Thursday night in the National Football League saw another key divisional game in the NFC East as the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the New York Giants. The Giants knew that a win tonight would put them into the playoffs and that a loss would give the Dallas Cowboys the division title.
Philadelphia themselves were already eliminated from the playoffs this season, so they had nothing to play for but pride. They proved that on the field as the held off the Giants to pick up a big win.
The Eagles storm to a big lead in the first half
Not many would have expected the start that Philadelphia had during the pre-game predictions but by the time the first quarter had ended, the Eagles were up by eleven points with two touchdowns to their name. After a good offensive drive that included a total of seven plays, running back Darren Sproles dashed away for a 25 yard touchdown run to start things off for the Eagles.
Shortly afterward, as the Giants tried to build some momentum, line backer Malcolm Jenkins intercepted Giants' quarterback Eli Manning and ran the ball back for a 34 yard pick-six play.
The second quarter was a similar story to the first as the Giants were unable to overcome the Eagles' red zone defense time and time again, leaving them to settle for field goals each time they reached the end of their offensive drives. In between that, the Eagles picked up another touchdown as wide receiver Nathan Agholor picked up a 40 yard pass from rookie quarterback Carson Wentz to put the Eagles up 21-3.
The Giants did end the half positively as wide receiver Sterling Shepard scored the only Giants touchdown of the night.
The Eagles defense limits Beckham Jr, shuts down Giants offense
The story of the night however will be the play of the Eagles defense. With three interceptions (two by Jenkins alone) on the night, they stalled a Giants offense that had seemingly found some rhythm over the last few weeks and prevented them from being able to score more than one touchdown on the night. The plan all night long by defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, seemed to be to put Odell Beckham Jr in zone defense all night long, and for the most part, it worked. This made the Giants look at other receivers for their players and even though Victor Cruz was on the field, he was not reached the heights he was at before his injury on the same ground two years ago.
The Eagles also employed a 'bend but not break' defensive system as they would only bring real pressure on Manning once the Giants reached the red zone. It allowed them to keep the Giants out of the end zone and finish their night with a third down conversion rate of 45% which mostly occurred away from the end zone. One of the most notable players on the Eagles defensive line was Brandon Graham. The defensive end did not get any sacks to his name tonight but his constant pressure on Manning ensured that the quarterback was unable to make accurate throws all night.
Two key penalties slow down the Giants and end their night
Another big talking point of the night was two penalties that the Giants picked up in critical positions. For a team with the least amount of penalties in the league, the two tonight will no doubt haunt head coach Ben McAdoo. The first happened in the first half as the defense had stalled the Eagles' offense and had them in a tricky third down situation. Wentz went off on a run to pick up the first down and slid to the marker. While on the ground, strong safety Landon Collins was then called for a 'roughing the passer' foul which pushed the Eagles further up the field and led to the eventual Agholor touchdown.
The second big penalty occurred late in the fourth quarter as the Giants were pushing to score the game-winning touchdown. With a 4th and short lined up, Eli Manning resorted to a hard count to try and draw the Eagles defense offside. Unfortunately for the Giants, one of their own linesman, guard John Jerry jumped too early and was flagged for a false start. This pushed New York further back and made their push for a score even more difficult at a time when they needed a touchdown.
All of this compounded in the Giants' loss tonight and they will now have to wait until next weekend to clinch their playoff spot. As for the Eagles, their head coach Doug Pederson will like what he has seen from his side tonight and will take that on for next season.