It was a strange first half for the Philadelphia Eagles. A strong start to the game was quickly extinguished by mistakes and complacency, only for their backs against the wall mentality to force them back into the matchup. Here is everything you need to know about the first half.
Foles gold:
Nick Foles started his game well enough, completing all four of his opening passes on the team’s first touchdown drive. As he enters the half, Foles has tossed three touchdown passes and completed 10/17 passes. The Eagles offense has shown no signs of slowing without Carson Wentz and the poise of Foles has already seen him make some big plays in crunch-time situations.
Darby’s redemption:
Ronald Darby meanwhile didn’t have the hottest start. Darby was beaten on a couple of big-time plays to begin with, but he bounced back with a perfect interception. Darby jumped the route in the mid-stages of the second quarter and weaved his way through hoards of defenders to set the Eagles up in prime position for a touchdown.
Tackling Is still an issue:
Things haven’t exactly improved on the secure tackling front for the Eagles. Sterling Shepard’s touchdown came from a missed Nigel Bradham tackle on the sideline and in the back end, it hasn’t been much prettier aside from a Rodney McLeod hit in the backfield. The Eagles need to clean this up if they are to have any hope of keeping the Giants chained down.
On another note, Shepard has 110 yards and a touchdown in the first half…that’s not good enough for this Eagles secondary.
Penalties:
The Eagles were ether most penalized team in the league throughout the last three weeks coming into this game and that trend continued. 4 penalties for 29 yards have stung the Eagles on defense in big situations, negating a 3rd and goal sack from Vinny Curry and moving a fresh set of downs inside the 2-yard line. A late flag on Nigel Bradham didn’t help much either as the Eagles tried to keep the Giants out of their own red zone with the clock winding down. Something they were unable to do.
Pass rush perfection:
Brandon Graham is now just 0.5 sacks away from his 10th of the year which would trigger a $250k clause in his contract (Thanks to Turron Davenport for shedding light on that) and Vinny Curry has been an absolute menace. While he hasn’t earned a sack just yet, himself, Fletcher Cox and Chris Long have all had monstrous first halves trying to disrupt Eli Manning.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
