Detailed Game Review – PHI 27, NYG 7

That was the ugliest blowouts I’ve seen in a long time. The Eagles dominated the game after the opening drive, but made so many mistakes that the game felt closer than it should have been. And yet, at the same time, it never felt like the Giants were a threat. I don’t think they quit, but it was almost like the Eagles broke their will. The Giants knew what was going to happen.

The Eagles weren’t the only sloppy team. The Giants helped Eagles out several times in the game. The two biggest moments were the Damontre Moore body slam of Sam Bradford and the running into the punter call on Nikita Whitlock. Both plays extended drives that resulted in TDs. When I saw this week that the NFL fined Moore for his unbelievably dumb move, I thought Bradford ought to offer to pay the fine himself.

The biggest takeaway for me was the Eagles domination of the line of scrimmage. The Giants have a big DL and were the #2 run defense in the NFL. The Eagles ran for 155 yards and Bradford was only sacked once. The Giants OL had been playing well, with Eli only having been sacked 4 times in the first 5 games of the year. The Eagles sacked him 3 times and easily could have had 4 or 5 more. Eli was under tremendous pressure. The Eagles didn’t just win the battle up front. They dominated.

COACHING

My biggest frustration with Chip Kelly came with the Eagles up 24-7 and then getting the ball back near midfield after a quick 3 & out. Kelly went for the home run and it was picked off. The previous drive is where DeMarco Murray really got going and started to wear down the Giants defense. I understand the desire for more points, to try and put the game out of reach. But there is also something to be said about just manhandling a team. Maybe the Giants would have stuffed a couple of runs and forced a punt. They also might have gotten run over by the hot OL and Murray. When you have a hammer, use it.    

The end of the 1st half was ugly. The Eagles had a chance to go for a TD, but settled for a FG. They failed to use a final timeout and didn’t manage the clock well. They were never in danger of not getting points (that happened a couple of times with Reid/McNabb), but Kelly did a poor job of handling the situation.

There were no critical decisions in the game.

The offensive staff had a good gameplan. The offense had a good flow. There were vertical passes, but also plenty of ball control stuff. The run game was good and that made play-action passes effective.

The defense had a terrible opening drive. The Giants got them confused a couple of times and I also think it just took a few plays for the guys to settle down. Once they did, they were great. The Giants had 112 yards and 0 points in the final 3 quarters. Bill Davis said there was no panic among the players. They came to the sideline, made some adjustments and went right back out there. They were confident in the plan and in each other. That’s huge.

You have to understand that the offense scripts the opening drive. They do all kinds of creative stuff and practice it over and over. That’s why some teams look so good and then flatten out. They put a lot into the first 10 to 15 plays. The defense is reacting and trying to get a feel for what is going on. The Eagles did that and adjusted well.

Davis used his personnel well. He got creative with some blitz looks, but a lot of times just let his best four rushers do their thing. Why bother blitzing when the front four is getting the job done?

OFFENSE

MISC

* Ran 76 plays

* 6 of 16 on 3rd downs

* 1 for 2 in the Red Zone

* won TOP with 30:30

* 4 turnovers…3 unforced. Ugh.

Players

QB

BRADFORD – Sloppy game. 24-38-280. Had 1 TD, but 3 INTs, including another one in the end zone. Ugh. Those mistakes have to stop. Very up and down performance. Moved the offense well at times. The INTs were costly. It would be one thing if Bradford was under duress and trying to win a shootout, but he had a clean pocket and played with the lead most of the game.

Communication with receivers was an issue multiple times. On the opening drive, Sproles ran a wheel route. Bradford expected just an out and threw there. Ball was incomplete. Coaches would never confirm who was right/wrong on that. Late in the half a receiver ran a wrong route and forced Bradford to take a sack. That was part of the ugly sequence. In the 2nd half, Bradford wanted to go deep to Cooper. Riley broke the route off. That was a sight-adjust play, but both guys read something else. Pat Shurmur said both were wrong. I don’t know if that was coachspeak or the truth.

