts, for fantasy anyway. He threw for 280+ yards for the second game in a row and, even with poor rushing stats (for him), still rushed for a TD. A solid fantasy outing you’ll take almost any week.
I don’t really see much wrong with Hurts, but he is definitely not as comfortable on some of the throws to the sticks as he has been in the past, which is causing the Eagles to call more throws over the middle to Goedert. His connection with AJ Brown was decent in this game, and he did hit him for a 20+ yard play on the sidelines early. However, his INT was another pass to the outside that he just mistimed/didn’t have enough zip on.
Overall, nothing to worry about and was the least of the Eagles’ problems tonight, most of which stemmed from their defense or their O-Line
Running Back
Saquon Barkley: 12 carries, 58 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 9 yards
Another poor rushing game from Barkley. I don’t really think it’s a Barkley issue as still looks like he has good burst to me, but his O-Line has regressed and teams are just focusing in on the run vs Philly as they have done all season.
He started the game well with a big run, and you thought it might be off to the races, but the Giants really bore down after that. Didn’t get used much as a receiver in this game, but expect he will have good PPR value going forward. He’s nowhere near the fantasy cheat code he was last season, but still an RB1.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
AJ Brown: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 80 Yards
Brown was playing well at the start of this game and even dominating in spots. Entering the second half, it looked like he was pretty much guaranteed to hit 100+ yards and have his second big breakout game of the year. Things regressed for the Eagles in the second half as Jalen Hurts came under more pressure and they couldn’t string together any first downs.
He made some great plays early, including the sideline 30+ yard pass from Hurts that he came down with with a defender draped on him, but lost looks to Goedert late in the game when the Giants started getting pressure. Hard to know where this situation goes going forward, but there were good moments in this game, and certainly it was better than we saw the first two weeks, or even last week vs Denver.
The good news is that even if the Hurts-Brown connection is a little wobbly, with the Eagles’ poor defense, lots of solid game script opportunities will be in his future.
DeVonta Smith: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 49 yards
Not a great follow-up game for Smith. He was lightly used by Hurts and didn’t have any big plays downfield like he had against the Broncos. Has been held to under 5 receptions in four of six games now, and just didn’t seem like a huge part of the game plan from the start.
As a Smith owner, you’d like to see them get him more involved in short screens, but Goedert is eating up a ton of that work. If you sold him off the big game last week, you likely made the right call.
Dallas Goedert: 10 Targets, 9 Receptions, 110 Yards, TD
On top of posting massive numbers, this game marked the fourth in a row where Goedert has found the end zone. As the Offensive Line deteriorated for Hurts, Goedert quickly became the outlet he was looking to most often.
The TD play was likely the innocuous play of the night from Goedert, who took a little dump, underhand screen pass from Hurts inside the five, and squeezed his way into the end zone. The rest were just good catches and runs where Goedert was able to use his underrated after-the-catch ability to ward off Giants defenders for extra yards.
The new OC Kevin Patullo has made a thing of calling plays for Goedert and clearly feels like it’s more in Jalen Hurts’ wheelhouse to throw to him. It’s working, so I don’t necessarily see them backing off this strategy anytime soon. There will, of course, be games where the Eagles are ahead and Goedert sees 2-3 targets, but given how poorly their defense played this Thursday, he’ll also have more games like this ahead.
Either way, if you manage him, be very happy with this development. TE is a tough position as it is so anyone with this sort of upside should be worshipped.
Jahan Dotson: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 17 Yards
New York Giants
Quarterback
Jaxson Dart: 17/25, 195 Yards, TD | 13 carries, 58 yards, TD
Dart was good from start to finish in this game. He wasn’t perfect, but played controlled and to his strengths, which are the running game and short pass game. I will say, the one thing you need to worry about with Dart is injury. He took some big hits in this game, and it felt like every Giants offensive series ended with a potential injury-inducing takedown or run from him.
He even left the game after getting smacked directly on his non-throwing shoulder, and by the speed of the hit, I was sure he was done for the game. He came back, though, and even made more inside runs, so you do have to admire his toughness. Just note that if you own him for fantasy, having a solid backup is necessary because I would bet on him missing games at some point.
