The New York Giants have had a hard enough time beating the Philadelphia Eagles at full strength. But it is looking like New York’s much-maligned offense will be even more short-handed for its divisional showdown against its biggest rivals.
Giants leading wideout Darius Slayton did not practice again Tuesday and is trending toward not playing against the Eagles in their Thursday night showdown at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants (1-4) are 1-7 in their past eight games against the Eagles — their lone win in that span came on Week 18 of the 2023 NFL season where Philadelphia rested the bulk of its starters ahead of the playoffs.
They have lost two straight at MetLife Stadium against the Eagles and are 5-10 there since it opened in 2010.
Darius Slayton Is Unlikely To Play Against the Eagles
Slayton sustained a hamstring injury in the Giants’ 26-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday and did not return. The Athletic’s Giants beat writer Dan Duggan reported on head coach Brian Daboll’s update from his press availability Tuesday.
“Hard for me to imagine Slayton being ready on a short week from a hamstring injury that knocked him out of Sundayâs game,” Duggan shared to X (formerly Twitter).
The injury limited Slayton to just 55 snaps in New York’s 26-14 loss, and he left the game in the third quarter and did not return. It did not keep Slayton from posting three catches for 31 yards but also losing a crucial fumble in the second quarter — as the Giants were driving to try and score before halftime.
That fumble led to Blake Grupe’s 29-yard field goal that gave the Saints the lead for good.
Darius Slayton Is A Big Loss For Jaxson Dart and The Giants Offense
Slayton has played 87 percent of the Giants‘ snaps this season and had become something of a safety blanket in the middle of the field for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Slayton leads all Giants receivers with 75 yards in the past two games, and he has 10 targets and six catches in Dart’s two starts. That mark is tied for third among Giants receivers — only Wan’Dale Robinson (12 targets, 8 catches) and tight end Theo Johnson (12 targets, 9 catches) have been targeted more.
Yet, Slayton’s injury also coincides with Malik Nabers’ devastating torn ACL, which he sustained in Dart’s first start, a 21-18 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Without Slayton and Nabers, the Giants offense, which isn’t exactly high-octane to begin with, could have a tough time going against the Eagles pass defense.
Philadelphia’s pass defense ranks 15th in yards-against per game (211.4) but is tied for eighth in passing-touchdowns against (6) this season — and you can bet defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will take away Robinson and Johnson, especially if the Giants don’t add a wideout before Thursday.
Dart ranks dead last among 38 quarterbacks in passing yards per game (78.3) — though in fairness to the first-round pick, that’s calculated by the four games in which he’s played and not the two games he has started. But his 156 yards per start would still be near the bottom of the list of NFL QBs.
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