Eagles-Giants Game Recap: An Ugly 27-7 Win?

The Philadelphia Eagles hosted the New York Giants on #BlackMonday for the first of the teams’ two bouts. It was a blackout reminiscent of last year’s defensive domination of the Giants, as the Eagles recovered from an early deficit to score 27 unanswered points. Here’s the recap of the Eagles third victory of the season:

The Giants receive the opening kick off and puts a knee on it to start the drive at the 20. Eli Manning hits a quick slant to Ruben Randle to move the chains in second down, and then again on a swing pass. The Giants move methodically down the field, picking up yardage pretty much at will. The Giants offense moves deep into Eagles territory, and up to the 15 following a neutral zone infraction on Fletcher Cox. On the ensuing play Manning hits Odell Beckham jr. on a slant route for the touchdown. Dominant first drive for the Giants offense. The Eagles defense had no answer for the quick-hitters.

The Eagles receive the kick, as Cooper fields it and is brought down at the 13. Ryan Mathews is the lone back, and he takes the handoff for a short gain. Following a miscommunication with Darren Sproles and a missed throw, the Eagles offense goes 3 and out. Not a good start on either side of the ball.

The Giants are moving the ball in painfully short but effective increments, continually moving the sticks. A Connor Barwin offsides call negates a 3rd down stop around the Eagles 40, as the defense fails to get off the field. After another conversion, DeMeco Ryans shows up in a big way, wrestling the ball out of the grasp of Larry Donnell for an interception. Awesome veteran play by DeMeco, as the Eagles snatch away some momentum.

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The Eagles take over around their own 20. On second down Bradford throws a good ball to Jordan Matthews, but Matthews never really secures the catch and absorbs a blow from Brandon Merriweather. Bradford is forced to check down on 3rd down after maneuvering the pocket, but an incredibly stupid roughing the passer penalty from Damontre Moore extends the drive. The Moore penalty proved costly for the Giants, as the Eagles begin to get going. DeMarco Murray rips off a pair of solid runs, before Josh Huff secures a short pass and accelerates upfield for a solid gain and moving the sticks yet again. On the next play Bradford maneuvers around and fires deep for Riley Cooper who hauls it in for the touchdown. Great ball from Bradford who places the ball just above the outstretched hand of the defensive back, and good concentration from Cooper to reel it in. 7-7.

The Giants again move the ball into Eagles territory, before the defense has a tremendous stand, holding the Giants offense and forcing a 4th and 1 try. The Giants inexplicably choose a slow-developing off tackle run, and Brandon Graham sets the edge beautifully and brings down the ball carrier for a loss. Great statement for the Eagles defense, and a poor choice by the Giants who had been completing numerous quick hitters. Eagles take over on downs around midfield.

The Eagles begin their 3rd drive and move backwards. A holding penalty on 1st down negates a conversion, and another negative run by Murray sets up a failed conversion and forces the punt. A beautiful kick and a holding penalty pins the Giants deep in their own territory.

The ensuing Giants drive would result in points. A great stop by DeMeco Ryans puts the Giants offense at 2nd and long. Ryans has played an awesome half of football to this point, being a force against the run and reeling in a big interception. Byron Maxwell mugs Beckham on the following play, drawing the pass interference call. On the next play, however, we have another huge play. Eli turns and fires to Dwayne Harris and Nolan Carroll jumps the route, pulling in the interception and taking it to the house. See, I told you that drive would result in points. 14-7, Eagles.

The Giants get the ball back after the pick six and move the ball with the help of the refs on a phantom roughing the passer penalty on Cedric Thornton. Horrendous call as Thornton barely even touched Eli. Soon after, Eli sets up the screen and dumps off the ball to the back. Malcolm Jenkins fights off his block and knocks the ball out. DeMeco Ryans recovers the ball for the Giants 3rd turnover of the half. Huge play by both Jenkins and Ryans. Jenkins should be headed to the Pro Bowl.

The Eagles take over and get a quick conversion to Matthews, however bad Bradford rears his ugly head, as he unloads a pass for Zach Ertz that is wildly over thrown and intercepted. Terrible pass by Sam Bradford who was having a pretty good first half to that point.

The Giants regain possession only to quickly give it back. Bennie Logan makes his second big play in run support, bursting through the line and bringing the back down behind the line of scrimmage. Two plays later, Vinny Curry times the snap and explodes through for his first sack of the season. 3 and out for New York.

The Eagles takeover around their own 25 and pick up a quick conversion, however another negative play disrupts the drive. Jason Kelce has an errant snap that puts the Eagles in a 2nd and 28. A well defensed pass to Riley Cooper and a moderate gain on the ground by Mathews spells punt.

The Giants don’t fair much better, as they go 3 and out. Eli nearly throws 2 interceptions to defensive lineman on the drive, and is constantly harassed by the Eagles pass rush. Punt.

The offense is back on the field and the results are all too familiar. Murray carries off the left side and lowers his pads for a 1st down, however 2 negative plays on a blown up screen to Josh Huff and a sweep set up a 3rd and long. Bradford does a good job of maneuvering the pocket and extending the play under duress, but fires short to Matthews down the field. Bradford needs to elevate that ball. Eagles are forced to punt.

On the opening play of the Giants next possession, Connor Barwin absolutely mauls Marshall Newhouse and pushes Eli into Brandon Graham who comes up with the sack. The Eagles pass rush is really showing up tonight. A couple of plays later Barwin wins again and forces Eli into an intentional grounding. The Eagles hold and force the punt, which is huge shank and only travels a total of 26 yards.

