PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles didn’t just answer for the Week 6 flop at the Meadowlands; they bulldozed the rematch 38-20 at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday and roll into the bye with their best two-game stretch of the season. Here are 5 things we learned:
1. The Eagles can still run the ball
Say it with your chest: The run game is alive! Behind a re-centered line, with Brett Toth in for Cam Jurgens, the Eagles ripped off 276 rushing yards on 33 carries (8.4 per carry). Saquon Barkley delivered the signature moment — a 65-yard lightning bolt touchdown on his first touch — and finished with 14 carries for 150 yards (10.7) before exiting with a groin injury.
Tank Bigsby spelled Barkley and finished off the Giants late, pounding nine runs for 104 yards with a long of 29 and gaining a bunch of new fans in Philly. Quarterback Jalen Hurts added 22 yards on four keepers.
Short-term, the running back depth looks workable. Bigsby arrived Sept. 9 in a trade with Jacksonville, and he’s looked increasingly comfortable in the scheme and on special teams, which is exactly why the Eagles made the move. Plus, Will Shipley can pitch in as well.
“I wasn’t worried about it,” Barkley said of the groin injury. “I came off, but I’ve dealt with this before. It’s nothing crazy. It’s a long season, and I try my best to always listen to the trainers and the coaches, and they felt like they’d be able to put the game out without me.”
When asked if he fought to go back in the game: “A little bit … I went out swinging,” he said, and mentioned he expects to play in two weeks at Green Bay.
2. Hurts can still throw the ball
Hurts didn’t need a 300-yard day or a perfect passer rating like a week earlier against Minnesota. This time, the ground game did the heavy lifting, but Hurts was ruthlessly efficient: 15 of 20, 179 yards, four TDs, 0 INTs, 141.5 rating, and just enough movement to punish pressure. He picked apart a short-handed Giants secondary with quick decisions and red-zone precision.
More creative play-calling over the past two weeks has also helped the overall attack. This was offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s best game, and the Birds put up 427 yards.
“(Hurts) is playing like the quarterback we know he can be, and that’s the best in the league,” receiver Jahan Dotson said. “He’s doing a great job commanding the offense and making sure everyone’s in the right spots, throwing the ball out on time. It’s nothing new to us. We see it every single day, so it’s cool to see it come true on Sundays.”
3. The receivers (and tight end) can still catch the ball
No A.J. Brown, no problem — at least for one afternoon.
DeVonta Smith posted a workmanlike six catches for 84 yards, controlling the intermediate windows and moving the sticks, and had a long of 26. Dallas Goedert’s 3-28-2 line shows how the staff leaned into tight end leverage near the end zone, and Dotson’s 40-yard TD over a defender showcased why his vertical burst matters in this offense.
Barkley added 4 for 24 and a TD as a receiver, another reminder that this version of the Eagles can win with backs in the pass game.
4. Defensive pressure finally pops
All week, the question was whether the front could impose itself on rookie QB Jaxson Dart. Answer: yes. The Eagles logged five sacks and seven tackles for loss, collapsing edges and choking off second-and-longs. Dart’s final line — 14-of-24 for 193 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, plus a short rushing TD — reflects how often he was forced to hold the ball and work late in the down. In addition to the five sacks, he was hit six times during a rough first trip to Philadelphia.
New York managed just 68 rushing yards on 21 attempts (3.2) and only 246 total yards. That’s the complementary template the Eagles want: win on early downs, get to third and long, and let the pass rush finish the series.
5. An unevenly officiated game
The bad officiating went both ways. There was a tush-push fumble that wasn’t (because the play was prematurely whistled for forward progress). There was a Dart fumble that was later ruled an incomplete pass. There was a Giants offensive pass interference call that could have gone either way and a phantom whistle during a missed Eagles field goal, just a few of number of head-scratchers by the refereeing crew.
Bottom line
The Eagles (6-2) flipped the script from the Oct. 9 loss at MetLife Stadium. They controlled the trenches and the clock (33:15), created negative plays on defense, and let Hurts’ efficiency do the rest.
They head into the bye with lots of positives and a chance to get healthy. The Giants (2-6), ravaged by injuries (particularly on offense and in the secondary), were overmatched at the line of scrimmage and couldn’t replicate the Week 6 blueprint.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.
Source: Berkshire mont