Week 9 has turned into the kind of game the Philadelphia Eagles can’t afford to waste, and Nolan Smith Jr. sits right at the center of it.
At 2-6, the Eagles are staring at a season that could slip away fast if they can’t pull off a major upset against the New York Giants. The Giants arrive at 4-2-1, fresh off a bye and sitting atop the NFC East, with the momentum and the record both pointing their way.
Philadelphia’s problem is bigger than one bad stretch, though. The offense has been the worst-ranked unit in the NFL, and the defense hasn’t been able to pick up the slack.
That’s why Smith has become such an important figure heading into this matchup. Right now, he looks like the one edge rusher on the roster capable of changing the picture.
The Eagles made sure Smith stayed in the fold by exercising his fifth-year option in the offseason. A few months later, he was dealing with a different kind of attention after being arrested for excessive speeding and reckless driving. He also came into 2026 with pressure on him after a rough 2025, when he finished with three sacks and missed four games because of injury.
This season, he’s answered it.
Through seven games, Smith has posted 18 pressures, 15 tackles, 13 hurries, five quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, four sacks and one pass deflection. Pro Football Focus has him with an overall grade of 65, which ranks 58th out of 111 edge rushers. His pass-rush grade is 67.2, good for 36th, and his run-defense grade sits at 62.8, which places him 58th.
The numbers point to a player on track for a career year, and more importantly for Philadelphia, a player who has rediscovered the athletic, versatile edge presence fans saw in 2024. That matters because the rest of the pass rush has been a mess.
The Eagles have only 10 sacks, the second-fewest in the league. Smith has produced 40% of them.
He’s also the only edge rusher on the team with a sack this season. Jalen Carter has four, Jihaad Campbell has one, and Jordan and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. each have a half-sack.
The rest of the edge group has not delivered. Philadelphia traded two third-round picks and paid Jonathan Greenard $98 million, but he has zero sacks.
Jalyx Hunt, who was expected to break out in 2026, also has none. Greenard has been hurt all season, while Hunt has been dealing with a knee/ankle injury since the Jaguars game.
That leaves Smith as the one player the Eagles can count on to create problems off the edge, and the matchup gives him a real opening. The Giants have allowed 21 sacks, the third-most in the NFL, so that’s the area where Philadelphia can try to tilt the game.
If the Eagles are going to keep their season alive, Smith may need the best game of his career. Against a Giants offensive line that has given up too many sacks, the path is there. For Philadelphia, it really does feel like now or never.
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With Arizona unwilling to move McBride, Denver is expected to keep searching, and the fallback list is the part that matters for teams watching the market closely. Dallas Goedert is among the names being discussed as a possible option, alongside Moe Alie-Cox and Juwan Johnson, which suggests the Broncos may not be done shopping for help even if the first door stayed shut. [Read more 🡒]