Links to stories, pods and pictures to help you keep up with NFC East and the NFL in general
NFC East links
ESPN
Will Hurts-Brown episode change balance for Eagles offense?
[T]he Eagles are going against the grain when it comes to championship style. They are averaging 25.2 pass attempts per game this season, fewest of any team in the league. Since 2000, there has only been one team to make it to the Super Bowl who averaged fewer than 26 pass attempts per game during the regular season, per ESPN Research: the 2005 Steelers, who won the Super Bowl that season.
Since 2015, there have been four teams to reach the Super Bowl who averaged at least 30 rushing attempts during the regular season: the 2015 Panthers, 2022 Eagles, 2019 49ers and 2016 Patriots. The ‘16 Patriots were the only one of those teams to win the Super Bowl.
It’s almost certain there will be a time in the postseason where the running game is slowed and it will fall to Hurts and the pass attack to carry the day. The talent is certainly there to get it done but the consistency has not been for much of the season.
[Jalen Hurts] has thrown for under 180 yards in each of the last three games and ranks 31st in air yards per attempt (5.7), with just two of his 62 pass attempts traveling 20-plus yards downfield over that stretch. And yet he ranks 32nd over that span in average time before throw (3.24 seconds), speaking to the sometimes clunky, arrhythmic nature of the pass game recently.
[AJ] Brown is averaging 6.6 targets per game, down from nine targets per game over his first two seasons in Philly. He boasted a 29.4% target share over the last two years, which trailed only Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill; that’s dropped to 19th in the league with a rate of 22.2%.
After the Carolina game, Brown said “passing” was the area that needed to get fixed on offense and called it “incredibly tough” to get into a rhythm as a receiver when the opportunities are limited.
“I’m not saying the sky is falling with our passing game,” Brown said, “but it’s something to bring awareness to it, to focus on it, to get better in the moment that we have.”
ESPN
Jets, Giants futile seasons lead to worst record since 1960
The New York Giants and New York Jets have endured some pretty bad seasons, but this one is uniquely dreadful. Based on combined winning percentage, it’s the worst season for the New York City area since the Jets (first known as the Titans) joined the Giants on the local scene in 1960.
The Giants are 2-11. The Jets are 3-10. Do the math: That’s a .192 winning percentage.
Think owner John Mara & Co. wanted to celebrate their 100th season with a 2-15 campaign that could include being the first team ever to go 0-9 at home? As rookie Malik Nabers said on Sunday of the constant mistakes, “that is just the New York Giants this year.”
[I]n the end, this season will probably be remembered for the plane flying over MetLife Stadium imploring ownership to “fix this dumpster fire.”
That is likely to live in infamy in much the same way that it did when a plane flew over the stadium in 1978 saying 15 years of losing “we’ve had enough.”
But … believe it or not, it could get worse. Having the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley set the single-season rushing record against his former team in Week 18 could bring them to an even lower low.
A plane with this message for Giants ownership is flying over the stadium hours before they play the Saints: “Mr. Mara Enough — Plz Fix this Dumpster Fire.” pic.twitter.com/7DOUsGof1z
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 8, 2024
Bleeding Green Nation
Can the Eagles beat Russell Wilson for the first time ever?
Opposing player to stop, Week 15 edition.
Russell Wilson is 6-0 lifetime (including postseason) as a starter against the Eagles. So, the veteran quarterback has that on his side when he faces the Eagles this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field. The problem is, the current team Wilson plays for, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have not beaten the Eagles in Philadelphia since October 24, 1965, when the Steelers edged the Eagles, 20-14, thanks in part to a Jim (not Terry) Bradshaw 82-yard interception return.
Since then, the Steelers are 0-10 in Philadelphia against the Eagles, and actually trail the all-time series 48-29-3. The Eagles’ 10-game home winning streak against the Steelers includes Pittsburgh’s 1979 Super Bowl XIV champion Steelers’ team that lost to the Eagles, 17-14, on September 30, 1979. Some deemed that an early Super Bowl preview, like some may be looking at this game as a possible Super Bowl look.
[I]mportantly, Tomlin also stated Steelers’ leading receiver George Pickens may miss the game with a hamstring injury that he injured in Week 14.
Big Blue View
Where did the 2024 season go wrong for the New York Giants?
Let’s not blame Shane Bowen for the Giants being 2-11. Yes, the run defense hasn’t been good. Yes, going more than 11 games without an interception (thank you, Tre Hawkins) was ridiculous. To this point in the season, though, defense has not been the Giants’ big problem. The Giants allow 22.5 points per game, 16th overall. That makes them exactly league average.
The problem has largely been the league-worst offense.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t things to complain about on defense. Or, that Bowen is the right defensive coordinator for the personnel the Giants have.
Bowen is a much different coordinator than his predecessor, Wink Martindale. The Giants have gone from Martindale’s throw caution to the wind “pressure breaks pipes” blitz-happy, man coverage dominant defense to Bowen’s preference for four-man pressure, zone coverage and less outright attacking.
Deonte Banks was drafted to be a press-man cornerback in a man-heavy scheme. Remember Martindale’s bear-hug of Schoen when the GM traded up to get him? He has struggled to cover No. 1 receivers this year, but also a case can be made that the less aggressive, more zone-dependent coverage scheme does not fit what Banks was drafted for.
Two other key players who have not lived up to expectations this season are safety Jason Pinnock and inside linebacker Bobby Okereke.
Okereke was particularly vocal last season about his love of playing for Martindale, and was clearly unhappy about the ex-DC’s acrimonious departure. He has been a good soldier and not complained, but he clearly has not been the impact player he was a year ago.
