Five matchups to watch tonight between the Eagles and Giants

The Eagles are 2-3, and have had all kinds of problems offensively to begin the season. And yet, they find themselves in a position to take an early lead in the woeful NFC East if they can beat the Giants Monday night. Here are five matchups to watch this week between the Eagles and Giants.

1) The Eagles' run game vs the Giants' run game

The Eagles and Giants both allow just 3.5 yards per carry defensively in the run game this season, which ties them for best in the NFL. The Eagles have stopped the run effectively because they have a defensive line led by Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan, who have dominated at the point of attack.

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Chip Kelly spoke about what makes the Giants' run defense so effective. "They have done an outstanding job at stopping the rush in the first five games," said Kelly, "and they have done it against everybody they have played. They are big inside with Hankins and Cullen Jenkins in there. Their linebackers are downhill, physical linebackers that are really geared towards stopping the run. I think for that reason, I think a lot of people have tried to throw the ball on them a little bit more just because you may be banging your head against the wall, in terms of trying to run the football against that look. That's the first thing, and I think a lot of coaches on the defensive side of the ball will tell you that, ‘Hey, we are going stop the run first, establish what we can do and try to make a team one-dimensional,’ and that's how they have been successful on the defensive side."

That's a nice way of saying the Giants put a ton of bodies in the box.

Still, from the Eagles' perspective, their offense is at its best when they can run the ball effectively. Sam Bradford and the Eagles' receivers have shown so far this season that they have not been able to carry the offense when they don't get help from the run game. So even if the Giants are sticking eight players in the box, the Eagles are going to have to find a way to run the the ball to keep the Giants honest.

Meanwhile, the Giants' offense has not run the ball effectively all season. Here are their top three backs' numbers:

The Eagles need to keep it that way.

2) Sam Bradford vs the Giants' depleted secondary

Because the Giants have put such an emphasis on stopping the run, they have often left themselves very thin in their secondary. The Eagles feasted on a terrible defense a week ago against the Saints, and Sam Bradford will have a chance to build on that success against a Giants defense that has allowed more passing yards than any team in the NFL through the first five weeks, at 304.2 per game.

Compounding the Giants' issues on the back end, they will be without their best corner, Prince Amukamara, and key reserve corner Trumaine McBride is listed as questionable with a groin injury.

3) The Giants' linebackers vs Darren Sproles and Zach Ertz

It's not just the Giants' secondary that has been torched this season. The Giants' linebackers have struggled in pass defense. Here's what some running backs have done against the Giants this season through the air:

And here is what some tight ends have done against them:

The Giants have not faced a RB-TE receiving threat duo as dangerous as Darren Sproles and Zach Ertz this season. I suspect they'll be a big part of Chip Kelly's game plan.

4) The Eagles' pass rush vs the Giants' quick-throw offense

We covered this at length earlier in the week, but the Eagles' pass rush has faced a string of quarterbacks who get the ball out extremely quickly. That will not change with Eli Manning this week.

"You know where (Eli) is ranked in the NFL in getting the ball out of his hands? Third," said defensive coordinator Bill Davis earlier this week. "So once again, it's a high-efficiency, quick ball-out-of-the-quarterback's-hand offense. And again, they have only had, I think, four sacks maybe and two interceptions, so Eli not only makes a quick read and gets it out of his hands, if there is any pressure, he throws it away. He's not taking the sack and he's not throwing the interception. He would rather take the intentional grounding and just eat the incomplete and play another down, and I think that's why their offense is pretty efficient."

Here are the 29 opening day NFL starting quarterbacks (rookies Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, as well as first year starter Tyrod Taylor omitted), and their career average pass attempts per sack. We bolded the first five quarterbacks the Eagles faced, as well as their Week 6 opponent, Eli Manning:

As you can see, so far this season, the Eagles have faced quarterbacks who do not often take sacks. Even the lowest player on the list among those the Eagles have faced, Ryan Fitzpatrick, has become a quarterback who gets rid of the ball faster than anyone in the NFL in recent years, according to Davis.

As a result, the Eagles' sack numbers are down. The Eagles' edge rushers (Connor Barwin, Brandon Graham, and Vinny Curry) have had to rush the quarterback in a very controlled way, again, as noted earlier this week. The Cliff's Notes version is that the Eagles' edge rushers have tried to stay in the quarterbacks' faces while getting their hands into passing lanes, rather than firing off the edge and trying to get sacks. That has hurt their numbers, but that approach has been effective for the defense overall.

On the one hand, the Eagles are used to defensing quick-throw quarterbacks, and the overall game plan against them has been very effective. To some degree, it will help the Eagles in that they have gotten used to executing disciplined pass rushes. On the other hand, the Giants will have plenty of tape to watch of the Eagles defense defending quick-strike quarterbacks. I'm not sure who that favors more.

5) The Eagles' secondary vs the depleted Giants wide receiver corps

It appeared that Odell Beckham Jr. injured his hamstring celebrating a touchdown reception last Sunday night against the 49ers. Here was that dance:

That sweet dance may wind up costing the Giants their best player tonight. Beckham made the trip to Philly, but he did not practice all week, and at a minimum, will not be 100 percent. Meanwhile, Victor Cruz is still unable to play. That leaves the Giants with the following receivers at Eli Manning's disposal if Beckham cannot go: Rueben Randle, Dwayne Harris, Myles White, and Geremy Davis. Not an ideal situation for the Giants, clearly.

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