Jaxson Dart of the New York Giants is tackled by Patrick Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter of the game at MetLife Stadium. Elsa / Getty Images

The Giants again? If you had that reaction at the start of the week, it's understandable. An NFL scheduling quirk means the Eagles are facing the Giants for the second time in three weeks. It leaves the Eagles familiar with the opponent. It also leaves the emotions from the embarrassing Oct. 9 loss still raw for the Eagles.

In the one-game-at-a-time, no-game-is-bigger-than-the-rest ethos of the NFL, there's an impulse not to inflate a single game. It has validity -- wasn't the season opener against the rival Dallas Cowboys a big game? What about the Super Bowl rematch in Week 2? The Rams have become an NFC rival, and they visited in Week 3. Then Tampa is a tough place for the Eagles to play... You get the point.

There are themes each week to make a game personal, so NFL teams prefer to take the faceless opponent, it's-us-and-not-them approach.

"If we're getting up more for one game than the other, then we're not doing our job on a consistent basis," coach Nick Sirianni said. "So, it's business as usual. I've said this before, it's like, hey, if you need a little extra motivation and that doesn't distract -- it's always about if it distracts you to put that extra motivation on you, then don't use it. If it helps you, use it. Everybody's a little bit different there. Our job is to go through the same process and there's steps required to win."

This is not the only time the Eagles have been subjects of this scheduling oddity. They finished the season in 2023 with two of three games against the Giants. They finish this season with two of three games against Washington. So even this isn't abnormal.

"I don't think it matters a whole lot," defensive Vic Fangio said.

The Eagles can give you a dozen reasons why a rematch against the Giants is just the next game on the schedule, even if it's so close to the other Giants game on the schedule. That would be the practical approach to Sunday's game.

Then again, these are humans with human emotions. Lose to a team 34-17 on national television the way the Eagles did, and you should feel it.

"The message is let's be physical up front, both sides of the ball, and dominate. That's the message. Want to write something? Write that," offensive tackle Jordan Mailata said. "It's personal for me. I hate that I played like s -- . I can't stand when I don't live up to my expectations. ...So for me, it's a more personal game. I owe them one."

"Once you get your a -- kicked like that, you definitely use motivation," safety Reed Blankenship said. "So obviously, it's just another game, but at the end of the day, last time we played them, things went wrong and we didn't like that."

The lopsided loss from two weeks ago belies the reality that the Eagles are 5-2 and the Giants are 2-5. The Eagles are 7.5-point favorites. They're expected to win, although they've already demonstrated that they can be humiliated by the Giants.

With only 17 days between games, what's different and what needs to be different for the Eagles? Let's explore:

The Eagles played without Pro Bowl tone-setters on both sides of the line of scrimmage in the first game when Carter and Dickerson were absent. Mitchell exited the game in the first half with a hamstring injury, leaving the Eagles without their best cornerback. Injuries are seldom an excuse -- if so, the Giants can lament the loss of star wide receiver Malik Nabers -- but one cannot watch the Eagles and dismiss the difference their top-of-the-line players make when in and out of the lineup.

Carter's effect on the defensive line was evident in his return last week against Minnesota. Jalyx Hunt's pick-six was the highlight, but you know what caused that play? "The whole key to the play was Jalen Carter," Fangio said. "He beat the center quickly, got into the quarterback's face, hit him just like we teach him to hit him."

Carter's presence helps the entire defensive front.

Dickerson is a stabilizing force on the Eagles' offensive line, even while playing through injuries. The Eagles missed him in the first Giants game, although his return hasn't been the panacea for the offensive line. Cam Jurgens injured his knee in Minnesota and hasn't practiced this week. Without Jurgens in the middle, the line is different than the Giants game -- and forces the Eagles to adjust. They've used Dickerson at center in emergency situations. At practice on Thursday, Brett Toth played center and Dickerson stayed at left guard.

With Mitchell, the Eagles have their best cornerback on the field. The Giants didn't want to test him before his hamstring injury, and the secondary was weakened when he exited. With Mitchell back, Fangio can feel more confident in his secondary.

In Dean's case, he did not have a role on defense in the first Giants game. It was his first game since January. He's now a bigger part of the Eagles defense, playing linebacker in base defense and potentially mixing in for more snaps.

Of course, the injury report will look different entering Sunday's game. The big question? The status of A.J. Brown, who did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday. If Brown is out or limited against the Giants, it changes the entire Eagles offense.

Following the Giants loss, the Eagles had a mini-bye that offered a chance to reset and review a struggling offense. One of the changes that was made? More of a commitment to playing from under-center. The Eagles were under center on 40.8 percent of their offensive snaps -- their most since the start of the 2022 season. Even if the run game was not unlocked by this change, it made the Eagles less predictable and opened the play-action passing game. DeVonta Smith's 79-yard touchdown reception came from under-center play-action.

Count Mailata among the players who prefer playing from under-center.

