Boston Scott terrorized the Giants last year, Eagles need him to do it again

Boston scott eagles

Without Miles Sanders in the lineup, the Eagles are preparing for their second divisional clash of the season and are doing so on a short week. The offense is depleted and while the opposition is a step down from the two elite defenses faced in recent weeks, it’s still a group to be respected. The coincidental part is, we’ve been here before…and so has Boston Scott.

Turning back time

It feels like an eternity ago that fans were getting excited about this Eagles team. In the dead of the night and with the NFC East on the line, the Birds walked into a matchup against the New York Giants with a hot run of form behind them. Miles Sanders picked up an early knock, pushing underdog Boston Scott into the spotlight.

Boston Scott scored a Hat-Trick of rushing touchdowns, becoming the first running back to do so since LeSean McCoy pulled it off in 2011. Miles Sanders was forced out of the game early due to injury, and Jordan Howard barely saw the field. It was all on the shoulders of the former UDFA out of Louisiana Tech, and he spun, juked, and sprinted his way up and down the field, amassing 54 yards in 19 carries to go with 84 yards through the air.

It wasn’t the only time that Scott thrived against the G-men, either. Statistically, the final game of the season was his highest output of the year, sneaking just above the last time the two teams played. Scott rushed for 59 rushing yards and tallied another 69 through the air when the teams met the first time around.

For those counting at home, that means he’s had 113 rushing yards and 154 receiving yards to go with 4 touchdowns across two meetings with New York.

Boston Scott’s resurgence?

This season has been a very different story for Scott, who just can’t seem to get rolling. Averaging 3.2 yards per carry, he has 21 carries for 67 yards, while amassing just 48 through the air. Doug Pederson will be hoping that changes after declaring him as one of the lead members in a Sander-less committee backfield.

“Boston, Corey, [Jason] Huntley, are the guys that would be in that running back-by-committee, so to speak, would be our next move. Obviously [Adrian] Killins is an opportunity, as well. It would just depend on the rest of the roster, as you know, to get him up. But yeah, we know Boston has played. We know Corey’s played. Huntley is the only one that’s really limited from the standpoint of playing. But we’ve got confidence in all three of those guys to be able to get the job done.”

A new challenge

The Giants run defense has improved since the Eagles last tried to tear it down and actually ranks fifth in rushing yards allowed over the last 3 weeks, with an average of just 90 per game. That does include a 90 yard, 2 TD outing from Ezekiel Elliott.

The Eagles are once again preparing to face a Giants team without their star running back, but it just so happens that Boston Scott has thrived in that very situation. Can he rekindle that fire one more time in order to propel the Eagles over their divisional rival?

Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire