Giants news, 12/9: Running game, Brian-Daboll, Pro Bowl voting, more headlines

New York Giants headlines for Wednesday

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Giants-Eagles Week 14: 4 things to know

The way to deal with the Philadelphia defense this season has largely been by running the ball. Of course, that isn’t easy.

The Eagles are 17th in the league against the run, giving up 117.9 yards per game. They are 24th in yards allowed per rushing attempt at 4.6. During a five-game stretch from Weeks 5-10, they gave up 124 or more yards rushing in five straight games, culminating with 152 allowed in their 32-21 loss to the Commanders.

The Giants, of course, have tried to control games this season by running the ball and throwing cautiously on their terms this season. They generally managed that while starting 6-1, but have been unable to do that consistently over the last five games.

They are going to have to find a way. Otherwise, the Eagles — second in the league in sacks with 42 and sack percentage at 9.44 — are almost certainly going to inflict a beating upon Daniel Jones.

From Big Blue View

• Adoree’ Jackson, Xavier McKinney remain sidelined for Giants
• Pro Bowl voting: Giants’ Saquon Barkley tops fan vote at running back
• Giants roster moves: OT Roy Mbaeteka signed to the practice squad
• Do the Giants have a linebacker problem?
• What’s the worst loss in Giants’ history?

Other Giant observations

NY Giants: Brian Daboll faces season-defining games as coach | The Record

“There’s going to be ups and downs, and to stay mentally strong and focused on the task at hand, that’s not an easy thing to do all the time,” Daboll said. “But you need to do it. It’s a week-to-week league, so have we got the results we wanted? Absolutely not. Have we prepared, worked and done the right things to give ourselves a chance? We have. We just haven’t finished; we haven’t done enough to win those games.”

The running game will be key for the Giants this weekend

Presser Points: Injury updates, Brian Daboll’s ties to Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni | Giants.com

Daboll was asked what stuck out to him when he turned on the Eagles tape. “Everything. Their defensive line, their receivers, their quarterback, their offensive line, and their offensive line is as good as it gets. It starts with (center Jason) Kelce. Gets everything set, has been a fantastic player for a really long time. I think (quarterback) Jalen (Hurts) is operating an extremely high level and (wide receiver) A.J. (Brown), (wide receiver) DeVonta (Smith), I know (wide receiver) Quez (Watkins) got injured there we’ll see where he’s at. The running game is really good. Their defense, their corners, they can rush the passer and stop the run, There’s a reason why they’re 11-1. They’re a well-rounded team.”

Giants’ Daniel Bellinger, family thrilled by return from injury | New York Post

“I was scared that his loss of sight would impact his normal activities of daily living much [more than] ‘Is his career going to be over?’ ” the elder Bellinger said. “But that didn’t last long.”

Within minutes, while the Oct. 23 game was at halftime, Frank’s phone rang with an update from the Giants. The helpless feeling of being 2,200 miles away from the gruesome eye poke in Jacksonville, Fla., lessened as he learned his son was on the way to a local emergency room. He tried to focus on the rest of the game, but nerves didn’t settle until word came that Daniel suffered a fracture around the eye socket and could fly home with the team — not ride 14 hours in a car service, as was Plan B.

“I was really impressed with how quickly the Giants were on the phone updating us,” Frank said. “It felt like he was in the best hands.”

Odell Beckham Jr.’s best move would be to play in 2022, forget about 2023 | ProFootballTalk

PFT’s Mike Florio said one possible strategy would be to wait until the offseason, and to sign with a team then. Another approach would consist of taking a deal for the balance of the current season and proving himself now, setting himself up for a contract in March.

He may not be interested in doing that again, given that he was burned by a non-contact ACL suffered in Super Bowl LVI, at a time when he was on the brink of heading to free agency and getting a potentially significant contract. It’s unfortunate. It’s unfair. But it’s also unrealistic to think that anyone would sign Beckham for anything other than what he can currently do.

He needs to show what he can do. No one is going to pay him based on the past or on possibility. His best move is to play now, or as soon as he can.