The Eagles offense is in hurry up mode with under 2 minutes to go. Bradford distributes the ball well, finding Jordan Matthews for a gain of 9, and then hitting Ertz who fights for a good chunk of extra yardage. George Selvie is caught offsides and after a weird picked-up flag and failure to manage the clock, Bradford finds Matthews again for another solid gain. Cullen Jenkins is called for roughing the passer, putting the Eagles offense at the 10-yard line. Bradford drops back and is sacked. The clock operator inexplicably lets an extra few seconds run off the clock and the Eagles are forced to settle for a field goal. Eagles lead 17-7 heading into the half.

The Eagles get the ball to start the second half. Huff takes the kick back to the 21 and comes up lame on the play. Eagles are running out of receivers. No sooner do the announcers mention the Huff injury and lack of receiver debt, Cooper shakes open for a big gain but lays on the grass injured as well. Cooper walks off under his own power but the Eagles can’t afford any more injuries to the receivers. The Eagles are inside the Giants 30 now before a false start puts the offense at a 3rd and 8. Somehow Giants FULLBACK Nikita Whitlock comes into the game and beats Matt Tobin to lay a huge hit on Bradford. Matthews reels in the pass but fumbles. Giants recover. Embarrassing.

The Giants takeover and the Eagles defense bails the offense out again. Jordan Hicks leads the way to stuff Reshad Jennings on 1st down, before pressure from Najee Goode forces an errant throw from Eli. On 3rd and long Fletcher Cox beats his man and strips Eli. The Giants recover and punt, but that’s Cox’s third strip sack in the last 2 games. Absolutely insane production.

The Eagles get the ball back and quickly go 3 and out. 2 more penalties for the Eagles offense. Eagles punt but the Giants idiotically run into Donnie Jones on the kick and the offense is awarded a 1st down.

Bradford takes back over and hands the ball off to Murray who bounces it out wide for a gain of 10. The Giants defensive front gets flowing against the grain as the play fake shakes Matthews free, and Bradford hits him for the 1st. Murray picks up 15 plus on his next carry before checking out momentarily. After another conversion and a nice stiff arm from Murray on an outside zone run, the Eagles get 6. Great job taking advantage of another Giants gaff. That’s the third time tonight that the Eagles have scored on a Giants error. Eagles are up 24-7 and are starting to hum a bit.

The Eagles defense has been absolutely suffocating after that opening drive. Constant pressure on Eli has him seeing ghosts and pressuring him into a rushed delivery. The Giants offense is forced into another 3rd and long and Eli is called for another intentional grounding penalty, firing the ball into the ground to avoid a second Curry sack. Eagles are rolling now.

The Eagles get great field position, but a mental lapse from Cooper leaves Bradford throwing a deep route into the arms of the waiting safety who hauls in the layup INT. Really Riley?

It doesn’t really matter though, as the defense holds tough again forcing yet another 3 and out. Sproles fields the punt and takes a pop. He’s slow to get off the field but appears to be ok.

Bradford and Murray can’t handle the handoff and the Eagles are fortunate to retain possession. On the next play, the Giants get caught with 12 men on the field, negating a sack and setting up a more manageable 3rd and 5. Bradford finds Matthews to extend the drive. A few impressive Ryan Mathews carries later, the Giants are gassed and bite on the play fake, and Bradford hits Miles Austin on a seam route. Bradford just misses Ertz on the next play, who had a step. That might’ve been a touchdown. The Eagles are now at their own 30, as Mathews rips off another nice gain of 8 to set up a 3rd and 2. Aaaand now Johnathan Hankins is down with “cramps.” The boos rain down from the stands in disapproval. Bradford throws a 50-50 ball up for Ertz in the end zone that is picked off by Landon Collins. Bad throw/decision by Bradford who has not had a good day.

Giants possession: 3 and out. This one is looking a lot like last year’s #BlackMonday.

Sproles is back out after being checked for a concussion, and brings the punt back for a gain of about 10.
The Eagles put together a nice series of runs before Bradford finds Miles Austin for a conversion that carries the offense deep into Giants territory. The drive stalls at the Giants 21, and Sturgis hits the 39 yarder to make it 27-7, Eagles.

Giants move the ball a bit in garbage time now. A big play by Jordan Hicks to bring down Shane Vereen for a loss coupled with an OPI and a false start sets up a 3rd and 22. Brandon Graham narrowly misses bringing down Eli for a sack, ultimately forcing a Giants punt. Huge night for the Eagles D.

Eagles takeover and Murray pounds the rock to grind out the clock. Murray goes over 100 yards for the first time this season.

Analysis:

This was an absolutely awesome showing for the defense. Aside from the first drive, Billy Davis‘ unit systematically dismantled the Giants attack, constantly harassing Eli and forcing turnovers. What was most encouraging was the the pass rush finally showing up. A presence on the edge has really been the only element that the Eagles defense has been missing so far this season, and tonight it showed up in a big way. Connor Barwin, Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry mauled the Ereck Flowers and Marshall Newhouse all night, and the defensive backs were active as always. DeMeco Ryans might deserve the defensive MVP tonight, however, as his interception killed the Giants momentum and marked their last truly productive looking drive of the night. Also, there will be no justifying Malcolm Jenkins and Fletcher Cox missing the Pro Bowl this year; they’re playing out of their minds.

The offense was unfortunately much less even than the defense. Jordan Matthews again had lapses catching the ball and coughed up what could have been a costly fumble. Sam Bradford had some nice moments, but had a pretty disappointing night all together against a porous Giants secondary. The offensive line played well, however, and the backs looked crisp. This wouldn’t have been a bad performance if it weren’t for the turnovers.

The Eagles will take on the Panthers on Sunday Night Football next week in yet another prime time game.

Next: Five Takeaways From Eagles-Giants

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