PLAYS

* Hit Coop for 32-yard TD. Great result, but not great execution. Late throw. Needed to make a quicker decision and get the ball out faster. Underthrew Coop as well. Needed to get that out in front of him. Underthrow gave DBs a chance to get back into play.

* Threw terrible pick in the early 2nd. Ball was at NYG 49. Ran play-action pass. Had Ertz open as crosser and Coop open on go route. Threw to Ertz, but put too much air into the ball and it went way over his head and right to DB. Ugh.

* Rolled right and didn’t see anyone open so ran for gain of 5. Good. Don’t have to be Vick to run. Getting 5 yards is a good thing. Plant the seed in the defense’s head that they have to account for that.

* Interesting play in the late 2nd. Dropped back and couldn’t find anyone. Got pressure so he moved in pocket. Saw someone open and tried to hit Matthews while moving in the pocket. Didn’t set his feet and the ball came up short. Matthews needed to come back, but was also a poor throw.

* Hit Coop for a gain of 43 on 2nd play of the 2nd half. That was a good throw.

* Threw a beautiful pass to Austin for a gain of 37 late in the 3rd Qtr. Good velocity and right on the money.

* Made bad decision and even worse throw in the late 3rd. Ran PA pass and tried to hit Ertz for TD. He was tightly covered with S over the top also headed in that direction. With 24-7 lead, there was no reason to force the ball. Bradford did. Even worse, Bradford underthrew it putting the DB in perfect position to pick it off, which he did. I don’t think he should have thrown the pass. If you do, put the ball where only your guy can get it.

* Had Ertz wide open over middle on 3rd/5 in 4th Qtr. Clean pocket. Threw to Coop on drag route. Gained 1 yard.

RB

MURRAY – Best game yet. 22-112-1. 3-14 as a receiver. Eagles tried to get him the ball in the flat so he could go vs LBs in space. That only worked so-so. Looked more comfortable than ever running the ball. Making quicker read and better decisions, which allows him to run more aggressively. First run of the game was cutback play for 6 yards. Had good blocking, made quick decision. Ran to left side for 11 yards in early 3rd. Next run went wide to right side for 3 yards. Got D really moving side to side. Then next play was play-action pass for a gain of 19. That’s the value of a good run game and also can show the effect of running to the outside. Great cutback run for 11 yards in mid-3rd. TD run was a thing of beauty. Looked like it was supposed to go up the middle. Murray bounced it left and had space to run. Only defender there was the FS. Murray used stiff-arm to put him on the ground, then had free path to end zone. There was awkward exchange between Bradford and him in the late 3rd. Ball hit the ground and Murray fell on it. Loved run he had in early 4th. Outside zone went for 8 yards. Murray ran hard. No hesitation.

MATHEWS – 9-40 on the ground. 1-6 as a receiver. Had a good run late in 3rd Qtr. Ball went outside. Had to weave through traffic to maximize his gain. That set up 3rd/1. Ran right up the middle on that and got 2 yards to keep the chains moving. Got 7 yards on outside run in late 3rd. If backside DT had been blocked, Mathews would have had chance for big play. Only one defender was in his way.

SPROLES – Quiet game. 2-4 as a runner, 1-3 as a receiver.

BARNER – DNP

TE

CELEK – Strong game as a blocker. Didn’t have any passes come his way. Good seal block of DE on Murray’s first run gave him cutback lane. Missed block of backside DE led to TFL. Guy slanted hard inside and caught Celek off-guard. Excellent block of DE on run to his side for gain of 9 in mid-2nd. Took on Wynn (6-5, 266) and sealed him to control the edge. I could have written about another 10 or so blocks. Celek did a terrific job of getting his man and sustaining. Not only is he physical, but also smart. Uses positioning to help him block DEs and give RB options.

ERTZ – 4-43 as a receiver. Good block on long TD pass to Coop. Lined up to the left. At snap, crossed formation and blocked backside DE. Engaged and sustained, giving Sam time to throw from clean pocket. Caught quick pass in the late 2nd Qtr and got upfield for a gain of 12 yards. Ran terrific route late in the half and got open for a gain of 17. Caught quick pass in early 3rd and got upfield for gain of 9. Failed to get good block of backside DE on rollout play and Moore pressured Sam into throwing the ball away. Good seal block of Moore on run to his side in 3rd Qtr. Effective block of SS on Murray’s TD run. Got a bit of movement, but key was sustaining the block and not letting the guy get in on the play. Good block of Moore on 4th Qtr inside run. That block gave play chance for big yards, but had to settle for 3.

BURTON- Didn’t see him on offense.

WR

MATTHEWS- 6-59. Had a chance for a 20-yd catch on 2nd drive when he caught a pass over the middle. Took a big hit and lost the ball before he could secure it. Legal hit and incompletion. Caught short pass in the early 2nd Qtr. Fought through 2 tacklers to gain additional 7 yards on the play. Did great job of getting open on play in late 2nd. Got lost by defense and stuck his arm up to get Sam’s attention. Made mistake of not coming back for ball. Sam made poor throw and it bounced to Matthews. Caught short pass late in the half and then got upfield for gain of 13 yds. Bad play in early 3rd. Caught pass on crossing route on 3rd/8. Had chance to turn upfield and maybe get the 1st down. Decided to go wide. As he was going down, defender hit the ball and knocked it out. Giants recovered. Caught pass on crossing route in mid-3rd and got 19 yards on the play. Fought through one tackle to get extra yards. Caught pass on crossing route on 3rd/5 late in 3rd Qtr. Got 7 yards on the play. Took big hit, but held onto the ball.

COOPER – Big game. 3-76-1. Very good catch on 32-yd TD. Had to slow down and wait for ball. Stayed focused despite DB closing in on him. Got the ball and held onto it as he went to the ground. Caught 43-yard pass in the 2nd half. Was open for deep balls a few other times. Blocked well in the game. How many people thought Coop would have more receiving yards (76) than Beckham (61)?

AGHOLOR – DNP

HUFF – 3-19. Got hurt on a KOR and that kept him out of the game for a bit. Caught quick screen and got upfield for gain of 15 yards. Looked good. Caught quick throw in late 2nd and was tackled by DRC for loss of 2. Caught quick pass in mid-3rd and got 6 yards on the play. Had to fight through 2 tackles for that. Great effort.

AUSTIN – Good game. 3-60. Pat Shurmur mentioned Austin as a good blocker in the game. Did a good job on screens and run plays. Very good block of DB on 3rd Qtr run by Murray that went for 11 yards. Caught short pass over the middle for gain of 7 in the mid-3rd. Delivered big play in the late 3rd. Ran vertical route on PA pass. Wide open. Sam hit him for a gain of 37. Made big play on 3rd/5. Got open over middle vs DRC, then spun away, caught the ball and got 16 yards to move the chains.

AJIROTUTU – Played some of offense, but didn’t have any passes thrown his way.

OL

* Used unbalanced OL in late 2nd. Lined Johnson up between Peters and Barbre. Ran to that side and had a nice gain.

* Odd moment in early 3rd Qtr. OL moved, except for Kelce. Obvious confusion about snap count. Turned 3rd/3 to 3rd/8.

* There was a play in mid-3rd (2nd/3) where Kelce-Tobin and Barbre-Peters each doubled a DT and got movement. MOVEMENT. The B-P double team put that DT on his back. He looked like a turtle, laying on the ground and staring up at the sky. The other DT got driven back several yards and might have had the same fate, but hit a LB and that helped him to keep his feet. Great blocking.

PETERS – Best game of the year. Consistently fired off the ball and moved his guy. Was even aggressive in pass pro. Didn’t wait for rushers to come to him. Went out wide and blocked DB on quick screen to Huff. Opened that up for good gain. Terrific block of Wynn on outside run in early 3rd let Murray get wide for 11 yards. DE slanted hard to inside on 4th Qtr run. JP just buried the guy. Peters and Barbre doubled DT on 3rd/2 in early 4th. Moved the guy back a couple of yards and let Murray get the 1st down.

