Running back Boston Scott's success against the New York Giants is something of a running joke, but with two remaining matchups against the division rivals left on the regular season slate, the struggling Philadelphia Eagles could certainly benefit from a pair of big games by the 28-year-old.
Under embattled offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, Scott has received just 16 carries this season. However, he's averaged nearly five yards per tote on those carries. With quarterback Jalen Hurts struggling to protect the ball, there's an argument to be made for leaning on the running game a bit more in the final three regular season games. Obviously, D'Andre Swift -- who has 896 rushing yards in his first season with the Eagles -- will be at the forefront of that, along with Kenneth Gainwell. But history tells us it would be wise for the Eagles to give Scott the ball a few more times against the Giants.
In eight career regular season games against the Giants, Scott has carried the ball 86 times for 414 yards, an average of 4.8 yards per carry. Scott has 1,287 career rushing yards, nearly a third of which (32%, to be exact) have come against the Giants. What's more, he's added in 17 catches for 222 yards in his career against the Giants. That's 39 percent of the 566 receiving yards Scott has posted during parts of six seasons. Oh, and 10 of his 16 career touchdowns (63 percent) have come against the Giants well.
Perhaps most notably, Scott rushed for three touchdowns against the Giants in Week 17 of the 2019 season, helping quarterback Carson Wentz and an undermanned Eagles team to lock up a playoff spot.
Why Scott has had so much of his career success against the Giants is unclear, but some things don't have to make sense, especially against an opponent you see twice a year.
In theory, the Eagles shouldn't have any problem defeating the Giants twice in the next three weeks, given that New York is 5-9 and their season has been a disaster from the word go. However, coach Brian Daboll's squad has shown some fight in recent weeks, and strange things can happen when you play a division-rival twice in such a short period of time. That feels especially true for a reeling Eagles team.
The Eagles will welcome the Giants to Lincoln Financial Field for the first of those two matchups on Monday, a Christmas Day tilt. Depending upon which sportsbook you look at, the Eagles are either 11.5 or 12-point favorites against the Giants in Week 16. Perhaps if the Eagles lean on Scott a bit more, they'll not only end their three-game losing streak, but cover that rather large spread.
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