From a performance standpoint, Dart was great at picking apart the Eagles in the short passing game with Robinson (mostly), but made smart throws to Humphrey downfield, which gained them some great leverage and field position. He also made a perfect throw to Hyatt on the PI late in the game, which could have been his second passing TD, so he just missed an even bigger fantasy day. Either way, a great game from him. For fantasy, I’d still be wary against really tough defensive units, but against weaker teams, he’ll have QB1 upside the rest of the way.
Running Back
Cam Skattebo: 19 Carries, 98 Yards, 3 TDs | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards
Skattebo was certainly the story of this game for fantasy. Three rushing TDs, all of which came from inside the five-yard line, and against what was once thought to be the toughest matchup for an RB in football.
He didn’t really have any big highlight reel plays, although you could also argue every play he made was a highlight reel because he was just blasting through the middle of the scrum every play. Honestly, not a ton to say here on the player, because it’s so obvious what he’s become, which is a true RB1. We’ve seen him be more active in the passing game in weeks prior as well, so the low reception total isn’t a big deal, as game flow dictated more carries.
My biggest takeaway is that he really exposed the Eagles with his tough running style, and I’d venture to think we’ll see more teams take the “Skattebo” approach on them going forward, and just try to break them in the middle of the field.
Big move up for him for fantasy and rankings coming, but you should also be upgrading whichever RB faces the Eagles next as well.
Tyrone Tracy: 4 Carries, 6 Yards
Tracy made his way back from injury just to watch Skattebo run all over the field and essentially push him to the bench. I’m sure we’ll see him get worked in a little each week, but his time as the Giants RB1 is over.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Wan’Dale Robinson: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 84 Yards, TD
Robinson always looks so good to me when the Giants feature him like they did tonight. He moves incredibly well in short spaces and managed to turn multiple short passes into big gains, the biggest of which was the TD in the first half, where he danced down the sidelines after beating his initial defender for about 25+ YAC before he found the end zone.
This was the most in sync that Robinson and Dart have looked since he took over, and whenever the Giants needed a play or felt like the momentum on offense might be failing, they went to Robinson. He won’t always have the room he did tonight, but he’s also hard to completely shut down since he plays from the slot so much.
I buy him as a legit WR2 the rest of the way, and in a PPR league, would be a name I’d be looking to make a move on later if he posts a poor game vs Denver in Week 7.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey: 8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 55 Yards
The surprise start of this game in some ways for the Giants. Lil J is 6’4 and has decent speed, so he is a handful downfield for any corner, and he came down with a nice jump ball from Dart early in the game, which helped the Giants get some momentum. The connection was more spotty after that, but without Nabers and Slayton, he’s the best thing they have in that department, and might be better than Slayton anyway.
Not sure if I buy him for fantasy or as a legit waiver wire target because this offense is run-based now, and Robinson and Theo Johnson will compete for a lot of targets, but he may have decent spike weeks if Slayton stays out.
Jalin Hyatt: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 17 Yards
The much-maligned Hyatt had himself a decent game. They used him more on short out routes vs Philly, which is where all three of his catches came (5-6 yard outs). The one shot deep he had, he also drew a pass interference, which set up the last Skattebo TD from the 1-yard line.
Hyatt almost came down with that end zone ball, so he was a whisker away from 50+ yards and a TD. It was an encouraging outing, but not quite enough to make him a weekly fantasy target just yet.
Theo Johnson: 4 Target, 2 Reception, 27 Yards
Johnson is still a decent part of this offense and will likely have better weeks ahead. The Giants just didn’t need him much because the Eagles’ corners were so bad, and Dart and Skattebo were running all over them. He had a nice 22-yard catch and run over the middle in the second half, where he outran his defender and managed to get upfield for a solid gain. He was also the only TE to catch a pass.
Johnson looks faster and slimmer to me this season, so I buy him as a nice part of this offense and as a streaming option with Dart going forward.