The Eagles might be catching the Giants at exactly the right time.
Following the Giants loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night speculation is growing that head coach Joe Judge will fire offensive coordinator Jason Garrett this week, right before the Eagles head to MetLife to face the Giants.
Asked after the loss whether he would keep Garrett, Judge wouldn't answer.
"I'm not going to go into that right now," Judge said.
Judge took some not-so-subtle shots at the coaching on the offensive side of the ball.
"We've got to do a better job of scoring points. I know that sounds pretty obvious and to the point, but I want to keep it blunt right there: We've got to do a better job of putting our players in position to make plays. We have good players. We have to put them in better position to capitalize on it," Judge said. "We've got to make sure we sit down tomorrow as a coaching staff to understand how we have to play this game to give our players a chance to make plays…As a player, there's some things I'd be frustrated with as well."
Whether the Giants should fire Garrett is debatable. The real issue is pretty clearly Judge, who now has a 9-20 record since being hired last season. The roster general manager Dave Gettleman put together is not helping. Placing the blame on Garrett, who is neither the head coach or the roster builder, seems like the kind of finger pointing that happens when the ship is sinking.
For the Eagles, the Giants potentially firing Garrett before Sunday is a bit of a wild card when preparing for the game. On one hand, it throws the Giants' offensive into disarray, as Garrett is the team's play caller. On the other, it means the Eagles will have less of an idea what to expect, which could make coming up with a defensive game plan challenging.
Overall, however, the main takeaway from the drama surrounding the Giants is clear.
There have certainly been some ugly moments this season for the Eagles, but the good news is they are nowhere near the dumpster fire the Giants are now 21-53 since the start of the 2017 season. They are on pace for their fifth-straight season of double-digit losses. They will, if they are smart, be spending their offseason looking for a new head coach, new general manager and a new quarterback. Their season is over — it is just a matter of when the changes come.
The arrow on the Eagles, however, is pointing up. Quarterback Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni have improved dramatically over the last month, and after a low point of the season at 2-5, the Eagles find themselves in the playoff hunt. It is looking more-and-more like the 4-11-1 season the Eagles suffered through last season will be a one-off, as opposed to the start of multiple losing seasons.
No game is guaranteed, but Sunday's matchup with the Giants should be a good reminder to Eagles' fans of how bad things could truly be, as opposed to how bad they briefly looked earlier this season.