"Yeah, I do," Mailata said. "It puts us in better angles. ...Most defenses, if you back up in 'gun, you're like OK, the RB is on the right, most defensive ends will crash and play that gap and they know where the play's going. Remove that and take that from the D-end, they have to respect both edges."

Saquon Barkley said he does not have a preference. However, he said he gets downhill faster and has better vision when he's running from under center.

The key is Jalen Hurts. He's spent most of his career operating from out of the shotgun. That's led to considerable success. It's not as if the Eagles have been a deficient offense out of the shotgun. But it was an offense falling short of its standard early in the season -- especially against the Giants. They made a change after that game, and the result was a perfect passer rating from Hurts and an explosive passing offense.

If it can keep defenses more honest, the run game might benefit.

The Eagles were introduced to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and rookie running back Cam Skateboo two weeks ago.

Losing by two touchdowns can humble a team quickly, even if the Eagles insist they did not look back at the division rival.

"That's what happens when you go against a team that has juice and is playing with swagger and confidence, and a defense you know is really good and an offense that put in a quarterback who we know is super talented," Barkley said. When you go against a team that has that passion and fire, you can get your butt handed to you."

In division games, there's typically familiarity between the opponents. That's less pronounced when there are new personnel and scheme adjustments. The Giants won't sneak up on the Eagles this week.

"You're real familiar with them," Blankenship said. "It feels like we just played them like yesterday. So we know the dudes they have and the kind of scheme. Obviously, it was a short week. So, they probably didn't have a lot of time to game plan, so they just did their stuff. We'll probably see some unscouted looks, like with anybody. So we're gonna prepare for what they put on film."

The game plan can be better tailored the second time around -- and with more time to prepare. There's also a healthy respect for the Giants inside the Eagles' locker room, despite the 2-5 record. A two-touchdown defeat warrants a tip of the cap.

"They have a really good team," Hurts said "They've been in all the games they've played. They have a definite spark, a definite drive."

The concerning part inside the Eagles' building was not just that they lost to the Giants, but that they were neither the tougher nor more physical team -- characteristics that Sirianni takes pride in with the Eagles. In the locker room after the game, there was an acknowledgement that the Eagles were "out-physicaled." That's a difficult admission for a team with the mantra of "tough, detailed, together." There's a reason why Mailata said the message this week was about being "physical." There's talk about being the "aggressor."

"We need to get back to being more physical and playing our style of ball," Blankenship said.

There's a talent gap between the Eagles and the Giants. The Giants can try to make up for the difference with intangibles. Don't just watch how the Eagles execute on offense and defense on Sunday. Pay attention to the physicality, because it's more explicit than implicit in the messaging this week.

"We never like to get our tails whooped like that," Blankenship said. "Especially with our defense. We didn't play as aggressively as we should have. No excuses need to be made. They just played better than us. They had more energy on their sideline. And we just played on our heels the whole time."

After the Giants game, Fangio was asked about problems with the run defense. He offered more nuance to the question.

"We've had a hard time with the quarterback scrambling and running," Fangio said. "That's made the stats worse than they are."

Dart rushed for a season-high 58 yards against the Eagles. Five of his 13 rushes went for first downs. Four of those rushes were on third down. Three were on scrambles. One went for a touchdown. Want to frustrate a defense? It comes when they might be sound in their assignments, yet the quarterback moves the chains with his legs.

"One lesson is learned and the teams that need quarterbacks that bypass them, they're going to regret that," Fangio said. "Obviously very athletic, an elite scrambler. I think their coaches have done a great job with him. They've developed the offense around him, (he) throws the ball very well, intermediate and deep, and he's a good player."

Patrick Mahomes rushed for 66 yards against the Eagles in Week 2. Carson Wentz rushed for 28 yards last week. The Eagles are allowing 6.3 yards on quarterback rushes this season. That was 4.8 yards per carry last season. In seven weeks, they've already allowed more than half the quarterback rushing yards they allowed last season.

"On the back end, sometimes our backs are turned to the quarterback and the rush lanes are open and we're not there to support the QB scramble at times," Blankenship said. "I have faith in the front to get the job done. ...We've played guys like this. We've played Pat Mahomes, Baker Mayfield. ...It's tough at times, but at the end of the day, we're working on that and to get that fixed."

It was obvious the Giants picked on Kelee Ringo in the first meeting. Ringo was benched in the game, although when Mitchell went out, the Eagles needed Ringo and Adoree' Jackson to finish the game. Jackson is in the concussion protocol and might be absent on Sunday. That means Ringo could have his chance for redemption. It's also possible the Eagles activate Jakorian Bennett from injured reserve and use him in the lineup.

Either way, the Giants made clear they're going to test the cornerback opposite Mitchell. The Eagles could also stay in base more on Sunday so Cooper DeJean plays on the outside. The Giants played a season-high 53.6 percent of their snaps in 12 personnel last week against Denver and a season-low 37.7 percent of their snaps in 11 personnel. With Dean back in the lineup and DeJean capable of playing on the perimeter, the Eagles' best package at this point might be base.

Eagles-Giants, Part II: What changed in two weeks and what must improve in rematch?