AJ ChasanEagles Giants Postgame - Three Up Three Down
Going into Sunday's game Eagles fans were expecting this team to stay hot and take care of business of the then 3-7 New York Giants. Let's just say that was not the case. On Sunday the Eagles got "stomped out" of MetLife by the Giants by a score of 13-7. The Eagles playoff chances with a win Sunday could have had a 56% chance of making the postseason according to the ESPN power index. Now with a loss, that percentage drops down to 26%. This was a disappointing loss to say the least but it could have been much worse. As of right now the Eagles are sitting at the 10 spot in the NFC and are still a half game out of the wild card.
Three Up:
The defense as a whole played a great football game. They allowed only 13 points and kept the team in the game the whole way despite the Eagles offense giving the ball away 4 times. Only allowing 264 total yards on 4.6 yards per play Jonathan Gannon called a great game and had a great gameplan. Even though the Giants offense lacks something to be desired to say the least, having a new play caller or a coach firing, historically the first game after that, that team goes out and has a great game. That did not happen for the Freddie Kitchens led offense. This unit deserves credit for that.
The Eagles continue to pound the rock at an elite level. Putting up 208 yards on the ground, this teams true strength continues to show and it's unfortunate they only got 7 points to show for it. When the Eagles stick to the run, they stay in football games and win football games. Even though a loss is in the record books, that does not mean this run game did not have a successful day. Look for this team to continue to put up elite level rushing production the rest of the way and for success to come with it in the win-loss column.
Continuing on this run game Jeff Stoutland continues to prove each and every week he is by far the most valued position coach in football. The improvement and consistent excellent play of the offensive line week after week is a talking point that not enough people talk about. Even though guys like Nate Herbig didn't have the greatest game due to the first half injury of Jason Kelce, this line still produces at an elite level. He is also the best run game designer in football. 5, 6, 7, and 8 man boxes don't matter. The Eagles still can get positive yards from any run out of any formation against any front. You can't say that when talking about many people.
Three Down:
Ball security, ball security, ball security. Such a big issue for this Eagles team. After a big fumble from Miles Sanders last week, Boston Scott is now the culprit of the fumble. Driving down the field with about 1:40 left to go with all 3 timeouts in Giants territory, Boston Scott gets free down the field for a big gain but can't hold onto the football and the Giants recover. Good teams do not do that, that doesn't happen to the elite teams in football. And the fact that it continues to happen is a huge issue for the Eagles and a wake up call that maybe this team is just lucky to have a beneficial schedule in a weak NFC wild card race.
This one isn't as big of a down but Nick Sirianni didn't call the greatest game either. Even though the play calls weren't terribly imbalanced, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that your young qb was having a putrid game and your running game was rolling. I would have stuck with the run a bit more then he did, but you also have to call passes as well in the NFL. Not the best game from coach Sirianni, but certainly not the worst either. Expect the playcalling to be better next week.
The last for worst, to put it nicely this was Jalen Hurts' worst game as a pro. In the first quarter, down in the redzone Hurts targeting Watkins threw a pick. Not the best read but picks happen. Now moving to the 2nd quarter with less then 10 seconds on the clock down inside the Giants 5 yard line instead of throwing the ball away and going into half with a tie, nope Hurts makes a boneheaded play and throws a pick again as time expires in the half. Absolutely inexcusable, just terrible football. In the 3rd quarter, Hurts throws an ill advised streak route to Reagor staring down the safety in cover 3 and gets picked off again. That shows a lot where Hurts is as a passer especially deep down the field. First of all he doesn't have the arm talent to make that type of throw, and he doesn't have the eye discipline to hold the safety in the middle of the field and open up that streak down the field cause Reagor had him beat. If we are being honest Hurts had about 3 other throws this game that easily could have been picked off. His passer rating after the game was a 17.5. If he had spiked the ball every play instead of throwing it he would have finished with a passer rating over 10 points higher. Not ideal from your potential franchise QB.
The Eagles stay at MetLife next week to take on the 3-8 New York Jets. This is a must win game not only for the standings, but the well being of this football team. The Eagles cannot suffer back to back humiliating losses after all the positive progress they have made since the Detroit game. Will this Giants game prove to be a fluke, or prove to be telling of the way this season will unfold? We'll find out soon enough. Go Birds and Fly Eagles Fly!