Eagles Embarrass The Helpless Giants 48-22

It was supposed to be one of those epic battles in the NFC East, between the Eagles and the Giants, but it was instead a complete domination. The Birds jumped on the Giants from the start and never relented. It really wasn’t much of a game from a standpoint of who was going to win. It was just the Eagles displaying their excellence on both sides of the ball. NFL MVP candidate Jalen Hurts showed us again the tremendous improvement he has made since the last time he battled New York. Hurts and the Eagles offense did whatever they wanted to do, whenever they wanted to do it. Wink Martingale and the Giants defense were at the mercy of Nick Sirianni and his offensive staff.

On the first drive, Hurts was very patient in throwing the football by taking what the New York defense gave him. It was a methodical drive, which ended with running back Miles Sanders scoring on a short plunge. The second touchdown by the Birds was on a great throw by Hurts and an even greater catch by wide receiver DaVonte Smith, who caught the football in between a Giants safety and cornerback, then trotted into the end zone by himself for a score. On the next touchdown throw, Hurts connected with A.J. Brown who ran a classic post/corner route on one of New York cornerbacks and a gullible safety.

The Birds ran the football very effectively and Sanders had a big game running for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Hurts contributed 77 yards on seven carries, along with a touchdown. The Eagles offensive line negated what was supposed to be a strong defensive front for the Giants. The New York defense wasn’t able to even slow down the Birds running game or their passing game. Hurts was not under pressure very much when he threw the ball and the Eagles averaged over eight yards a carry when they ran the football.  They totaled 253 yards on the ground.

Hurts continues to show his mastery of the Eagles passing offense and his ability to identify pass coverages. He starts out games by taking what the defense gives him, then as the game continues he will start taking shots down the field. The Eagles were able to amass 48 points, despite missing numerous big plays because the receivers weren’t able to get their feet down in bounds. Hurts has mastered the art of getting all of his receivers involved against a defensive secondary by connecting on short throws to Sanders out of the backfield or with the tight ends and of course with his explosive wide receivers. Hurts threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns.

The Eagles didn’t just dominate offensively. They also dominated defensively by shutting down the Giants most explosive weapon, Saquon Barkley, who seemed to be hampered by an injury. He didn’t look like he was playing at full speed or at full strength. They didn’t get the ball to him very much, the way they normally do. He only had nine rushes for 28 yards and he caught two passes for a total of 20 yards. After taking care of Barkley, the Birds were able to put the wraps on Daniel Jones, who got sacked numerous times. The Eagles were able to sack the Giants quarterbacks seven times with Brandon Graham contributing three. The Giants scored 22 points but they benefited from a blocked punt to score their first touchdown and the last one was against the Birds backups after the game had clearly been decided.

The Eagles showed everybody that they are currently the best team in the NFC East Division and for that matter right now, they are probably the best team in National Football League. Still, they can’t start celebrating because everything starts over in the playoffs. 

When the 12-1 Eagles play in the playoffs their record will not matter. All these games will be one and done. All of the accomplishments during the regular season are irrelevant. You’ve got the beat the team that you’re playing and if you don’t, you go home and your season is over. Many Eagles fans remember the numerous times Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb made it to the NFC Championship game only to lose. They did win one of those five NFC Championship games only to come up short against the New England Patriots in one of the Super Bowls. This is after they had outstanding regular seasons. For that reason, the Eagles can’t be celebrating these victories very much because this is not their goal anymore. They’ve proven to everybody that they’re a very good team. They know that they have qualified for the playoffs, but the goal is no longer making the playoffs, it now has to be winning in the playoffs and that’s going to mean being at their best when everything is on the line.

It’s going to be a challenge because the Dallas Cowboys will likely need to be beaten at some point and they are a good football team. The other team that might even be a tougher task to beat is the San Francisco 49ers. Both the Cowboys and the 49ers have tremendous talent throughout their rosters and they will be ready to battle. They’ve both got outstanding defenses but the Niners are playing with a rookie quarterback, Brock Purdy, but he’s not playing like a rookie. Purdy is going to be supported by tremendous weapons around him, so the Birds must mentally start planning for that battle with the Niners. Just the idea of battling the Cowboys in the playoffs will fire up the entire city of Philadelphia. I’m sure Eagles fans will pull out every stop to provide a warm welcome for Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons and the Cowboys to Philadelphia for a playoff game.