Preview, prediction and what to watch in week 8

A look inside Sunday’s game between the Giants and Eagles in Week 8 of the NFL In Philadelphia:

Marche match

Eagles DT Jalen Carter against the Giants’ interior offensive line

The Giants got their big break two weeks ago when Carter was announced on game night inactive with a heel injury.

No such luck this time.

Carter is back and dominating.

His pressure on Carson Wentz last week led to a six-interception return.

Right guard Greg Van Roten will get a heavy dose of Carter, and center John Michael Schmitz, returning after missing one game in the concussion protocol, will also have his hands full with one of the best interior defensemen in the league.

Four downs

men down: This will be an unfamiliar and potentially damaging situation for the Giants in their defensive backfield, as they will have to play without their best cornerback, Paulson Adepo and their best safety, Jevon Holland.

Adebo played all 417 defensive snaps in the first six games and Holland played 408 of them.

Both were forced out with knee injuries in Denver and the defense fell apart without them.

Dane Belton is a special teams player with enough experience to compete as a backup for Holland. 2023 first-round pick Deonte Banks has talent but has been a failure so far and generates little confidence in his ability to get it done.

The Giants are getting an offseason, with Stud Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown (knee) out.

The wait continues: There is no doubt that Abdul Carter is a physically gifted athlete, and his presence is felt when he is on the field.

Given the amount of hype there has been regarding the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft, his production through seven games is…lagging.

He has half a sack, 16 tackles, six quarterback knockdowns, and 11 pressures.

He’s close to making a big impact in a game, but it hasn’t happened yet.

“Abdul is a great talent. I mean, obviously the numbers aren’t there,” said Brian Burns, who is tied for the NFL lead with nine sacks. “But they’ll come. And I’ve been trying to keep his head straight on that. Like, it’s going to be something special.”

Not much barking: Saquon Barkley is coming off a game at Minnesota where he gained just 44 yards and averaged just 2.9 yards per rush attempt. As it turns out, this is not an aberration.

Barclay She has not yet been tracked this season After an amazing 2,005 yards in 2024. He averages 3.3 yards per attempt and has 896 yards rushing.

This version of Barkley is the most the Giants have seen often, proving that offensive line play is important.

“We’re working like crazy to figure it out, and I think we have some good ideas here and now we’ve got to get to work,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.

Trust factor: The call late in the fourth quarter last week would have been to run it third down and force the Broncos to burn their final time and then punt the ball away.

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka decided to call a play-action pass, but it backfired when Jackson Dart intercepted the ball.

“With maximum protection, with the ball in Jackson’s hands, that was something I felt confident in just because of the amount of production and things he’s done over the course of his time here,” Kafka said. Has the turnover caused any kind of diminished confidence in the rookie? “It’s not like that, it’s not really like that,” Kafka said. “And I don’t really question the call, and I have no regrets about it.”

Paul’s choice

We’ll see if the Eagles are about to hit their stride and start a winning streak. Jalen Hurts should be able to enjoy the Giants’ depleted secondary, and at some point Saquon Barkley will break, right? Jackson Dart gets his indoctrination into life on the road in Philadelphia. That usually ends unpleasantly for those who wear the Giants’ colors.

Eagles 27, Giants 16