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Have you ever played or watched golf? If not, no sweat, it takes up a lot of time. But you might struggle with the analogy I am about to make for Eagles-Giants Round 2.

When watching a tournament like the Masters or U.S. Open on Friday or Saturday (so, before the final round), you will hear often an announcer say something like, “If he can get this [round] into the house at 6-under, that would be huge.” That phrase gets uttered when a player has been up-and-down, perhaps not at their best, but still near the top of the leaderboard and in striking distance to win the tourney. The gist of “get it into the house” means to reach the clubhouse with a decent score despite not being at your best, maybe head to the range to get your game tuned, and then come back the next day ready to go.

Well, that is how I feel about the Eagles this weekend against the Giants of New Jersey. No, this has not been an incredibly convincing first half of the season for the Birds. Outgained in every single game, with an offense that has had nothing to fall back on and a bend-but-don’t-break defense a little too reliant on the red zone and turnovers.

There is a lot to work on here. But the Birds have a chance to enter the bye week, the one major in-season point to correct some things (which we saw them take advantage of and then some last year!), with a 6-2 record against a legitimately tough schedule. Post that score, and get it into the house fellas.

On the show, Fran called this week’s game a sliding-doors moment. The Eagles are playing a less-talented team that embarrassed and out-physicaled them just over two weeks ago. They then beat a much better team, and specifically a much better defense, last week with a new strategy. And we are also less than two weeks away from the trade deadline, this is the team’s last on-field chance to inform Howie Roseman’s thinking.

Four things I will be looking at…

(1) What is the offensive game plan? Are they actually gonna lean into this under-center play-action thing in an effort to manufacture some more explosives? It’s unclear if that is the change to the passing game that A.J. Brown, who sat out both Wednesday and Thursday with a hamstring injury that I believe he also dealt with in training camp, is looking for. But the results spoke for themselves, A.J. and DeVonta Smith both had monster games against a really good pass defense. And DeVonta clearly wanted to see some of that under-center stuff, he advocated for the play.

I am not looking for a Sean Desai-Matt Patricia type of swap. But if Kevin Patullo ever did get fired, could DeVonta pull double duty? Like Patricia, he is already in the building. That was a good play!

I saw some reporting that Brown might just be getting some rest. Hope so. Friday’s injury report should be informative in that regard.

(2) Is Jalen Hurts just not a runner anymore? I mean, he still is a dangerous runner. Jalen ran a couple of beautiful scramble drills last Sunday, including the crucial 3rd and 13 to A.J. on the right sideline. The man has not lost his wheels.

But one of the subplots of this first half of the season is that Jalen is not being used in the run game nearly as much as we have seen over his entire career. Less than half as much as last year, and three times fewer than in 2022.

There are some benefits to this strategy, in terms of saving the wear and tear on Jalen’s body through the rigorous season (although he is pretty good at avoiding huge hits). But the struggling run game sure could use the defense having to account for the QB’s legs. Where is QB Draw out of Empty? Where is QB Counter Bash, a play that can feed families when Hurts is running it?

(3) Is Brandon Graham actually going to play? Seems up in the air, and the Eagles have a two-week period to activate BG onto the active roster. Does not have to happen this week. But there will be playing time, especially with Azeez Ojulari likely out. And while I have absolutely no idea how much BG can give after just a few days of practice, the roar he will receive in intros would be something to see.

(4) Oh yeah, the Giants: I do not think the Eagles are entirely playing against themselves this week. It’s unclear what the Giants have in Jaxson Dart, but The Man With The Weird Eyeblack has been pretty darn competent in the early going. And I keep hearing the idea that the Eagles should beat the Giants by a few touchdowns since there will be real motivation, but I will believe a 2025 Eagles blowout when I see it. The Birds being 7.5-point favorites could be the right read, if the positive elements of last week’s win carry over, but again, this team gets outgained every week.

Hence my framing of “Get it into the house.” Just post a score and get everything figured out over the bye week.

Just like a few weeks ago, the Eagles have more talent than this Giants team on both sides of the ball. But there is not nothing on the other sideline. Dart’s legs are a handful for opposing defenses, and they burned the Eagles on Thursday Night Football. The Giants went 11-16 on third down, and a lot of that was picking on Kelee Ringo, who (*checks notes*) is still the likely CB2 after Adoree’ Jackson suffered a concussion. Kelee made Lil’Jordan Humphrey look like the scariest practice squad player in NFL history.

And on defense, the Giants have a strong pass rush. If Brett Toth is in at center, the Eagles are gonna have to be buttoned up against it. No question about it. Less reps where you are parallel to the sidelines, Brett.

Injury report: Already mentioned most of this up above, but here it is. Really hope A.J. can play this weekend.

Ottawa 2, Flyers 1: Flyers lose, and truthfully gang, I did not see a ton of this particular game. But it does seem like when the Orange and Black have struggled this season, it is not because they are disorganized defensively. It is because they are not creating a ton in the offensive zone. This game seemed like another example of that trend.

Of course Olle Lycksell scored the game-winning goal. So predictable, so Flyers.

Shot: The NBA had a couple of great nights to start the season. We had VJ Edgecombe locally, but OKC-Houston was a double-overtime classic on opening night and Victor Wembanyama is doing things we have never seen on a basketball court before.

And of course, the news we wake up to on Thursday is a sprawling gambling bust involving a current coach (Chauncey Billups) and current player (Terry Rozier) that also involves La Cosa Nostra! Biggest story in sports on Thursday. Jeez.

Chaser: Two more VJ moments that I loved from Wednesday’s opener…

Busy weekend ahead…

But if you are still gonna watch a ton of college football, you know what is not so-so? Fran’s Draft Guide! Seriously, when you are watching games, open this bad boy up.

Your tentative Friday schedule at ​PHLY​. No Flyers or Sixers, just because we have pre and post-game shows coming your way tomorrow:

Have a great weekend. Let’s make it a good one today.

Rich Hofmann
Daily Newsletter Editor
PHLY SPORTS