Copyright phillyvoice
Jalen Hurts is fresh off one of the best passing performances of his career, it's Kelly Green week coming back to Lincoln Financial Field this Sunday, and Brandon Graham is coming back from retirement. Are the Philadelphia Eagles on the whole back, too? Round 2 against the New York Giants will say a lot about that. To put it bluntly, the Eagles got embarrassed by the Giants two weeks ago up in the Meadowlands, 34-17. The offense, with tensions seemingly brewing, fell apart, while the defense got pushed around by the bulldozing rookie running back Cam Skattebo. The Eagles recovered with their 28-22 win over the Vikings this past Sunday, but the sting from that first Giants game still lingers a bit. Will the Eagles flip the script on their division rival? The sportsbooks sure do seem to think so, favoring the Birds by a touchdown. Here's a look... *Lines as of Tuesday, Oct. 21 The Eagles still have their list of problems to figure out. Their offensive line continues to get banged up, with center Cam Jurgens having to exit last week's game in Minnesota, and the run game led by Saquon Barkley is still struggling to get going. The outside cornerback spot not occupied by Quinyon Mitchell also remains a glaring weak point on defense that the Eagles have struggled to find an answer for. But the Birds do have things going for them again. Jalen Carter and the defensive front got some solid pass rush pressure on Carson Wentz last week, which led to a couple of sacks and two key interceptions – granted, it was all with Wentz under center for Minnesota. The Philadelphia pass game also really got going behind Hurts, who tossed two big touchdowns to A.J. Brown and then another to DeVonta Smith in the first 300-plus yard passing performance the quarterback has had in well over a year. Also, Eagles legend Brandon Graham is back in the mix after he opted to unretire and sign on for the rest of the season. It isn't known for sure yet when he'll play, or how much he can help the Eagles off the edge, but at the minimum, his presence can be a big morale boost for the locker room. The Eagles have the parts to get by and steadily win games again. MORE EAGLESBrandon Graham got his storybook ending, but his book as an Eagle isn't closedEagles film breakdown: 'Mad scientist' Vic Fangio baited Carson Wentz in Jalyx Hunt pick-sixJalen Hurts and the highest single-game passer ratings in Eagles history They just have to do it against a Giants team that caught them sleeping and came seconds away from surviving the Broncos in another upset last week. It is important to look at how the Giants lost that game at the end, though. They were up 19-0 going into the fourth quarter in Denver, then proceeded to give up 33 points for the Broncos comeback all in that last 15 minutes. The Giants might have a boost from Skattebo and quarterback Jaxson Dart as their breakout rookie tandem, but they're still a very underwhelming and very vulnerable team, especially on defense if Hurts can throw the ball even at a fraction of the way he did in Minnesota. The Eagles just can't be the disjointed mess that fell flat on their face again, like they were two weeks ago before the Vikings seemed to have started bringing everything back. SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick Follow Nick on Bluesky: @itssnick Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
