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Photo Source: David Maialetti, The Philadelphia Inquirer
I think Eagles & Giants fans alike can agree that this game wasn't particularly enjoyable to watch. Sure there were some flashes, but for the most part, both teams made some pretty costly mistakes and looked ugly. But do I care? Absolutely not. The Eagles beat the Giants 22-21 by staging a comeback late in the fourth quarter. The following are some key takeaways I had from the game.
Carson Wentz Can Be Clutch:
With less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Eagles were trailing the Giants 21 to 10. I was feeling pretty dejected; the Eagles were making several sloppy mistakes which were all leading to penalties and nothing seemed to be going their way. This was until the Ginger God himself, Carson Wentz, rallied the offense to make a late push.
The comeback started with Wentz throwing an absolute bomb to rookie Wide Reciever, John Hightower that was good for 59 yards. Throw in some good rushing attempts by running back Boston Scott and the Eagles were within scoring range. Wentz then threw a perfectly placed pass to Greg Ward into the endzone for a touchdown. After failing to convert an ill-conceived two-point attempt, the Eagles were still trailing the Giants 21-16 with just over four and a half minutes remaining.
The Giants got possession of the ball back four minutes remaining. However, a key drop by Tight End Evan Ingram allowed Philly to get another shot at winning the game. Starting on their own 29-yard line with less than 2 minutes left, Wentz would throw for another 41 yards. Combine this with a few nice runs from Boston Scott and the Eagles again found themselves in scoring position. With less than a minute left, Wentz threw a pass to Scott into the endzone for a touchdown. This touchdown and the subsequent strip-sack by Eagles defensive end, Brandon Graham, meant that the Eagles would win this game after all.
If you've read any of my previous posts, you'll know that I've been critical of Wentz in the past. While he did make some errors in this game (accuracy and interceptions remain big issues), I don't think that the Eagles make this comeback win with Jalen Hurts in at QB. Wentz was clearly the best player the Eagles had tonight.
Daniel Jones: The Eagles Second Greatest Asset
If the Ginger God lead the Eagles to a comeback victory, Danny Dimes was part of the reason why they were still competitive in the fourth quarter and ultimately won. I mentioned in my preview article that Jones was a turnover machine. Prior to this game, he had 10 total turnovers. During the game, he had one interception and a crucial fumble which killed any hopes of the Giants scoring a late field goal to win the game. Jones had some nice throws, but his turnovers had a net negative effect on the Giants and helped propel the Eagles to victory.
Also, how can you not be entertained by Jones tripping himself on his way to an 80+ yard TD run? In a sense, you could say that the run symbolized the game for the Giants. Got so close, but just couldn't finish in the end.
Travis Fulgham: Officially Wide Reciever One
I could've written this next section about a whole host of guys. Boston Scott, Richard Rodgers, or John Hightower were all worthy candidates. But, I wanted to dedicate this section to mentioning Fulgham because the guy seems legit.
Since his first NFL start four weeks ago, Fulgham has recorded 284 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. I didn't want to buy into his stock too early, because there are the occasional flashes in the pan. But seeing as in this is the 4th week in a row in which Fulgham is the Eagles top wide receiver, I think it's safe to say this guy can be a real threat for a team starved for playmakers at the position. With a late injury to Desean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery struggling to get onto the field, this is Fulgham's show now. Philly fans have something to be excited about.
Final Thoughts & Up Next....
No one should take this win as proof that the Eagles are a competitive team. They played sloppily and had a litany of mistakes and penalties. Missed tackles and dropped passes were also abundant. Be happy that the Eagles won, but don't be tricked into thinking that the Eagles are a good team. They're not. They're actually quite bad.
Up next, the Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night for another primetime matchup. After that, the Eagles get to enjoy a bye week, get a little healthier, and then play the Giants again the week after.
Bang Bang Bird Gang