It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win. The Eagles had lost 3 games in a row and needed something good to happen. It was very kind of the NFL to send the 0-4 Giants the Eagles way. They were just what the doctor ordered.

Style points are great, but sometimes you just need a win. I don’t think there were any questions of the players or coaches losing confidence, but losing does take a toll on you. Last year was just miserable. It just feels good to have everyone smiling on a Sunday afternoon and it’s all the better when you can do that at the expense of the friggin Giants.

The Eagles didn’t play a great game, but they played well enough to win and were clearly the better team. They won the 4th quarter 14-0. The Eagles didn’t have any turnovers, but did come up with 4 takeaways. By the end of the game, the Eagles were playing with confidence. We’ll have to see if this means anything going forward, but it was good to see on Sunday.

I was happy that the Eagles didn’t get an easy win. They built a 19-7 lead and looked to be in great shape, but the Giants scored a pair of 3rd Qtr TDs to take the lead, 21-19. I wasn’t nervous, even with Vick out of the game. For whatever reason, I had faith in Kelly and the players. I did not expect them to win by 15 points, but I felt okay even being down late in the 3rd Qtr.

The Eagles took the lead back after a FG drive. Then the defense came up with takeaways and the offense took advantage and delivered TDs. This wasn’t an easy game, but they won the right way. The Eagles were at their best late in the game. I also worry that a blowout over the Giants might have built up false confidence in the Eagles. The team can win some games, but it is crucial for them to stay focused and humble. The Eagles aren’t good enough to be cocky.

COACHING

Chip Kelly had a couple of issues worth discussing. The first happened when he ran the ball on 3rd/9. Why do this? Running on 3rd down is fine, but you can’t expect the team to get 9 yds. Kelly admitted later that if the run was good enough they were thinking about going for it on 4th down. Kelly felt the numbers were right on the play and the run was the way to go. Didn’t work.

The other tough situation was whether to sit Vick or let him play. Kelly let him play through the injury initially, but then pulled him on the next series. I thought Kelly handled that just right. He gave his starting QB a chance to show what he could do. It was clear Vick couldn’t move well and needed to come out. There would be no second guessing. Everyone saw Vick struggling to run.

OFFENSE

Good showing, but could have been so much better. Foles missed a chance for 1 TD. Vick missed a chance for 2. There were dropped passes. Missed blocks. And so on. The Eagles still gained 439 yards and scored 36 points.

The biggest issue is RZ production. The Eagles were 2 for 5. One of those was a possession late in the half so the Eagles just getting to the RZ was impressive. Vick missed an easy TD pass on one drive. No matter how you slice it, 2 for 5 isn’t good enough. The Eagles must start scoring TDs. Yards without points to back them up makes the yards much less valuable.

The Giants defended the run well. They didn’t let Shady get wide. They really clamped down in the 2nd half.

The offense looked different with Vick and Foles at the helm. Vick struggled with the passing game. Foles came in and threw the ball well. The running game thrived with Vick, but struggled with Foles. Each guy found a way to be successful. Vick led the team to 16 points. Foles led them to 20.

One thing that really helped the Eagles was field position. There were 2 scoring drives that began inside the Giants 40-yd line. That makes it significantly easier to go and score TDs. In recent weeks, the Eagles started mostly inside their own 30-yd line. That puts tremendous pressure on the offense.

The Eagles run game wasn’t clicking. I love the fact that despite that, RBs were still 27-60. Plenty of people thought the Eagles should have run more. I was just happy that on a day when the run game was struggling, the Eagles never gave up on it.

Plays

* Kelly introduced the QB sweep. Send the RB out as a receiver to the wide side. Then used pin and pull blocking and have the QB run to the short side. Defense is sealed and the QB has lead blockers. Jimmy Bama wrote a great piece on this play and how Chip Kelly stole it from Tecmo Bowl.

* Foles to Celek TD. 2 TE set, with Casey and Celek to the left. Foles faked a handoff and rolled to his left. Celek ran a downfield crossing route. Foles made a good throw and Celek made a great catch. Huge play.

MISC

* The Eagles went over 430 yards again. They’ve done that in each game.

* 9-19 on 3rd downs

* Only 2 for 5 in the Red Zone

* The Giants had their NTs using an interesting technique. They would go to Kelce’s backside. When he fired off the ball to reach block, the NT wouldn’t be there and would have a free run into the backfield. Really good twist by the coaching staff.

