Nothing is better than blowing out a divisional opponent on their home turf, especially when your team hasn't won in that fashion since 2022. In the 2023 season, the Eagles were prone to close games that came down to the wire, aside from two games, both of which they won by 14 against the Dolphins and Buccaneers. The Eagles won this game by 25 points, their biggest win since the divisional round of the 2022-23 playoffs, where they beat the Giants 38-7. Daniel Jones hasn't thrown a TD pass at MetLife stadium since he signed his $160 Million contract. 20 QBs and 16 NHL players have scored more points at MetLife than Jones has since 2023. A big part of his failure to score this week was due to the ferocious Eagles pass rush getting home all day. This was a massive win for the Eagles and is the second straight win for Philadelphia since Nick Sirianni shaved his head, which has nothing to do with the team's success, but it feels worth mentioning.
The Defense Dominated for a Second Straight Game
This was the second week in a row that the Eagles' defense allowed no touchdowns to be scored. After allowing opposing teams to score 20+ points in weeks one and two, The Bird's defense hasn't given up more than 16 points since and just allowed a season-low 3 points. The Giants offense had just 119 yards on 2.2 yards per play despite having the same amount of drives as the Eagles (13), who had 339 total yards. For perspective, Saquon Barkley had 187 yards in 36 fewer plays. Quinyon Mitchell had another great week to add to a great start to his young career. He is one of 28 defensive backs to be targeted 33+ times and ranks first in passer rating allowed amongst those 28 DBs.
After a slow start to the season, the Eagles pass rush has officially arrived. They got to the QB just six times in the first six weeks and have had 13 combined sacks in their two previous games, eight of which came against New York. 1.5 came from Bryce Huff, who was nonexistent in the season's first four weeks. Rookie Jalyx Hunt got his first career sack this week, and five of the team's eight sacks came from Georgia Alumni. Second-year DT Jalen Carter has three sacks on the year, and his backup Jordan Davis has one; the two have seven combined TFLs. The Birds have 12 players with at least 0.5 sacks this season. Cooper DeJean must also be mentioned because he is the highest-graded defender on the team since being named a starter! Philly seemingly NAILED their first two picks in the 2024 draft.
Slow Starts Persist
The Birds scored their most points since Week 1 but could not get on the scoreboard in the first quarter. They punted on their first three drives of the game, totaling 15 plays in those drives. Saquon had six touches for 17 yards in the first quarter. On the second play of the Birds' first second-quarter drive, Saquon ran for 55 yards and scored a touchdown to end the drive. He also had a 38-yard run in the third quarter and finished the game with 176 yards, 13 yards short of his career high. The Eagles finished the game with 269 rushing yards, 56 coming from Kenneth Gainwell and 22 from Hurts.
Saquon wasn't the only Eagle to eat, and AJ Brown reeled in his third touchdown in his third game. It was the first game this season he had under 100 receiving yards, but he still had 89 of Jalen Hurts' 114 passing yards. Barkley, Gainwell, and Calcaterra were the only other Eagles to have positive receiving yards; DeVonta Smith had one reception on two targets for -2 yards.
Hurts So Good
Jalen Hurts has had two straight turnover-free games and hasn't thrown an interception since Week 3. This shouldn't be a big deal, but Hurts had a turnover in every game dating back to Week 14 of the 2023 season. In his last two games, Hurts had five total touchdowns and completed almost 70% of his passes. During the season, Hurts has 11 total touchdowns and six total turnovers, half coming in Week 1. Hurts is starting to look like himself again. This team is beginning to have fun again, which could be very dangerous for the rest of the league.
Final Score: Eagles 28, Giants 3
Dixon's Three Stars
1st Star- Saquon Barkley (19 Total Touches, 187 Total Yards, 10.4 YPC, 1 TD)
2nd Star- Nakobe Dean (11 Tackes, 2 Sacks, 2 TFLs, 4 QB Hits)
3rd Star- Jalen Carter (4 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 2 TFLs)
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