The Philadelphia Eagles will make that 1.5-hour trip up the New Jersey Turnpike this week to meet their divisional foe New York Giants, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Thursday Night Football meeting with kickoff on Prime Video set for 8:15 PM ET, will be the first of two meetings in the next three weeks for the teams. The last three Thursday Night Football games have been matchups between divisional foes and have delivered three entertaining games. Including overtime last week in the 49er-Rams game. Let’s hope for another showdown this week as we make picks and preview the Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants Thursday Night Football game.
How They Got Here Eagles- Giants
The visiting 4-1 Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Denver Broncos 21-17 at home last week. That was the first time they’d lost, including the playoffs, since December 22nd of last year. That was a game Jalen Hurt was injured in; they’d not lost a game he played the entire game in since September 29th before that. The Eagles were up 17-3 after three quarters of play last week, before allowing 18 points in the fourth quarter to ultimately drop the game.
After their Super Bowl win last season, they’d started 4-0 this year, but each win came by seven points or less. The Cowboys held it close in Week 1, with Philadelphia winning 24-20. Week 2 was the Super Bowl rematch in Kansas City, the Eagles walked out of Arrowhead 20-17 victors. Week 3 brought the Los Angeles Rams to town, where the Eagles went down early, but fought back to win 33-26. In Week 4, they went to Tampa Bay and defeated MVP candidate Baker Mayfield and his Buccaneers 31-25.
For the 1-4 home team New York Giants, this season has looked a little bit different. They opened the year in Washington, getting slaughtered 21-6 by NFC East foe Washington Commanders. Week 2 was an epic shootout with the Dallas Cowboys. The teams exchanged touchdown after touchdown into overtime, where the Cowboys came out on top. After that, it was the letdown of the winless Kansas City Chiefs coming to town; they took care of business, holding the Giants to just nine points.
After starting 0-3, the Giants decided it was time to sit Russell Wilson down and turn the keys of the kingdom over to rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart. Dart came out with a bang against the Los Angeles Chargers. He led the team to their first win of the season. Unfortunately, in the same game, they lost Malik Nabers to a season-ending knee injury. Last week, the New Orleans Saints scored their first win of the year, taking down the Giants 26-14.
Injury Report
The injury report for the Philadelphia Eagles as of Tuesday evening looks like this. Landon Dickerson and Grant Calcaterra were both listed as did not practice. Both are on track to miss Thursday’s game. Running back Saquon Barkley was limited and told reporters he plans on playing. Jihaad Campbell and Byron Young were also limited and are expected to play.
Jackson Dart was removed from the injury report and is good to go on Thursday for the Giants. Tyrone Tracy joins him as cleared to play, although he’ll likely be the backup now. Darius Slayton has been ruled out. And Jermaine Eluemunor, along with Swayze Bozeman and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowler, were all listed as did not practice and are in jeopardy of missing the game. Safety’s Jevon Holland, Tyler Nubin, and Dane Belton were all limited, along with Andru Philips.
Thursday Night Football Picks, Preview, and Best Bets: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
Jaxson Dart Over 38.5 Rushing Yards (-110)
Jaxson Dart now has two career starts in the books. Against a tough Los Angeles Chargers defense, he scampered for 54 yards on the ground. Then last week against the New Orleans Saints, he ran for another 55 yards. He’s two for two, going well over this number in both starts. He did it against a good defense as well, which makes me feel better going up against the tough Eagles defense.
Last week, Bo Nix only ran the ball three times, but was very effective. Gaining 22 yards on those three carries. Same story for Baker Mayfield, he only ran twice against them. But was able to get 13 yards on those two runs. Patrick Mahomes, with limited options, similar to Dart’s case this week, ran the ball seven times for 66 yards against the Eagles’ defense. With Nabers out and Slayton likely missing the game, Dart is going to have to do more in this one. The Eagles are going to come after him hard, blitzing and bringing pressure, trying to disrupt the rookie. That should lead to him scrambling enough times to go over this number.
DeVonta Smith Longest Reception Over 19.5 Yards (-130)
It’s been well-publicized that DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown haven’t been happy with their respective roles in this 2025 Philadelphia Eagles offense. We generally see the squeaky wheels get the grease, and I expect that on Thursday night. Last week, against the Denver Broncos, the Eagles noticeably tried to force the ball to north receivers against a tough secondary. Smith ended up with 114 receiving yards and a long target or two that he just missed.
Smith is a big-play wide receiver, and Jalen Hurts knows if he throws it up for him, there’s a good chance Smith can go get it. Last week, they connected for a 52-yard pass against that tough Denver defense. In three of the five games the Eagles have played, Smith has cruised past this longest reception number. Smith has played the Giants six times in his career and had a long reception of 20 yards or more four times, including two of the last three games.
Philadelphia Eagles -7 (-115)
There are no great trends in this series to point to when it comes to the spread. They are 5-5 in the last 10 games ATS against each other, 1-1 last season, 2-2 over the last four, and even 3-3 over the last six. First matchup of the year, you guessed it, 1-1 the last two years. In New York, the last four years, 2-2.
So I’m boiling this down to a few simple things. In one of the matchups each year, the Eagles hand it to the Giants, including winning by at least seven in both matchups last season. Now, they come off a loss, and it’s time to respond. This is a big-time game for Philadelphia against a hurt Giants team. Maybe New York keeps it close early, but I’m still convinced Philadelphia is the best team in the NFL, and they’ll win by at least a touchdown.
