It’s official: Darius Slayton will miss the New York Giants‘ game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.
Slayton, who strained his hamstring in New York’s 26-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome, was ruled out by for the Giants’ Week 6 game against their NFC East rivals at MetLife Stadium.
The veteran wide receiver is third on the Giants in receiving yards (166) this season — and second to Wan’Dale Robinson among Giants players that are on the active roster. Malik Nabers leads the Giants in receiving yards but was placed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in New York’s 21-18 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 28.
Darius Slayton’s Thursday Night Football Absence Is Important
The Eagles may be in the middle of the pack at defending the pass, but they will not have much to defend with both Slayton and Nabers out.
The Giants are 28th in points per game (17.4) this season — and only an outlier 506-yard, 37-point performance against the Dallas Cowboys are keeping them from being the worst offense statistically.
Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart is averaging just 157 yards per start since taking over for Russell Wilson in Week 4 — and Slayton registered 75 of Dart’s 313 passing yards so far.
Plus, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has made a career at dialing up schemes to limit quarterbacks —Â and they have the personnel to keep Dart at bay, even with Jalen Carter likely to miss the game due to a heel injury.
Dart will be missing 30 combined receptions from Nabers and Slayton. The Giants may end up starting two wideouts, Jalin Hyatt and Gunner Olszewski, that do not have a catch in 2025.
Tyrone Tracy Will Be Back For The Giants
Cam Skattebo and Theo Johnson have been crucial pass catchers for Dart, and Tyrone Tracy’s return to the lineup could help cover for Slayton’s absence.
Tracy was, of course, a wide receiver in college at Notre Dame and has eight catches for 54 yards despite missing the past two games due to shoulder injury.
Tracy will even carry an injury distinction for Thursday night, meaning he will join Skattebo and reserve running back Devin Singletary as options for New York. He could even line up on the outside, dragging a defender out of the box, opening up running lanes.
The Giants are 13th in the NFL in rushing-yards per game (117.0), and in theory they could exploit the Eagles’ 22nd-ranked run defense (126.8 yards-against per game), which has allowed at least 100 rushing yards in every game this year.
But the Giants will have to keep the Eagles honest by at least having forward-pass options. Sure, Skattebo and Johnson have combined for 33 catches, they also are averaging seven yards per catch.
Without outside gamebreakers to defend — Olszewski is the team’s primary punt and kick returner, and Hyatt has just 31 catches on 62 targets for 435 yards in his 36-game NFL career — the Giants offense could have trouble against the Eagles, who they’ve had a near-impossible time scoring against.
Philadelphia could also sell out against the run while also dedicating a defensive player to spying Dart, who has 109 rushing yards on 19 attempts this year.
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