BARBRE – Good blocking on quick screen to Huff. Excellent block when he pulled to the left and took out DB on run that went for 9 yds. Missed block of 49 on 3rd/long draw play. Run only got a couple of yards. Had potential if he makes that block. Pulled left and cut MLB, allowing Murray to run for 8 yds. Couldn’t sustain block of backside DT on Mathews run to outside in late 3rd. Play got 7 yards, could have been more. He and JP worked really well together on double-teams.

KELCE – Another up and down showing. Holding call wiped out gain of 15 in the late 1st. Wasn’t totally his fault. Barbre tried to help him by hitting the DT. Hit was so strong it knocked DT off Kelce’s block. Hustled to make tackle after INT in early 2nd. Had a terrible moment in the mid-2nd. Snapped a ball early and off target. Went by Sam and cost the offense 18 yards. Drive killer. Got upfield and got piece of LB on run to left side. Couldn’t sustain, though, and that LB made tackle of Murray. Play got 8 yds, but had potential for more. Really good block of DT on Murray’s TD run. Got under his pads and got some initial movement. Made tackle after INT in mid-3rd. Kelce is a former LB. Sloppy block on DT in early 4th limited play to 3-yard gain. Had chance for a lot more.

TOBIN – Beaten by Whitlock spin move in early 3rd. Rushed Bradford into quick throw, but pass was still completed. Great block of DT on Murray’s TD run. Kelce got some initial movement. Tobin hit the DT and completely moved him out of the hole. Gave Murray tons of room. Whiffed on defender in early 4th or inside run play had room for good gain. Had to settle for just 2 yds. Generally did a good job in pass pro.

JOHNSON – Gave up sack late in the half. Apparently receiver ran a wrong route and that caused Sam to hold the ball. False start in early 3rd turned 2nd/1 into 2nd/6. Didn’t kill the drive, though. Failed to sustain block of DT on outside run to his side. DT tackled Murray and play only got 3 yards. Had chance for 10 or more. Terrific block in mid-3rd on run play. Drove DE almost 5 yards off the ball. Murray ran off RT for 11 yards. Good drive block of DE in late 3rd let Mathews have room for 1st down on 3rd/1 play. Came alive as the run game really got going in the 2nd half.

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DEFENSE

MISC

* Giants were 4 of 13 on 3rd down…much better in that category

* 1 of 1 in RZ…but only 1

* Shut down Shane Vereen. Limited him to 1-6 as receiver and no runs. Worst game of the year

* Exotic blitz look with BG at NT and Curry, Cox as stalking ILBs

* DBs tackled well and limited RAC yards. Giants quick passing game needs RAC yards. Got very few.

PLAYERS

DL

COX – Another big game. 4 solo stops, 1 sack and 1 FF. Jumped offside on opening drive. Opened the Giants 3rd drive by shedding the LG and engulfing the RB after short gain. Split double-team on 3rd/1 and stuffed cutback attempt by RB to keep him just short of the sticks. Shed the LT on 4th/1 and gave the RB no cutback option. Forced him to Graham for the TFL. Came up with strip sack in the early 3rd. Graham pressure off edge forced him up in pocket, where Cox had driven back the RG. Was able to knock the ball loose, but Giants recovered. Shed LG and stuffed Vereen for TFL to open the 4th Qtr. Beyond the numbers, disruptive all game long.

LOGAN – Has to be considered one of best NTs in football. Disruptive force every week. Shed block of C and stuffed RB for no gain in mid-1st Qtr. Disrupted 3rd/1 by driving the C backward at the snap. Part of interesting play in the early 2nd Qtr. Cox moved from over LT to LG. Tapped Bennie and said something. At the snap, Bennie looped wide and went behind Cox. Got into backfield and tackled RB for loss. Got pressure late in half and forced bad throw that went incomplete. Finished the game with 3 tackles, 1 TFL.

THORNTON – Up and down. Got pressure on 2nd Qtr pass play. Used quick move to get by the C and into Eli’s face. Reached for Eli and was called for roughing the passer (contact to the helmet). I never saw him hit the helmet. If he did, very light contact. Bad call. Read screen perfectly in mid-2nd and knocked pass down. Shed RG in mid-3rd and had chance to stuff RB. Whiffed and Logan got him. Sloppy run defense on a few plays. Isn’t controlling his blocker the way he did in the past.

