Eagles-Giants analysis: Birds clinch a playoff berth with a dominant win

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Eagles confirmed what was already known on Sunday.

They turned an early lead into a lopsided 48-22 victory over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, moving to 12-1 and becoming the first NFL team to secure a playoff berth.

For the second straight week, the Eagles’ starters watched the final minutes from the sideline after taking care of business early. It was the type of game that required an Eagles security official to hunt down a touchdown ball that wound up in possession of a fan and one that many Eagles fans would be forgiven for turning off to check on the Cowboys’ or Vikings’ results. Speaking of that, the Eagles have a two-game lead on the entire NFC thanks to Minnesota’s loss at Detroit.

Here’s our analysis of the Eagles’ win:

Jalen Hurts picked up right where he left off.

After flirting with his career high in passing yards in a win over the Titans last Sunday, Hurts made a handful of elite throws against the Giants. Hurts’ progress as a passer was well-established through the season’s first 12 games, but the contrast of his showing at the same stadium last season was another stark reminder. Hurts threw three interceptions in arguably the worst game of his career at MetLife last season, a 13-7 loss to the Giants.

In his return, he went 21-for-31 for 217 yards with two touchdowns and a 109.2 quarterback rating. He added 77 yards and another touchdown on the ground.

“All of the games that we’ve played in the past, every experience that we’ve had, they’ve been informative experiences for us,” Hurts said after the game. “For us to come out here today and execute the way we did, it’s a testament to preparation and the experiences, everything we went through.”

Hurts whipped in a tight-window throw to A.J. Brown on a slant route during the Eagles’ opening drive. The next series, he stood firm in the pocket against a free rusher to deliver a strike to Quez Watkins for a pivotal third-down completion, and he found DeVonta Smith on a slot fade for a 41-yard touchdown on fourth-and-7 a few plays later.

Smith said Hurts diagnosed man coverage based on the Giants’ defensive alignments and checked to a play that allowed Smith to capitalize on his one-on-one matchup. The ball beat New York safety Julian Love by a hair as the defensive back beelined for an interception only to come up short.

“It was a great check by the quarterback,” Smith said. “He saw something he liked, checked to a play and we executed.”

Each throw, particularly the one to Brown with accuracy and anticipation, is the type Hurts didn’t consistently make last season and each helps explain why he’s now firmly in the MVP conversation going into the last few games of the season.

In the second half, Hurts scored his 10th rushing touchdown of the season on a 10-yard quarterback draw, tying his career high from last season.

After scoring his 10th touchdown of the season, Miles Sanders raised his arms in the air and paid homage to LeSean McCoy with his touchdown celebration.

A couple of hours later, Sanders became the first Eagles running back to surpass 1,000 yards since McCoy in 2014.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” said Sanders, who finished with a career-high 144 rushing yards. “Long time coming, but we ain’t done yet.”

Sanders hit the 1,000-yard mark late in the third quarter with a 15-yard run, one of multiple runs that showcased the strides he has made with patience at the line of scrimmage and explosiveness running through contact. His 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter precipitated both sides pulling their starters after the Eagles had somewhat surprisingly left the first team on the field early in the fourth quarter.

“He’s been great all year,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “He’s ran the ball hard, protected his butt off, he’s protected the football. He’s just playing really good football right now.”

Sanders wasn’t the only Eagle to hit the 1,000-yard mark.

A few plays before the running back got his milestone, Brown went over 1,000 receiving yards on the season. It’s the third time the 24-year-old, whose social media handle has “1K” at the start of it, has hit the 1,000-yard mark in four years.

The first half featured two punts with significant implications for this game and perhaps the ones to come.

The first one came from Giants punter Jamie Gillan, whose gaffe set up a quick scoring drive for the Eagles. Gillan inexplicably dropped the ball onto the turf before scrambling to kick it away, drawing an illegal kicking penalty. The penalty, which is a spot foul, resulted in the Eagles’ offense starting at the Giants’ 33-yard line. It took Hurts and Brown just eight seconds to capitalize, connecting for a touchdown on the first play of the series to give the Eagles a 21-0 lead.

The second punting mishap came one series later when the Eagles faced fourth down at their own 2-yard line, backing up punter Arryn Siposs to the back of the end zone. His punt was deflected by Giants linebacker Elerson Smith. Siposs did well to recover the loose ball and get upfield, but he took a hard hit by the sideline just shy of the first-down marker. Siposs suffered an ankle injury on the play and did not return.

In Siposs’ absence, return man Britain Covey assumed holding duties for kicker Jake Elliott and did so uneventfully. Elliott handled the lone punting opportunity that followed and also did so without a hiccup.

Giants running back Saquon Barkley was cleared to go despite dealing with a neck injury that rendered him a game-time decision.

Albeit hobbled, Barkley had a quiet day against the Eagles’ defensive front. The former Penn State star finished with just 28 yards on nine carries. The Giants’ offense has typically revolved around Barkley this season, and the group struggled to sustain drives with him limited; New York’s scoring drive was set up by the blocked punt.

The Eagles have shored up their run defense in recent weeks but even found success with even fronts against the Giants’ rushing attack. Typically the team has relied on odd fronts with Linval Joseph or Jordan Davis at the nose tackle to plug gaps but did just fine even while committing fewer men in the box against the Giants.

With the run neutralized, the Eagles pass rush got to work. Brandon Graham had three sacks, pushing his season total to 8½, one shy of his career high. Haason Reddick also recorded a sack, moving his season total to double digits for the third season in a row.

“It’s been a minute since I had three in a game,” the 34-year-old Graham said, referring to a 2019 game. “The Jets was the last game I had three. I’m just happy at this age still trying to stay relevant, still helping the team.”

Eagles safety Reed Blankenship was carted off with a knee injury during the first half and was ruled out shortly thereafter. The undrafted rookie was filling in for injured starter C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who is on injured reserve with a lacerated kidney and ineligible to return until the Eagles’ Week 16 game against the New Orleans Saints.

Backup edge rusher Kyron Johnson was also ruled out with a shoulder injury. Right tackle Lane Johnson left during the fourth quarter with an abdomen injury and did not return; he was listed as questionable as the team turned things over to its backups. Sirianni said he wasn’t sure if Johnson would have returned if the game remained competitive. Johnson said after the game that he felt something tweak in his lower abdomen and would know more by Monday.