Okereke, who maybe miss the rest of the season with a back injury, is averaging just one fewer tackle this year (7.75 per game compared to 8.7 a year ago), but his impact plays are down.
He averaged 3.3 STOPs per game in 2023, and is down to 1.8 per game in 2024. Okereke’s missed tackle rate has gone up from 7.7 to 10.7%.
He admitted in a recent conversation that he was still trying to figure out when he should and should not be aggressive in Bowen’s scheme.
Big Blue View
Giants-Ravens injury report: Depleted Giants will be without several starters
Injuries have impacted defense at every level, and the offensive line
Linebacker Bobby Okereke (back), defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck/shoulder), left guard Jon Runyan Jr. (ankle) and slot cornerback Andru Phillips (shoulder) will not play. This will be two straight games missed for Okereke, Nunez-Roches and Phillips. Runyan was injured last Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Drew Lock, who started the last two games at quarterback, has already been replaced by Tommy DeVito as Sunday’s starter due to heel and left elbow injuries. Head coach Brian Daboll said Friday that Lock had improved enough that he might be able to dress as the emergency third quarterback vs. Baltimore. Practice squad quarterback Tim Boyle will be the No. 2. Lock is officially listed as doubtful.
Starting cornerback Cor’Dale Flott is also listed as doubtful with a quad injury, meaning he is unlikely to play. If Tae Banks (questionable/rib) misses a third straight game, the Giants will be without all three starting cornerbacks and starting safety Tyler Nubin (IR/ankle).
Cat Scratch Reader
Panthers vs Cowboys: Offensive preview
The Panthers get a respite from an extremely tough stretch of the schedule.
- Make life difficult for Micah Parsons. Lost in the disaster that has been the Cowboys season is the fact that Parsons is still the game wrecker he’s always been despite an early season injury. He has 6.5 sacks in nine game. 5.5 of those have come in the five games since he returned from that injury. He’s not quite as good against the run as he is rushing the passer, so the Panthers can try to wear him out by running at him and sending help his way when they do have to drop back to pass.
- Look for chunks in the passing game. The Cowboys have allowed 8.0 yards per pass attempt this season. Only the Jaguars have been worse. The Cowboys’ duo of outside corners Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland look intimidating, but they haven’t been able to make a huge impact. Bland has been good, but Diggs hasn’t been nearly the player he used to be. Provided Young can take care of the ball and stay safe from Micah Parsons, there should be room to pick up hefty chunks of yards through the air.
- Take advantage of Bryce Young’s quick little legs. Three of the Cowboys’ last five opponents have had good athletes at quarterback. All three have had big games running the football. Jalen Hurts had seven carries for 56 yards and two touchdowns, Jayden Daniels had seven carries for 74 yards and a touchdown, and Drew Lock had four carries for 57 yards and a touchdown. Young has been more willing to use his legs to extend plays and take open space when he doesn’t have an open target to throw to. This is a good week to build off that.
NFL league links
ESPN
Champ Bailey: Travis Hunter’s CB/WR outlook, NFL draft future
Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter — a native of Suwanee, Georgia — has captivated the college football landscape by dominating on both sides of the ball. On offense, Hunter has 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. On defense, he has 33 tackles, four interceptions, 10 pass breakups and a forced fumble. In Colorado’s regular-season finale against Oklahoma State, Hunter became the only FBS player over the past 25 seasons with three scrimmage touchdowns and a defensive INT in a single game, per ESPN Research.
“He’s doing things you probably won’t see again,” Bailey said.
[W]e asked Bailey to weigh in on what makes Hunter so special, why playing both sides of the ball is so difficult and what lies ahead for the Buffaloes’ star in the pre-draft process. Can Hunter — who could be awarded the Heisman Trophy on Saturday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) — do something that Bailey didn’t in his NFL career and play both offense and defense at the next level? Here’s Bailey’s take, in his own words.
Bailey: In my last season at Georgia, I returned kickoffs and punts, played corner and played wide receiver — they didn’t hold me out of anything. If the ball was out there, I was out there.
I wanted to play both sides of the ball when I got to the league, too, and had some chances to line up and play some offense. But I think the difficulty of really doing it is hard to comprehend.
As you go from high school to college, and college to the NFL, the preparation becomes a big thing for the coaches. You start playing all the snaps on one side of the ball and a lot of snaps on the other and maybe some special teams, but coaches don’t really know what you’re going through. They haven’t done it because not many have. So you’re trying to show them you’re prepared enough to be out there and that you can hold up. That takes convincing.
There isn’t enough said about the accountability that comes with what Hunter is doing, too. Playing both ways means putting extra stuff on your plate, and people are counting on you to do it, so it can’t just be something you want to try. That mental pressure will take the biggest toll unless you really love what you’re doing and go all in. And beyond the physical aspect — which is an immense challenge in itself — you also have to be proficient in two different playbooks. Other guys might have had the talent to do what he’s doing, but we never find out because they don’t have the mentality to really commit to doing it.
The extreme number of snaps he’s playing, the wear and tear and what it takes for him to sustain that — to train for what his body is about to go through.
One thing I dealt with a lot was cramping — there’s a lot of humidity in the SEC. I’d get an IV at halftime of every game, and that became a thing. But I don’t think I actually sat on the bench, even for a second, more than three times all season because I was also on special teams. You have moments where you’re just so tired. But I didn’t even take my helmet off very often.
I think it would be more efficient for him to primarily work on defense and get into the offensive meetings he needs to for certain things.
I think his greatest arc for finding success while trying to play both offense and defense is going full-time 100 percent at corner, and then getting some situational work at receiver. I hope he gets a chance to do whatever he wants.