Players

QB

VICK – Up and down game. Threw good pass on opening 3rd down, but DJax dropped it. Opened the 2nd series with a pass that was behind DJax. Kept ball on option play on early 3rd down. Moved the chains. Smart, safe play. Had Ertz wide open on a corner route on 2nd series, but overthrew him by a yard or so. Got late pressure on the play and that affected the throw. Incredible scramble on 3rd/19. Almost ran into rusher, but then moved away and took off up the middle. Showed excellent speed and ran for 34 yards. Made good read on option play in the late 1st Qtr. DE bit hard on Shady so Vick kept the ball and went up the field for 4 yds. Made good throw to Ertz in the early 2nd Qtr. Hit him for a gain of 24. Missed open Avant in the endzone on 3rd/5 in the 2nd Qtr. Just made the throw half a second late and too far outside. Hit DJax for a gain of 56 in the 2nd Qtr. That was the longest play in the game. Made the throw late or he might have had a TD. DJax had to slow down and wait for the ball. Scrambled for 13 yds in the late 2nd Qtr. That’s when he pulled his hammy. Finished the series. Played opening play of final series of the half. Tried to scramble on pass play and struggled to run. Got pulled after that. Finished 6-14-105. Ran 7 times for 79 yards. Really did a great job of running the ball. Came within the flow of the offense. Moved the chains with short runs, but also had some big gains.

FOLES – Good game 16-25-197. 2 TDs, no INTs. Came into the game late in the 1st half. Very good on the drive. Made good throws on mostly short passes. Hit DJax for a gain of 21 to set up a FG. Got late pressure and still managed to make a good throw even though he couldn’t follow through normally. Made good throw in the early 3rd. Got flushed from the pocket. Kept scanning for a receiver and stopped before he crossed the LOS. Fired the pass to Shady, who made a great catch. That moved the chains. Threw deep ball for DJax in the late 3rd. Hard to tell how good it was. There was PI on the play and that threw things off. Moved up in the pocket in the late 3rd and completed pass to Avant over the middle. Good for 22 yds. Missed chance for TD on the next play. Riley got behind the CB and was open in the endzone. Nick put the ball too far out in front. Gotta hit that play. Had a play in the late 3rd that I didn’t like. Held the ball way too long and almost took a sack. Got rid of it at the last second. Too much risk, with the team already in FG range. Was off target with a pass for Avant in the early 4th. Just put the ball too far out in front on a play to the outside. The next play was another miss to Avant, but Foles was on the move and just missed by inches. Good attempt since he was throwing on the move. Held the ball a long time on 3rd/10 in the early 4th. Almost took a sack, but got rid of the ball as defenders were about to push him out of bounds. I can understand Nick holding the ball since it was 3rd down. Made great throw to Celek for the TD in the early 4th. Made a good throw to DJax on corner route in the 4th. This set up the final TD. Kept the ball on an option play in the mid-4th and got 3 yds. Loved his TD throw to DJax in the 4th. Gave his guy a chance to make a play. DJax wasn’t wide open, but Foles put the ball in a spot where DJax could go get it. Wasn’t high risk.

RB

SHADY – Tough game. 20-46-1 on the ground. 6-46 as a receiver. Good blitz pickup on opening 3rd down. Gave Vick a clean pocket to throw from. Good run on the 2nd series. Got 7 yds. Had a pair of DBs stop him. Tried to put on moves. Wished he had just attacked the space between them to maximize the run instead of trying to make 2 guys miss. Tried to bounce a play outside to the left on the 2nd series, but couldn’t get around JPP and was tackled for a loss. Almost broke a big run on the next play, but the backside LB got him at the last second. Ran outside to the left to open the 3rd series. Got 9 yds. Another player where I wish Shady didn’t dance and try to make a tackler miss. Had another 5 yds if he just ran upfield. Maybe more. Caught screen pass in the early 2nd Qtr. Leaped over a defender and got 12 yds on the play. Ran for 17 yds on a quick hitter to the right side in the early 2nd Qtr. Tackled for 5-yd loss on RZ run in the 2nd Qtr. Caught pass in the left flat on 3rd/4. Had room to run, but slipped. Only got a yard. Missed opportunity. Caught several passes on the final drive of the half. Made great catch along sideline in the early 3rd Qtr. Got his toes down just in time. Play was challenged. Looked like he bobbled the ball as he hit the ground, but the call was upheld and he got the catch. Had a short run in the late 3rd. Made a great move to get by one defender and was able to get 4 yds on the play.

B BROWN – Came into the game on 3rd/19 on 2nd series. Helped Todd block DT, then released into the flat. Like the fact the coaches were comfortable putting him out there on that play. Tried to run inside on 3rd/1, but the Giants outnumbered the Eagles and stuffed him for a 2-yd loss. Ran to the outside in the mid-3rd Qtr, but had no room. Had screen pass come his way on the next play. Couldn’t make the catch (awkward pass), but had defenders in his path anyway. Did a good job on the final drive. Ran 3 times for 14 yds. Secured the ball. Went outside on one run, but made sure to stay in bounds and keep the clock running. Overally numbers (5-11) were hurt by TFLs.

POLK – Got a carry in the early 2nd Qtr. The designed hole wasn’t there. Cut back and turned a loss into no gain. Got RZ carry. Ran outside zone. Outside was blocked so he turned upfield. Got 4 yds on the play. If he had cut more to the inside, might have had enough room to score.

TE

CELEK – 3-47-1. Got his helmet ripped off while battling Antrel Rolle on a play. Got 15 free yds for that. Had good block of JPP on Polk run in the RZ in the early 2nd Qtr. Caught pass on crossing route on the opening series of the 3rd Qtr. Caught TD pass in the early 4th. 25-yd TD. Didn’t get separation from the LB, but was able to make a great grab. Had to really extend and then held on as he went to the ground. Caught dump pass in the flat and got upfield for a gain of 11 yds in the 4th Qtr. Solid job as a blocker throughout the game.

ERTZ – 2-38. Was open for big gain on corner route on the 2nd series. Ran a crisp route and made a smooth cut to gain separation. Vick put the ball too far out in front and Ertz wasn’t able to make the catch. Got hit H2H by the FS and drew a flag. Made a terrific grab in the early 2nd Qtr. Ran a corner route and got separation. Reached up high and plucked the ball cleanly with his hands. Good extension on the play. Gained 24 yds. Caught pass for 14 yds on the final drive of the half. Did okay as a blocker. Solid effort.

CASEY – Minimal snaps on offense.

IGWENAGU – DNP

WR

D JACKSON – 7-132-1. Big game. Dropped pass on 3rd down on opening series. Had to go up for the ball, but kind of play DJax needs to make. Caught deep ball in the 2nd Qtr. Got behind the defense, but had to slow down and wait for the ball. Caught short pass on crossing route in the mid-2nd. Caught 21-yd pass late in the half to set up a FG. Dropped pass from Foles on the opening drive of the 2nd half. Did same thing to Vick in the 1st half. DJax is an equal opportunity player. Caught short crossing pass on 3rd/long in the mid-3rd. Drew PI call on Amukamara in the late 3rd Qtr. Good for 27 yds. Caught pass on crossing route in the late 3rd. Got 7 yds on 3rd/6. Caught 28-yd pass on corner route in the early 4th. This moved the offense deep into scoring territory and set up the final TD. Caught a Red Zone TD in the 4th. Ran a little stutter-go route and then went up and made the grab above the CB for the score.

AVANT – Finished 3-33. Caught 6-yd pass over the middle in the RZ in the late 2nd Qtr. Caught pass over the middle in the late 3rd and then went upfield for a gain of 22. Had chances to make a couple of more plays, but had off target throws.

COOPER – Quiet game. Targeted once. Was open for a TD, but the pass was too far upfield.

D JOHNSON – Didn’t see him on offense.

MAEHL – Played solid amount of snaps, but didn’t have any passes come his way.

OL

* For the most part, the pass blocking was outstanding. Both Vick and Foles a had a ton of time to sit in the pocket and read the defense.

PETERS – Good game. Good seal block on run play on 2nd series. Gave Shady big running lane. Put JPP on the ground on 3rd/19 when Vick scrambled. Just overpowered him. In a word, beautiful. Made a terrific block on deep throw to Djax. Handled JPP and gave Vick a ton of time to throw. Pulled to the inside and blocked LB on running play in the 2nd Qtr. False start in the mid-3rd Qtr. JPP was fairly quiet.

MATHIS – Up and down game. Good seal block on run to the left to open the 3rd series. Had a tough job since the LB was to that side. Sealing him without holding was tough, but that was the key block and Shady got 9 yds. Had the key block on Shady’s TD run. Got some push and created a small area for Shady to hit. Got beat in the early 3rd when DT used a good spin move on him. That flushed Foles from the pocket. Got beat by Jenkins in the late 3rd on pass play. Had good initial block, but Jenkins worked free and flushed Foles. Jenkins beat him with a good inside move in the late 3rd and sacked Foles.

KELCE – Rough game. Called for holding on inside run play on the 2nd series. DT started to come free and Jason just grabbed him. Whiffed on Patterson on inside run play on the 2nd series. That resulted in a TFL. Good block of LB out in space on a screen pass in the early 2nd Qtr. Solid block on Shady’s short TD run. Didn’t get much push, but held his ground. Got pushed back on 3rd Qtr run play and that threw off the play. Shady had nowhere to run. Beat by NT for TFL in the early 3rd. Quick stunt got the best of him. Tried to help Mathis block Jenkins in the late 3rd on a pass play. Wasn’t able to get his hands cleanly on Jenkins. Got pushed back on 4th Qtr run play and that affected Shady. Lost 2 yds on the play. Failed to block the NT on 4th Qtr run and the guy stuffed Shady at the LOS. Easily Kelce’s worst game of the year.

HERREMANS – Outstanding as a run blocker. Had a few bad plays as a pass blocker. Had good initial block on pass play on 2nd series, but the DT got free and pressured Vick as he made the throw. Pass was incomplete. Good seal block on LB to give Shady running room on the 2nd series. Good job of getting up to the 2nd level and blocking a LB on the 3rd series. Block was on the back side of the play. Did a pretty good job vs stunt on 3rd down inside the RZ, Passed the DT off to Johnson and then got his hands on Tuck. Pushed him wide. Didn’t sustain, but gave Vick enough time to throw and kept him from getting hit. Pulled on QB sweep and floored a DB. Great block. Had very good block of LB on inside run in the 2nd Qtr. Sustained the block and gave Shady room. Got beat by DT in pass pro in early 3rd Qtr. DT used his hands to get by Todd. Impressive job by the DT. Got away with major hold in the late 3rd. Tackled Tuck on the play, but there was no call. Sloppy pass block in the early 3rd. The Giants ran a stunt. Todd passed off his DT to Kelce, but was caught completely off guard when a DL looped around. That DL got into the backfield and flushed Foles.

JOHNSON – Had false start on opening play. Good down block of LDE on Vick run on early 3rd down. Opened up the right side. Wasn’t able to sustain block on DT on run play to the left. Tough reach block. DT tackled Shady and there was room if Lane had sustained the block. Had good down block of DT on Shady’s 17-yd run in the early 2nd Qtr. Tried to reach block DT on next play. Wasn’t able to sustain it and his guy made the tackle. Did a nice job against a stunt in the 4th Qtr. Pushed the DE to the inside and passed him to the G. Then picked up the looping DL and blocked him. Quiet game, which I mean in a good way. Kept his side under control.

BARBRE – Came into the game for a couple of plays late in the game. Got a false start and then left the game the next play. Played LT.

TOBIN – DNP

VANDERVELDE – DNP

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DEFENSE

Up and down game. The defense gave up 383 yards and 21 points. There were times when Eli and the Giants moved up and down the field with ease. The Giants were 2 for 2 in the RZ. They had 5 plays of 20 yards or more. Eli was only sacked once.

Now for some of the good. The defense also had 4 takeaways. They limited the Giants run game to 17-53. Eli was only 24 for 52. The Eagles had 11 pass deflections so they get some credit for the low percentage. Eli finished with a rating of just 56.1.

I think you can see what I mean by an up and down game.

I was genuinely impressed with the defense in the 4th quarter. The Giants OL got really frustrated. The Eagles weren’t dominating them, but they did win the LOS. And that’s how you win games. The Giants had 2 punts and 3 INTs in the 4th quarter. While the final score indicated a blowout, the game was 22-21 at the beginning of the 4th quarter. The game was very much on the line.

You could start to see some of Bill Davis’ ideas come to life. He didn’t want to give up big plays. The Eagles gave up a 49-yard pass early on, but that’s it. After that, they forced the Giants to throw short and intermediate. In the KC game, the Eagles did this, but couldn’t tackle so the strategy failed. The Eagles did a solid job of tackling in this game. There were some bad plays, but the Giants weren’t able to march up and down the field at will. When the Giants had the slant pass working, they moved the ball well. That’s one area where Davis must get the CBs, LBs and Safeties to do a better job, in terms of coverage and tackling.

As I watched the game live, I was disappointed in the pass rush. I felt different after studying the game. Eli Manning is a different QB than we’ve seen in the past. He looks shell-shocked. He let pressure get to him. The Eagles only had 1 sack, but the pressure was effective.

3 intentional grounding calls

3 INTs

25 incomplete passes

Manning was uncomfortable when defenders got near him. He forced throws into coverage. He took bad chances. He threw the ball away. Eli wasn’t going to take sacks if he could avoid them, but he let the pressure affect his game. Sometimes there was good pressure. Other times he had a better pocket than he realized.

The Giants like to line up in the I-formation and run to the weak side. There were a few plays when the Giants lined up and looked like they had a numbers advantage to the strong side, but then they ran weak and the defense was in good position. The Eagles did a good job of scouting. The Giants did a poor job of adjusting.

The defense started to get some confidence late in the game. The interceptions woke them up and put some pep in their step. We’ll see if that was a temporary thing or if it carries over to the Tampa game. Players do play faster and more aggressively when they’re confident.

PLAYS

* First TD. Giants had 11 personnel so the Eagles lined up in Nickel. Kept both Safeties to the outside, leaving the middle vulnerable. 5 OL + TE to block 4 DL + 2 LBs. Advantage offense. Run went inside. Ryans took a false step, then wasn’t able to recover in time. Kendricks looked to be out of position as well, moving to the outside. Middle was open for easy TD.

* Odd play in mid-2nd. Rushed 4. Had everyone driving Eli right, but no player there to contain him. So Eli rolled and threw for a 1st down. Why drive QB to his throwing side? That was either an odd design or someone took a wrong rush angle on the frontside of the play. You never want to drive a QB to his throwing side and not have someone there. The hounds are supposed to drive the prey to the hunter.

MISC

* Had one set in the 4th Qtr with Cox at NT and Curry and Graham as DEs. I thought Davis did his best job with personnel in this game. He used Curry at DE and DT. Graham played some on the left side, where he’s most comfortable.

* Giants were 5-13 on 3rd downs

* The Giants were 2-2 in the RZ.

PLAYERS

DL

COX – Pretty good game. Got sealed by the C on an early run play. Drove RG Diehl back toward Eli and forced him to throw early on 3rd down in the early 2nd Qtr. Pass was a tad off target and incomplete. Not great pressure, but affected Eli. Got some pressure on 3rd Qtr pass play. Used hard inside move from LDE on 3rd Qtr pass play. Got by the RT, but then got held badly. No call. Stuffed a run play in the late 3rd Qtr when a couple of Giants blockers let him go. Got some pressure on a 4th Qtr pass play. Eli forced the pass into coverage and it almost got picked off. Ended up incomplete. Got pressure on Boykin’s INT. Curry flushed Eli, then Fletch came off his block and put Eli on the ground. Eli was able to get the pass off before being sacked, but made a terrible choice to throw on the move and against his body into the middle of the field. Drove the RG back into Eli’s face and forced errant pass in the mid-4th Qtr.

SOPOAGA – Played better. Wasn’t making a ton of plays, but got the better of the Giants young C on several running plays. On Ced’s near safety, Sope was there if Wilson started to get away. Did have TFL to open the 4th Qtr. For some reason, the Giants didn’t block him.

THORNTON – Good game. 4 tackles & TFL, Shed block and got RB from backside on the 2nd series. Good hustle. Only gave up 2 yds on the play. Made a sensational play to end the 1st Qtr. Drove RG Diehl backward. Shed him. Hit Wilson at the 2, but couldn’t wrap up. Got control of Wilson in the endzone. Should have been ruled a safety, but instead they gave Wilson forward progress to the 2. Shed block of RT and tackled Jacobs on run in the mid-2nd Qtr. Used a spin move to come off a block and help stuff a run in the early 4th Qtr. Ced was the guy pushing the pocket on Eli’s first INT. Didn’t give Eli much room to step up. Tackled Jacobs on 4th Qtr draw play.

CURRY – First noticed him on 3rd/4 in the early 2nd Qtr. Lined up at LDE and then looped inside on the other side of the NT. No pressure. Diehl had a good block on him late in the 1st half on pass play. Hustled downfield to tackle Randle after catch and run of 20 yds in the 3rd Qtr. Had a good/bad moment in the early 4th Qtr. Giants had 3rd/long. They ran a screen pass. Curry exploded up the field and threw off the timing. That’s good. However, he never read the screen. He was so hellbent on getting to Eli that he just attacked. Got initial pressure on Boykin’s pick. Vinny got into the backfield quickly and forced Eli to move. That led to the forced throw and since he was on the move there wasn’t much on the pass. Boykin could play it. Loved his energy on play where Cary Williams got his pick. Curry was double-teamed. Pushed both guys back. Didn’t go far or pressure Eli, but that’s great effort. Curry was going to do everything he could on that play, even though he was facing 2 blockers. Totally blew up a late 4th Qtr pass play. Fired off the ball and got by the RG. Eli tried to roll to the right and Vinny grabbed him and started to pull him down. Eli was called for grounding. Got hit by the RG, RT and TE on late pass play where Barwin looped inside and got pressure. Vinny is just disruptive. Can affect the play even when he doesn’t beat his blocker. Lined up at LDE and rushed hard off the edge. Used good rip move and pressured Eli into moving up in the pocket. Logan then sacked him.

GEATHERS – Showing some progress. Had impressive play in the mid-2nd Qtr. Took on double team, shed them and was there to take on Jacobs on the play where BJ fumbled. Had impressive moment in the 4th Qtr. Was at LDE. RT tried to block him on a run play. Geathers knocked the guy back a yard and then helped to clog the hole the RB hit.

LOGAN – Good play from RDE in early 2nd Qtr. Giants ran at him. Bennie shed block, grabbed Jacobs. Still gave up 5 yds because Jacobs is hard to tackle when he’s running downhill. Good to see Logan shed the block and make the stop. Got a gift sack late in the game. Curry forced Eli to move up in the pocket and Logan was there to get him. The C and LG then argued about how they were supposed to be blocking Bennie.

SQUARE – DNP

OLB

COLE – Good vs run. Limited as pass rusher. Blew up first Giants play by hitting the pulling TE in the backfield. That clogged things up and allowed Wolff to come in and make the tackle for no gain. Set the edge on run play in the 2nd series. TE tried to move him, but Cole held his ground, forced the runner inside. Lined up over Nicks on the next play. Shoved him back and almost got RB for a TFL. Forced Wilson to go wide and pursuit limited his gain. Played DE as well as OLB. Got by the LG and flushed Eli in the 3rd Qtr. Used hard inside move to get into the backfield and flush Eli on pass play in the late 3rd Qtr. Used a hard inside slant in the early 4th Qtr and had a chance to pressure Eli, but he got rid of the ball on a quick slant. Lined up at RDE on Eli’s first INT. Came off the edge hard and hit Eli in the head. Wasn’t a big blow, but easily could have been called for a penalty. More than a love tap. That contact affected Eli as he tried to make the pass.

BARWIN – Solid game. Used as a DE in Nickel sets quite a bit. Tripped by the RT on a pass play late in the 1st Qtr, but couldn’t tell if it was intentional or accident. Barwin was looping around Cox, who slanted outside. Connor got tripped by the RT’s inside foot. Got TFL in the early 3rd Qtr when he was on the right side and stuffed Jacobs on a run to the outside. Got some pressure on 3rd Qtr pass play. Eli threw downfield and the ball was a bit off. Batted down a pass in the mid-3rd Qtr. Had a chance for the INT, but couldn’t hold onto the ball. Stood up the TE and then moved him back on a 4th Qtr run play. Was able to shed the block and help tackle the RB. Got pressure and forced errant throw late in the game when he looped inside.

GRAHAM – Maybe his best game of the season. Came in at ROLB to open the 2nd Qtr. Covered TE on his first play. Jammed the TE and stuck with him in short area. Played some RDE late in the half. Had one good bull rush. Switched over to LDE inside the 2-minute mark. Blew by the RT and forced an incompletion. Lined up at RDE on 4th Qtr pass, but then slanted inside and drove the LG back toward Eli. Good power. On the next play drove the LT back to Eli. That forced the awkward throw that Cary Williams picked off.

ILB

KENDRICKS – Had 4 tackles, INT and FR. Had a play on the 2nd series where he moved well laterally and forced the RB out of bounds. Stayed under control, but moved quickly. Need more plays like that. Blitzed up the middle in the late 1st Qtr. Someone tried to take him out low, but Kendricks got over the top and forced Eli to move. Still got the pass off, though. Almost got burned by wheel route. Eli made poor throw and Wilson couldn’t catch it. Kendricks trailed by a step. Recovered Jacobs fumble in the mid-2nd Qtr. Affected the actual fumble with penetration on the play, even though he never hit BJ. Hustled out wide to shove Nicks out of bounds on 3rd Qtr pass play. Helped tackle Randle after gain of 19 on slant in the 4th Qtr. Was covering Jacobs in the 4th Qtr when Eli hit someone’s helmet as he went to pass. The ball went up in the air and Kendricks picked it off. I wanted a pick-6, but he only got 20 yards down to the Giants 25-yd line. Showed good awareness and hands on the play. We’ve seen Eagles LBs drop that pick over the years. Good to see MK make the play. Had solid coverage on the TE in the mid-4th when Eli tried to get the ball there. Pass was off target.

RYANS – Surprisingly quiet game. 3 tackles. Blew up a 3rd Qtr run by knocking Diehl back into Jacobs. Tackled Cruz after short catch over the middle in the 3rd Qtr. Had a delayed blitz in the mid-3rd and forced Eli to get rid of the ball early.

MATTHEWS – Got some snaps at OLB. The Giants double-teamed him on one play. It worked.

KNOTT – Didn’t see him on defense.

GOODE – Only on STs

S

ALLEN – Up and down game. Was in on 4 tackles and broke up a pass. Just how fast is Nate? Got beat deep on opening drive. WR got behind him and had a chance for deep ball. Tried to cover Cruz deep 1-on-1 on the next play and Cruz got behind him. Blitzed off the edge to start the 2nd series. Got blocked. Good effort, though. Came free as a blitzer a couple of plays later. Got pressure, but Eli got the pass off in time. Blitzed again on that drive. Got blocked by the RB, but affected Eli. For some reason, Manning lost his balance and threw the ball away. That was ruled intentional grounding. Took a horrible angle on 3rd Qtr pass play where Randle took a slant pass for a TD. Should have been a simple tackle A veteran like Nate shouldn’t make that mistake. Had good downfield coverage on deep ball to Cruz in the mid-3rd Qtr. Pass was incomplete. Broke up 4th Qtr deep ball to Randle that was underthrown due to pressure. Did a solid job in man coverage on short stuff. Didn’t make many tackles vs the run, but came up quickly. That may not sound like much, but the Nate Allen of last year wouldn’t have been quite as aggressive vs a big back like Jacobs. Nate was willing to get his hands dirty in this game, even if he wasn’t the primary tackler.

CHUNG – DNP

WOLFF – Best game of his young career. In on 4 tackles and broke up a pass. Stuffed the RB on Giants first play of the game. Lined up in the box and attacked quickly upfield when he read the run play. Came up quickly in run support on late 1st Qtr run, but terrific block by WR kept him from hitting the RB. Broke up a pass in the early 3rd Qtr. Pass was intended for the TE. Good coverage of Cruz on 3rd Qtr pass play in the RZ. Ball fell incomplete. Gave up TD late in the 3rd. Took outstanding pass, catch to get it by him. Pass to Randle. Wolff had pretty good position, but couldn’t play the ball. Helped Boykin double Cruz in the early 4th Qtr. Pretty good coverage, but didn’t show the speed to keep up with Cruz the whole way downfield. Victor started to get some separation. Made good tackle of Cruz after short catch in the mid-4th. Did a good job in zone coverage on the play. Broke quickly to the ball and made a sure tackle. Took poor angle on 4th Qtr pick play. Got caught up with Cary and his receiver. Has to stay back. Give up the short catch, but don’t get caught in traffic. Still was able to get the receiver out without giving up too much.

