PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles spread the ball around Monday more than they have all season, a dozen players touching it in just the first half.
None of them, the haters will be happy to know, was named Quez Watkins.
Special teams contributed immediately, Britain Covey’s 54-yard return of the first punt setting up Jalen Hurts’ 15th rushing touchdown.
Except for a few tweaks with a five-man line on third down, the defensive game plan with Matt Patricia calling the signals was fine. Just get out the way and let the New York Giants hurt themselves.
So it was with the Eagles and the Giants, inept Monday when quarterbacked by Tommy DeVito and 14-point underdogs at the start of the overcast Christmas afternoon.
The Eagles rolled to a big lead at the half and hung on for a 33-25 victory to snap a three-game losing streak that dampened their bid to secure the No. 1 seed and a bye in the playoffs.
If only the second half went so smoothly. The game ended with backup Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor picked off in the end zone by Eagles rookie Kelee Ringo on a hail Mary throw from the 26-yard line.
“We strained,” Eagles veteran Brandon Graham said. “We know that’s the type of team we are. We’re going to fight to the end. But we don’t need to make it close. I’m happy we got it.”
Several nasty bumps in the road in the second half were a grim reminder that the Eagles have an incredible amount of work to do before they’re ready to beat the good teams.
The Giants (5-10) are anything but good. They trailed by 17 points at the half based solely on merit.
In the second half the Eagles picked up where the Giants left off. The Birds were booed at times, were taunted by their own fans with noisy, unnerving chants of “Run the ball, run the ball,” and oh, yeah, turned the ball over twice. They’re minus-7 in turnover ratio on the season.
On the second half kickoff, Eagles blocker Olamide Zaccheaus, who has contributed several huge plays as a receiver, turned at the last second to create a collision with teammate Boston Scott, who fumbled the ball away the 14-yard line. Three Saquon Barkley runs later, the Eagles were ahead by only 20-10.
The Eagles seemed to find their groove again and were moving the football when Hurts kept locking in on the left side of the Giants defense. His fourth straight pass there turned into a 76-yard interception return for Adoree Jackson, who Hurts horse-collar tackled at the goal line.
The Giants elected to take the penalty and go for two points, Barkley rolled in for a two-point conversion to cut the deficit 20-18 with nine seconds left in the third quarter.
Hurts, who threw for 301 yards, including a 36-yard scoring pass to DeVonta Smith, quickly switched gears from trying to protect the ball to the bottom line — i.e. that the Eagles are 11-4.
“We won,” Hurts said. “It’s great to get a win. We went through a tough stretch but to be able to overcome that is good. It’s still a process. It’s still a journey with no arrival.”
In the first minute of the fourth quarter of a mistake-filled drive, fans began their “run the ball” chant. The Eagles were in third-and-20 due to penalties and poor Hurts decisions. The crowd booed.
Hurts answered by scrambling to find A.J. Brown with a 32-yard completion. When Kenneth Gainwell lifted off on a 22-yard run on the next snap, the audience was in a frenzy. Eventually, D’Andre Swift punched it in from five yards out to stake the Eagles to a 27-18 lead with 11:07 left.
The Eagles had a 30-18 lead when Taylor fired a 70-yard touchdown pass to Darius Slayton, who left safety Reed Blankenship in his wake. The extra point got the Giants within 30-25 with 5:22 to go.
But the Eagles hung on, just as they were supposed to do. There is nothing sexy about playing a bad team like the Giants on Christmas. Waiting out a hail Mary at the horn is a far cry from that mythical standard that Hurts, head coach Nick Sirianni and the reigning NFC champions constantly speak of. Exactly how far are they from the standard, anyway?
“I’d love to say we’re close,” said Hurts, who remains among the league leaders with 18 turnovers for a team that is just 10th in the NFL in point differential. “I think it’s trending in the right direction.”
With games against the lowly Arizona Cardinals (3-12) and these Giants again in the next two weeks, it’s not too late for the Eagles to remember their standard — and to run run the football. They rushed for 170 yards this week, Swift for 92 yards.
On this Monday it was something for the Eagles to hang their hats on.
To contact Bob Grotz, email rgrotz@delcotimes.com.
Source: Berkshire mont