2022 NFL playoff picture: Giants drop a notch – CBSSports.com

Last week, the computer projected that the Giants would finish as the NFC’s seventh-seed and after TYING the Commanders on Sunday, the computer still thinks New York will end up with the seventh-seed. According to the computer, the Giants have a 62.8% chance of making the playoffs, which is comfortably ahead of Washington. One thing to note here is that the Giants and Commanders have two of the three toughest remaining schedules over the final five weeks and if they slip up, the Lions might be able to sneak in and steal the NFC’s final playoff spot. The computer doesn’t think that has a chance of happening, but I thought I’d toss it out there just because you don’t get to hear the words “Lions” and “playoffs” in the same sentence too often.

The bosses taking a rarity from the last several years: watching a meaningful December practice

NFL Draft 2023: Giants, Jets, Eagles target defense in latest 1st-round mock | NJ.com

Pro Football Network is out with its latest first-round mock. At No. 23, the Giants select Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

Bringing him to New York to play with his former teammate in Kayvon Thibodeaux is enticing.

This week’s opponent

Nick Sirianni: Eagles have the best receivers room | ProFootballTalk

Head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about the possibility of adding Beckham on Wednesday. He responded with praise about the club’s current crop of receivers.

“Really happy with the room that we have,” Sirianni said. “One of the best wideout rooms … the best wideout room I’ve ever been a part of in the NFL. We’ve had some good ones and this is the best one we’ve had.”

Eagles appear to have fixed their biggest flaw | FOX Sports

In what might have been their most physical and dominant performance of the season, the Eagles sent a warning to the NFL that they’ve fixed their biggest problem. They stopped Titans running back Derrick Henry cold, hammered him every chance they could, and held him to just 30 yards on 11 carries in Philadelphia’s 35-10 win. And it wasn’t like the Titans were able to pass the ball either. They had just 209 total yards and the Eagles sacked Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill six times.

It was a completely dominant performance against a good, physical team that was a statement that the Eagles defense won’t be pushed around anymore.

State of the Eagles: The Home(field) Stretch | Bleeding Green Nation

The magic number for the Eagles is four. Win four more games and lock up homefield advantage. They have five games on the schedule: four very winnable and one very difficult. The Eagles could win the games they are favored to win, get beat by the Cowboys, and be no worse for wear for homefield advantage.

2022 NFL playoff picture: Here are the 14 teams projected to make the postseason heading into Week 14 – CBSSports.com

The Eagles only have a one-game lead for the top spot in the NFC, but it might as well be a 100-game lead, because the computer views them as a virtual lock to get the No. 1 seed. The biggest advantage for the Eagles is that Minnesota would have to finish one full game ahead of Philly to get the top spot since the Eagles hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Eagles could officially clinch a playoff spot on Sunday with a win over the Giants.

Jalen Hurts (again) named NFC Offensive Player of the Week | PhiladelphiaEagles.com

His brilliance has again been recognized by the NFL as Hurts on Wednesday was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive game, becoming the first Eagle to accomplish the feat since Michael Vick in 2010.

Around the league

Bills’ Von Miller out for season | CBSSports.com

An exploratory surgery this week found that Miller suffered a torn ACL, and had it repaired this week. He is done for the year. The original plan for the procedure Miller underwent was to reposition the lateral meniscus, while also cleaning up some cartilage damage. However, during the surgery, doctors discovered the ACL was torn, the same one Miller tore in 2013.

Kyle Shanahan downplays chances of Jimmy Garoppolo returning | NFL.com

“Still going to be a big recovery,” Shanahan told reporters. “There’s that way outside chance (of a return) late in the playoffs but just an outside chance. Not real optimistic about it but never rule it out.”

Texans Davis Mills will return as starting QB vs. Cowboys in Week 14 | NFL.com

After quarterback Kyle Allen made two starts for the Houston Texans, signal-caller Davis Mills will start against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14.

Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer declaring for NFL draft | ESPN.com

Mayer is the top prospect at his position, No. 8 overall on Mel Kiper’s Big Board, and leaves Notre Dame as the most productive tight end in school history. Mayer, a true junior, said he’ll be skipping the Gator Bowl against South Carolina.

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