Know your enemy: Can Lane Johnson, Eagles O-line bounce back vs. Giants?

Of all the mind-boggling mistakes and disappointments from the Eagles in Week 6 against the Giants on prime time – missed tackles, missed wide-open receivers, an interception – maybe the most jarring deficiency was the dysfunction of the offensive line.

Injuries and some uncharacteristic mistakes have plagued the once-fearsome Eagles front five for most of the season but expectations going into that Thursday night game were that the Eagles would get right against a bad team and finally find an answer for their season-long struggles to run the ball.

But right from the start, the Eagles' o-line didn't look ready for the revved up Giants, who have an excellent defensive front but have been just OK overall on defense.

Saquon Barkley gained 31 yards on the game's first two plays, an 18-yard run followed by a 13-yard run, which made it appear that the Eagles would rediscover their ground dominance.

But even those two runs were more the result of Barkley's brilliance than tremendous blocking.

On the second carry, left tackle Jordan Mailata allowed inside pressure to defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris (95), forcing Barkley to cut away from the play side, which caught New York's defense off guard.

Not every running back has Barkley's jump-cut, and he needed it, along with some excellent downfield blocking from Jahan Dotson, to make 13 yards from a broken play.

After his first two carries, Barkley carried the ball just 10 more times and only picked up 27 yards, which served as a microcosm of his season. Barkley was constantly swamped by Giants defenders thanks to breakdowns in the blocking scheme or just the Giants being tougher up front.

Barkley has now been contacted behind the line of scrimmage on 58% of his carries this season, per NFL Pro, and has the fewest yards before contact in the NFL for any running back with more than 30 carries between the tackles. Last year, he was hit behind scrimmage at just 38 percent – an astronomic 20 percent drop.

In the second quarter against the Giants, with the Eagles facing a 2nd-and-5, another Mailata whiff led to Barkley once again getting drilled before he had a chance to make positive yardage.

For some reason, Mailata hasn't played like an elite left tackle this year. On that run, he got beaten badly by Brian Burns' swim move, Barkley was immediately stopped in the backfield and, frankly, very fortunate not to lose even more yards.

On the other side, right tackle Lane Johnson is still one of the NFL's best at his position and a generational talent. But he dealt with a neck injury earlier this season and he's 35 years old. Occasionally, Johnson has had a bad rep that stood out because, well, he almost never has a bad rep.

Rarely do you see Johnson lose his anchor and get driven back by an undersized pass rusher like this rep against No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter (watch from both angles):

It had no impact on the actual Jalen Hurts pass to Dallas Goedert but it's still something you almost never see.

Brett Toth had to start at left guard for an injured Landon Dickerson, and it appears the beleaguered backup will again be starting Sunday but at center, as Cam Jurgens is dealing with a knee injury.

Toth has struggled snapping from shotgun formations, which is the Eagles' predominant formation, so this could present some issues if he's in for Jurgens. Toth's teammates seem to struggle trying to compensate when Toth is in the game, like the next clip of Mailata and Toth not communicating well to pick up what appeared to be a late Giants stunt. (Again, second angle is the best view).

This isn't a textbook stunt, as both Burns (0) and Carter (51) took straight rushes, with neither picking for the other. But Carter's penetration against Toth created a natural traffic jam, and Burns wisely used the congestion to maneuver around it and sack Hurts.

Toth doesn't have the same skill-set as Jurgens or legendary center Jason Kelce. He's not a fluid mover or an above-average athlete who can pivot his hips and make difficult angle blocks. He's also not as powerful at the point of attack on the inside.

Toth wasn't even a center until offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland decided that he was upon Toth's return to the Eagles for the third time in 2024. Toth had played tackle in his first go-round and played guard with the Panthers in 2023.

Against the Vikings, at center, Toth was asked to make blocks against massive, athletic 3-techniques that didn't suit his limited skill-set.

Toth couldn't get the proper angle and leverage against Vikings iDL Jalen Redmond, leading to yet another Barkley run that had no chance from the start and led to a 6-yard loss.

Redmond is a decent interior lineman, but Sunday it'll be All-Pro Dexter Lawrence across from Toth, which could get ugly if the Eagles don't come up with a better plan, and if the offensive line doesn't get its act together.

Follow Geoff on Twitter/X: @geoffpmosher

Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports