The now 6-2 Philadelphia Eagles faced the now 2-5 New York Giants on week 6 of the season in what became a stunning upset. The Eagles opened with a 42 yard field goal, but the Giants quickly answered. Quarterback Jaxson Dart hit wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey for a 34-yard gain, then ran it in himself from 20 yards out for the touchdown. MetLife Stadium erupted. Maybe, at last, the Giants had found their franchise quarterback.
The Giants defense then stuffed the Eagles forcing them to punt. Jaxson Dart came out hot as he threw the ball to Wan’Dale Robison from 26 yards and then threw a 12-yard pass to Robinson again, enabling him to run 23 yards for a touchdown, making the score 13-3 Giants. The Eagles responded with a 30-yard pass to AJ Brown, followed by a 23-yard catch to Dallas Goedert. Jalen Hurts then pitched it to Dallas Goedert who ran in for a touchdown, making the score 13-10 Eagles and ending the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Giants weren’t able to get anything going on their first drive, forcing them to punt. But Jalen Hurts was able to find the endzone using the controversial Tush Push play four times, making the score 16-13. The Giants were unfazed and kept riding the hot hand of Jaxson Dart. He orchestrated a steady drive with short passes and runs to keep the Eagles on their toes. A key 17-yard pass to Darius Slayton set up for a Cam Skattebo touchdown. With this, the Giants retook the lead, 20-16. The Eagles tried to get something going before the end of the half, but were unsuccessful and were forced to punt.
The Eagles needed to make a statement, as their defensive line could not put any pressure on Dart or even contain him in the pocket. They were also missing tackles and had lots of coverage issues. The Giants were able to capitalize on the defensive struggles and mixed passing plays with runs. They drove all the way into the red zone leading to Cam Skattebo bullying his way in for a 3 yard touchdown. It was 27-16 Giants. If the Eagles wanted to come back, they would have to fix the play calling issues and the offensive line. But the struggles continued as Hurts took a sack from Brian Burns, forcing them to kick a field goal, cutting the lead to 27-19.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the Eagles trailing by just one possession, Hurts forced a pass which was picked off in the redzone by Cor’Dale Flott, who returned it for 68 yards. Just two plays later, Cam Skattebo punched his third touchdown of the game. Suddenly, the Eagles were down 34-19. They started down the field with a nice pass to Dallas Goedert but on the very next play, running back A.J. Dillon fumbled the ball and the Giants were able to jump on it. By the final whistle, the score was still Giants 34, Eagles 19, a stunning upset.
Reacting to the loss, Sophomore Finnley McClements said, “ I was very annoyed by the Eagles performance. Jaxson Dart looked very impressive as a rookie quarterback. It is hard to be in his position and play the Super Bowl champions and he did just that and more. The play calling needs to be fixed if the Eagles want to go back to back.”
Now, the Eagles are standing at 6-2 after beating the Giants 38-20. All of the issues seem to have been fixed as they are now considered to be one of the top contenders for the Super Bowl. They were able to fix their issues of not being able to rush the quarterback by bringing back two time Super Bowl Champion Brandon Graham and trading for Jaelan Phillips. The Eagles also traded for former Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander from the Baltimore Ravens for a sixth round pick. Overall, the Eagles are in a good position after the end of the Trade Deadline.
