I entered this game not considering a New York Giants victory over the Philadelphia Eagles as a possible outcome. That’s sad, because I do feel that the Giants’ talent has been upgraded this season, while the Eagles’ has either diminished a little, or been out of sync thus far, or some of both. Thus my pre-game thinking for this post focused on a few smaller questions:
- With Jalen Carter out, could the Giants run the ball effectively against the Eagles’ defense?
- With Landon Dickerson out and the Eagles’ offensive line as a whole not being quite as impressive as in years past, could the Giants’ defense somewhat neutralize Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts?
- Could Jaxson Dart figure out a Vic Fangio defense (made more difficult by the absence of Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton)?
Well, I’ll be darned.
The Giants defeated the Eagles for the first time since Tyrod Taylor defeated them, 27-10, in the meaningless
final game of the 2023 season. This game was anything but meaningless. Let’s look at a few reasons why.
The defense came to play
I know, I know, you want to focus on the offense. But the defense was a huge part of the Giants winning this game. Brian Burns is having a monster season. With three dangerous edge defenders on this defense, Burns is leading the pack with his play. He had another two sacks tonight when the game still hung in the balance. In addition he had three solo tackles and four assists. The Giants’ interior run defense was better last week than it had been, and it was really solid tonight, holding Saquon Barkley to 58 yards on 12 carries and the Eagles overall to 73 yards on 20 carries. The Eagles’ OL was not at full strength, but this was still the best run defense we’ve seen from the Giants this year. Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Dexter Lawrence each had four assisted tackles. It also took four consecutive tush pushes (plus the referees not flagging their guards for moving before the snap) for the Eagles to get into the end zone on one of their TDs. Ultimately, limiting the effectiveness of the running game is the way to beat the Eagles.
The secondary looked shaky in the first half. Paulson Adebo had a rough time with A.J. Brown, but how many cornerbacks don’t? Dallas Goedert was a thorn in the Giants’ side as always. But the second half was different. The Giants shut the Eagles out for an entire half with the game on the line. Dru Phillips helped force one of the Eagles’ fumbles, and Cor’Dale Flott made the secondary’s biggest play of the season, intercepting Hurts in the second half when the Eagles were driving. Flott (I think) played the entire game tonight, as Shane Bowen finally jettisoned the rotation with Deonte Banks. It’s no accident that the Giants’ two wins this season have also been the defense’s best efforts.
I’m not sure what Jaxson Dart is, but whatever it is, he’s effective
Tonight was easily the best of Dart’s three starts so far. His scrambling ability is much more of an asset that I thought it would be at the NFL level. The great thing is that when he takes off, he keeps his eyes downfield for an opportunity to pass. Tonight he frustrated the Eagles several times by completing passes after he began scrambling and looked like he’d be hemmed in. When he does pass, he is throwing with anticipation, and he’s fitting the ball into tight windows. I haven’t decided whether he’s ever going to be a guy who routinely throws for 250-300 yards a game, even when he gets a full complement of good receivers. Right now, though, he is presenting a real problem for opposing defenses. He just has to make sure he stays away from injuries.
Speaking of good receivers …
I was as forlorn as any Giants fan thinking of them facing the Eagles’ pass defense without Malik Nabers or Darius Slayton. Admittedly, the Giants were helped tonight when Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell went out in the first half with an injury.
Unlike last week, though, which truly made me wonder how many wide receivers would catch any passes the rest of the season, the receiving corps stepped up tonight. Wan’Dale Robinson had one of his best games as a Giant with six catches in seven targets for 84 yards, including a 35-yard TD in which he caught a ball near the sideline for a first down, and then instead of just going out of bounds, made a move inside to undress safety Andrew Mukuba and go in for the Giants’ second touchdown. Lil’Jordan Humphrey stated his case for becoming this season’s version of what Isaiah Hodgins was for the Giants in 2022. Humphrey had four receptions in eight targets for 55 yards, including one for 34 yards. His first reception was the type of 50-50 ball that only a true X receiver can go up and get. Humphrey also hustled and made a nice downfield block on an Eagles defender which allowed Robinson to reach the end zone on his TD. Why it took the Giants until this week to make him active and get him on the field is beyond me.
I also have to single out Jalin Hyatt. He didn’t have a big night, but he did have three catches in five targets for 17 yards. Until now, including last week, the Giants have mostly used him on deep balls, and while he had some success with that in his rookie season, he’s been almost completely absent in the stat sheet, and it seemed his days as a Giant would be numbered. Tonight though, he came up big during the crucial drive of the game. The Eagles had started to take over the game in the second quarter after the Giants took an early 13-3 lead and had gone up 17-13 after the quadruple tush push. Dart then led the Giants on a 15-play, 67-yard drive to put the Giants up 20-17 before the half, a lead they would never relinquish. Just before the two-minute warning the Giants faced third down. Miss it and the Eagles would have gotten the ball back with a chance to extend the lead at the half. Instead, Hyatt came back toward Dart and caught a contested ball in tight coverage for a first down just inside the Eagles’ 30. He then caught a pass on the next play for 6 yards at the two-minute warning. That drive ended with a Cam Skattebo TD that gave the Giants the lead for good. In the fourth quarter, after the Flott interception set the Giants up deep in Philly territory, Hyatt drew pass interference on Kelee Ringo in the end zone, setting up another Skattebo TD that created the final 34-17 score.
I would argue that this was Hyatt’s most meaningful contribution since the deep ball he caught from Jones in Arizona early in 2023 when it looked like the Giants were going to lose to the Cardinals.
Did the Giants get one of the best running backs in the 2025 draft?
This year’s draft is looking pretty good already, with Abdul Carter (who had a quiet night stat-wise but was very active), Dart, Darius Alexander, who has started getting quarterback pressures, and Marcus Mbow, who played some good ball when he replaced James Hudson early in the season before Andrew Thomas’ return.
Cam Skattebo, though, has probably exceeded everyone’s expectations. It was helped by Tyrone Tracy’s injury, but Skattebo has become the Giants’ RB1 sooner than I think anyone expected. I really thought he’d be a change of pace back as a rookie and that they would use him a lot in the short passing game. I was wrong. He’s the battering ram of the offense. Coming into this game he was already fifth among rookie running backs with 242 yards (in fewer carries than three of the four ahead of him). Tonight he, along with Dart, was the offensive star, with 98 rushing yards (plus 12 passing yards) and three TDs.
The Giants’ poor run blocking doesn’t look so poor when Skattebo gets the ball. He bounces off tackles, bowls over over tackle attempts, and keeps pushing and dragging defenders for extra yards. He’s like mini-Brandon Jacobs. I do think that in the long run the Giants should limit his usage a bit so he doesn’t wear down, but what has happened is that he and Dart have created an identity for the offense that hasn’t existed since Jacobs and Jeremy Shockey were around. Granted, Jalen Carter didn’t play, so put an asterisk on it. Still…
The bottom line on all of this is that this Giants team could easily be 4-2. They’ve beaten the Eagles and the Chargers. They should have beaten Dallas, and they could have beaten New Orleans with less sloppy play. It’s amazing how perceptions can change so quickly. Do the Giants suddenly have a home field advantage?