COLEMAN – Only on STs

CB

FLETCHER – Active game. Broke up 5 passes. Got tested early and often. Giants went deep on him on their 2nd play. Brad helped to break up that pass, although Randle didn’t have great control of it. Eli went deep to Nicks on the next snap and he did make the catch. Brad trailed on the play. A good throw might have meant a TD. Eli underthrew it and Brad was able to make the tackle. Gave up short completion to Cruz on the 2nd series. Played off, then tackled him as soon as the ball got there. Excellent PBU on 3rd/4 in early 2nd. Knocked the ball away from Randle as it got there. Had him playing off Nicks several times. Gave up completions. One time Nicks was open for a good gain, but Eli was off target. Broke up pass for Randle late in the half. Broke up downfield pass to Randle late in the half. Blew by the RT on the next play and blew up a screen pass. Gave up catch and run of 14 yds to Nicks on 3rd/7 in the mid-3rd. Tackled Cruz after a gain of 7 on a quick pass in the early 4th Qtr. Gave up catch and run of 19 yds on slant to Randle in the early 4th. Broke up a 4th Qtr pass over the middle to Randle. Eli forced the ball and Brad was close enough to knock it away. Finished with 8 solo tackles. Really hard to summarize his game. Gave up catches/yards, but also made plays. A hot QB would have burned him on a couple of more plays, but Fletcher did well on some plays.

WILLIAMS – Busy game. Led the team with 11 tackles. Gave up short completion to Cruz to open the 2nd drive. Tackled him quickly. Nicks had a good catch and run vs Williams on the 2nd series. Got 21 yds on the play. Cary did make the tackle. Tackled Randle after short catch on 3rd/25. Made a mistake in the 3rd Qtr when he went to the inside and left Randle uncovered. Eli got the ball to Randle for a gain of 20. Picked off a 4th Qtr pass when Eli made a terrible throw and the pass came right to him. Lovely gift from our host. I didn’t make note of all the catches Williams gave up. The Giants were going after him and Fletcher. Cary should have given up a TD in the 3rd Qtr, but Eli/Nicks couldn’t connect in the endzone. The ball bounced off Nicks helmet.

BOYKIN – Very good game. Covered Cruz in the slot. Had pretty good coverage of Cruz on downfield pass in the 3rd Qtr. Cruz extended for the ball, but Boykin kept hands on him and helped to cause an incompletion. Cruz wanted a flag, of course. Called for PI while covering Cruz in the mid-3rd. Good call. Boykin had his arm. Blitzed in the early 4th Qtr. Jacobs didn’t block him cleanly. Eli saw that and threw the ball away. Got called for intentional grounding. Blitzed off the edge in the early 4th and was unblocked. Forced Eli to move up in the pocket. He did and hit someone’s helmet as he threw the ball. The pass went straight up and Kendricks picked it off. Had pretty good coverage on Cruz on 4th Qtr pass down the field. Eli’s pass was off target. On the next play Bokin covered Cruz on a crossing route. He made a spectacular INT, stealing the ball away as the players went to the ground. Credited with 1 tackle and 1 INT, but impacted the game beyond those numbers.

POYER – DNP

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ST’s

JONES – Averaged 47.8 yds on 6 punts. 2 were downed inside the 20. One touchback.

HENERY – 5 for 5 on FGs. Had 8 KOs. 5 of them were touchbacks.

– MISC –

KOR – All touchbacks.

PR – Damaris had a long PR of 18 yds. 3 returns for 24 yds overall.

* Boykin downed 2 punts inside the 10. One was wiped out by penalty. First one came late in the 1st Qtr. Caught the punt at the 5.

* KO late in the half. Najee Goode made initial contact with the returner. Bradley Fletcher made the tackle.

* Kurt Coleman made a tackle in KO coverage in the 4th Qtr.

* Jake Knott almost blocked a punt in the early 3rd Qtr.

* Boykin was called for fair catch interference in the mid-3rd. Questionable call to me. PR was on the move and went to Boykin, not the other way around.

GAMEBOOK