The Birds' Beat: Eagles defeat Giants 27-0

With a 12 yard gain, Philadelphia Eagles’ running back LeSean McCoy seemed to erase all of this year’s struggles in an instance against the division rival, New York Giants.  It was a simple inside run that McCoy ran hundreds of time but it showed everything he missed so far. He took the carry found a hole and displayed the burst that made LeSean McCoy one of few elite running backs is the NFL.

There was no dancing behind the line of scrimmage, there was no apprehension just LeSean being back to his peak performance. Through McCoy’s resurgence he was able to post his best game of the year with 149 yards on 22 carries and an impressive 6.8 yards per carry average which demolished his pre-game number of 2.9. While LeSean was the primary ball carrier, Darren Sproles still used his massive blockers for 39 yards on 7 attempts and a touchdown.

McCoy found most of his success running to the outside as he accumulated 77 yards on six runs to the right and 35 yards on five outside runs to the left.  The Eagles’ star running back found a burst unseen so far this season but the Eagles’ offensive line showed a vast improvement from the previous weeks.   

They were able to beat the Giants’ defensive line at the point of attack and open large running lanes for the Eagles’ backfield. The Philadelphia line was also able to pull very effectively on outside runs and let McCoy and Sproles use their quickness against the bewildered Giants’ defense. Eagles’ right tackle, Lane Johnson continues to improve since coming back from a suspension and was instrumental in Philadelphia’s ground game.  Jason Peters has been the consistant presnse of the shuffled offensive libe and he continued to be a stalwart in his line mate’s time out. The absence of center Jason Kelce was apparent since his injury but his replacement, David Molk stepped in to provide stability on an offensive line that lacked chemistry before the Sunday night match-up.

Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles threw two ill-advised passes which were intercepted but he still managed a solid performance with 248 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 21 of 34 attempts. While the third year signal caller made mistakes, he may have thrown his most impressive pass as a pro. Tight end Zach Ertz caught a touchdown from Nick Foles on a corner route. Foles’ pass had perfect placement as Ertz made a marvelous toe tapping reception beating the outstretched arms of former Eagle Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie. Ertz would finish the game with 47 yards receiving on three receptions and a touchdown.

 Philadelphia’s ground game opened up the play action passes for Foles and he was able to find James Casey for a 26 yard touchdown. The Eagles success on outside runs led to New York overcommitting on the play fake, leaving Eagles’ tight end/fullback James Casey wide open for his only catch of the game being a touchdown.

The Eagles dominated the game thoroughly and the defensive aspect was no different. Philadelphia’s defensive front seven imposed their will on the New York Giants’ blockers and defensive coordinator Bill Davis dialed up an assortment of blitz packages to confuse Eli Manning and company.

The combination of the scheme and execution by the players led to the Eagles accumulating eight sacks during the game and catapulting them into a tie for second most sacks as a team this year.

Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Connor Barwin posted a game high three sacks as he terrified the New York’s tackles and their quarterback with an array of pass rushing moves. Philadelphia backup defensive end/outside linebacker and pass rushing specialist Vinny Curry additionally put pressure on Eli Manning tallying two sacks bringing his season total to four. While the front seven attacked the Giants’ quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive backfield had their best game of the year as they helped hold Eli Manning to only 151 yards passing and zero touchdowns.  

Philadelphia’s defensive also only allowed 12 total first downs and a lowly 14% third down conversation rate for the Giants. The New York Giants found the red zone once to no avail as Victor Cruz could not haul in a lofted pass from Eli Manning. Cruz was injured on the play. Though the Eagles dictated the game, the Giants also helped defeat themselves as they were penalized a total of 10 times for 74 yards.

With the 27-0 drumming of their division rivals, The Eagles will head in the bye with a 5-1 record and a new level of confidence after the all-around display on National Television.