With the New York Giants' 2025 schedule officially out, fans had to be curious about when New York would be taking on their NFC East rivals and defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.
And to much of Giants fans’ dismay, perhaps, it happens to come under the lights when they host the Eagles on October 9 on Thursday Night Football. This game for the G-Men will also be another opportunity for them to contain their former teammate, running back Saquon Barkley. The former second-overall pick gave the Giants just a glimpse of what was to come in his first season with Philly, rushing for 176 yards on 17 carries with one touchdown and averaging nearly 10.5 yards per carry.
That game would prove to be mere child's play for Barkley as he went on to have a historic season in 2024. He would rush for 2,005 yards and come just 101 rushing yards shy of surpassing Eric Dickerson for the most rushing yards in a regular season. Even though the Eagles seemingly dominated the Giants last season, could this new and improved Big Blue squad in 2025 be smelling revenge against their division foe and defector?
Can the Giants' defense avenge last year's disaster against the Eagles?
Despite the considerable gap between the Giants and Eagles in the NFC East, this Week 6 matchup under the lights represents a massive opportunity for the Giants to prove they can compete with the top teams in their division. What could be the G-Men’s biggest advantage in round two against Barkley might be their dangerous defensive front.
Entering 2025, the Giants could have one of the league’s most prolific pass rushes with their first-round selection of Penn State standout Abdul Carter, alongside Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Dexter Lawrence. New York wasn’t at full strength up front when they faced Barkley and the Eagles last season, as Thibodeaux had suffered a wrist injury two weeks prior. So maybe things could be different this time around when it comes to containing Barkley.
The Giants will certainly have their work cut out this season, especially with three of their first six regular-season games coming against divisional opponents. Still, it seems like the Giants will be heading into this primetime matchup against Philly in October with extra motivation. After getting embarrassed 28-3 by the Eagles on their home field, could this potentially ferocious defensive unit start to change how people define this rivalry over the last several seasons?
