An inside look at Monday’s Giants-Eagles Week 16 matchup in Philadelphia.
Marquee matchup
Eagles C Jason Kelce vs. Giants DT Dexter Lawrence
This is a true heavyweight battle, although Kelce at 295 pounds is one of the league’s undersized players at his position — and also one of the very best.
Lawrence at 340 pounds is the highest-graded defensive player in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
Lawrence is dealing with a lingering hamstring issue and that could limit his snap count.
Kelce is PFF’s sixth-ranked center, but make no mistake, he is savvy and smart and a future Hall of Famer.
Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said Kelce “embodies Philly.
Just like the fans, mean but smart.”
Martindale also said he views matching wits with Kelce the way he once did with Peyton Manning.
“He’ll see something and completely flip a protection,’’ Martindale said. “So, that chess match is always tough.’’
4 downs
Hard on yourself: This was as down as Jalin Hyatt has been in his rookie season.
He was targeted three times in New Orleans and did not have a single catch.
One play in particular, Hyatt ran a slant and, instead of snatching the ball out of the air with his hands, he tried to make a body catch and did not come through.
“Tommy [DeVito] threw a beautiful ball and I let him down,’’ Hyatt told The Post. “Those are routes people had questions on. They tried to take away the deep ball and try to make everything the underneath game and I didn’t come up when I needed to and that’s on me. I felt like I didn’t do anything for the team that day and I felt like I let the team down, personally.’’
Hyatt is still waiting for his first NFL touchdown catch.
Hurts not so good: What do Joshua Dobbs, Josh Allen, Sam Howell and Jalen Hurts have in common, other than all being NFL quarterbacks?
These four players went into this weekend tied for the NFL lead in turnovers, with 17 apiece.
This is a stunning development for Hurts, who had a total of eight turnovers in 2022 — six interceptions and two lost fumbles.
This season, he is at 12 interceptions and five lost fumbles.
Hurts has dealt with a knee issue but there has been something not quite right with him all season.
New man in charge: Matt Patricia’s first game as the defensive coordinator, moving in when Sean Desai was demoted by head coach Nick Sirianni, went well until it did not.
