It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was fairly gritty. But at the end of a long and exhausting Thursday night, all is well in the City. Here is everything you need to know about the Eagles’ late rally to overthrow the New York Giants.
Leaving it late
Carson Wentz didn’t exactly have his greatest outing as an Eagle. It didn’t help that Jordan Mailata, who had previously been reliable, had an off day, while Sua Opeta’s first NFL start was torrid at best. Constantly on the move and trying to shoulder the burden himself, Wentz missed open receivers, was reckless with the football, and made some regrettable decisions. But when it mattered most, he delivered the sauciest pass of his season so far.
With the clock winding down, the Eagles pushed deep into Giants territory before a facemask penalty sent them careering back out of the red zone. Wentz, knowing his team were down 5 and out of lifelines, delivered a beautiful pass into the hands of Boston Scott, who fell gracefully into the endzone to seal the deal for Philadelphia.
On that note, Boston Scott continues to own the New York Giants. All three of his best games have come against the G-Men, with Scott amassing another touchdown and 92 scrimamge yards.
Once again, Carson Wentz should absolutely be criticized for some of his play tonight, but heralded for his unrelenting determination and fire to push his team over the line and continue to get up after another 10 QB hits.
Brandon Graham has ice in his veins
Brandon Graham is already a fan favorite and will forever be associated with one of the most iconic plays in team history, but it’s not the only time he’s come up in the clutch. Time and time again, #55 finds a way to change the course of the game with a heroic swat, forced fumble, or sack. That was the case on Thursday night too, where BG forced a Daniel Jones fumble in the Giant’s final drive of the game, putting the bow on a much-needed win.
He also had a sack and a tackle for loss on the night and believe it or not, is the first Eagles player since Connor Barwin in 2014 to have 6+ sacks and 9+ QB hits through the opening seven games.
Graham is having an incredible year, fueling the Eagles pass rush as he rips into backfields. Let’s just hope it continues.
Eagles boys making all the noise
Travis Fulgham had yet another 70+ yard game, Greg Ward Jr. made another spectacular catch…AND JOHN HIGHTOWER DID THE THING!!
DeSean Jackson’s return started off hot and gradually faded into what looked like a pitch count – which is understandable…until he’s sent out on punt returns?
Jackson took a cruel hit to the head when fielding a punt late and while that couldn’t have been avoided, he could also have just not been sent out there in the first place?
On that note…
The coaching decisions tonight were really poor. I don’t know how many offensive minds it takes to create a red zone play, but consider this Soup spoiled. The Eagles have a dynamic talent in Jalen Hurts who apparently can only run options. Their red zone offense is absolutely dire and in drastic need of some creativity.
It doesn’t help that Jake Elliott missed yet another field goal, but that’s a conversation for tomorrow and one that deserves a much deeper dive. Doug Pederson continuing to be predictable on 4th down and in the red zone however, has been such a long-standing problem that it needs hammering home.
On defense, it’s the same old demons. Corners playing 10 yards off the ball every play, sloppy tackling and some puzzling effort at times.
What’s next for the Eagles?
The Eagles can wipe sweat from their foreheads. They almost let that game get away from them in a performance that nobody should be able to look at with pure pride. The road only toughens once Dallas is out of the way, but the important thing to note is that for now, they are oddly the Kings of the Castle, looking down from the High(est)tower.(Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
(Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
