Eagles Stall, then Explode in 34-10 Win over Giants

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It was as ugly as it was beautiful. 

After a brutal first half, in which the Philadelphia Eagles could do nothing right, they returned in the second half and could do nothing wrong, en route to an impressive 34-10 home victory against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. 

Today’s game served as a microcosm for the entire 2021 Eagles season thus far: sloppy, frustrating, speedy and explosive. As was the case with many games this year, the Eagles dug themselves into an early hole with careless mistakes and questionable play calling, only to suddenly go gangbusters and blow the doors off their opponent. 

The Eagles have now won 6 of their last 8 games and can make the playoffs if they win their remaining two games. (Or if certain teams lose, but you know the drill.)

After a 2-5 start, Philadelphia has shown steady improvement each week. If the Eagles do indeed make the playoffs, they would enter as a dangerous team poised to make some noise.

How did the Eagles win today? Let’s review the usual suspects: Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni.

Hurt did not have a great game, until he did. In the first half he underthrew receivers and made poor decisions with the football. Hurts failed to see a wide open Dallas Goedert in the endzone, and instead opted to throw an incomplete pass into double coverage. 

Hurts’ ability to read defensive coverages still remains a concern. Too often he is hesitant to hit a receiver on the break, and instead settles for two-yard flare out throws to running backs. He also continues to short-arm receivers. Both Devonta Smith and Quez Watkins were forced to readjust and come back to underthrown deep balls. Luckily, Smith and Watkins made brilliant catches, both bailing Hurts out and continuing drives. The positive impact rookie Devonta Smith has had on this team is incalculable. 

The first half of this game looked like a mirror image of the lackluster loss the Birds suffered four weeks ago against the Giants. And head coach Nick Sirianni looked equally perplexed. As fans at the Linc screamed “run the ball” Sirianni doubled down on the pass. At the end of the half the Eagles had a mere three points to show for their efforts.

Luckily, Hurts and Sirianni both clicked in the second half, as the game quickly turned from a nailbiter to a laugher. Jonathan Gannon’s defense was excellent all day. The Birds’ D made big stops and racked up turnovers. While the Eagles offense remains somewhat inconsistent, their defense has solidified into a truly impressive unit. The Eagles had two interceptions, the second one was returned for a touchdown by linebacker Alex Singleton.

Oh yeah, and offensive lineman Lane Johnson caught a touchdown. And that’s when everything started to feel a little goofy. It was a day to laugh and smile and exhale with relief. 

The Eagles are a good football team who have faced a plethora of not-ready-for-primetime quarterbacks over the past four weeks. (Today’s opposing quarterback was Jake Fromm. I think.)

Despite the flimsy competition, the Eagles have played hard, showed improvement and seem to be peaking at the right time. 

If the Eagles remain on this upward trajectory they’ll be a team that most NFL teams would probably hope to avoid in the first round of the playoffs.

But let’s get to the playoffs first.