CURRY – Excellent game. Disruptive. Timed get-off perfectly and got by RG for sack in the mid-2nd. I thought he was offside at first, but was actually great timing. Split a sack with BG in the late 2nd Qtr. Used inside move to get by RG this time. Split double team in mid-3rd and got his hands on Eli. Was about to sack him when Eli just threw the ball away. Had to settle for grounding call. Should have been a sack. Credited with 1.5 sacks and got pressure on plenty of pass plays.

BAIR – DNP

ALLEN – Shed block of LG and grabbed RB in late 3rd. Got driven back 5 yards by RB with some help from LG. Good, but not good. Only played 11 snaps.

HART – Did good job on 4th Qtr run. 2-gapped and wouldn’t commit to either side so RB had to look outside. Smith boxed him in, then Hicks got the TFL. Hustled on multiple plays to get in on tackles downfield. You want fresh players off the bench showing that kind of max effort. Only played 15 snaps.

OLB

BARWIN – What a jerk. Spent most of the night picking on the Giants RT. What did Marshall Newhouse ever do to Barwin? So mean. Barwin dominated Newhouse with power rushes. Lined up out wide, got a running start and just put the RT on skates, driving him right back to Eli. So fun to watch. Even on plays when Barwin didn’t get the sack, he was collapsing the pocket and making Eli uncomfortable. Only credited with 1 tackle, but was huge part of the dominant defense. Caught in no-man’s land on early bootleg. Jumped up for ball, but couldn’t quite get to it. Jumped offiside on 3rd/5 and kept Giants 2nd drive going. Drove RT into Eli’s lap and just missed sack in mid-2nd. Just destroyed the RT late in the half. Hit him and almost put the guy on the ground. Got pressure on that play.

GRAHAM – Probably his best game of the year. Made great play on 4th/1. Stayed under control at the snap. Didn’t fly into backfield. Let play start, then took on the FB. Pushed him back and gave the RB nowhere to go. Shed the FB and got the RB for a loss. Good job vs run in early 2nd Qtr. Lined up on left side and over TE. Engaged him at the snap. Play started away so BG peeked inside, but kept control of the TE. RB tried to go outside, but couldn’t. If Graham gets greedy and goes for TFL, he leaves big space. Graham didn’t make the tackle, but made the play. Split sack with Curry late in the half. Used a great up and under move to cleanly beat the LT. Graham used power rush to almost get sack late in the half. Beat the LT on 3rd/long in early 3rd. Hit Eli on the back with a hand as he stepped up in the pocket. Forced him up to Cox, who had strip sack. Destroyed the LT with power rush and crushed Eli in the lae 4th. Would have had sack, but Eli threw the ball into an OL’s back. Ugh. Be a man and just take the sack. Had half a sack and a couple of TFLs.

SMITH- Played in the late 1st. Lost backside contain on run play and let RB get upfield for gain of 9. Did a really good job on run play in mid-4th. Started upfield and saw draw. Used spin move to inside, but then runner cut back wide. Smith went outside again. Hicks got the TFL, but Smith helped by not giving the runner a clear running lane to either side.

BRAMAN – Played some in the 4th.

JONES –

ILB

KENDRICKS – DNP

RYANS – Looked a little bit lost in coverage early on. Let TE cross his face to catch early pass over the middle. There was mis-communication between he and Maragos on play where ODB got his TD. Maragos widend due to motion. Ryans thought he had inside help from Maragos and played outside technique. Easy TD for G-men. Physical vs inside runs. Had several tackles where he really popped the runner. Jarring hits. Eli threw quick out to TE on 2nd drive. Ryans got there quickly and made a good tackle. Short gain. 6 plays later, Eli got dumb or greedy or both. Tried same play to same side. Ryans made an even quicker break this time and stole the ball away from TE Larry Donnell before he could secure it. That stopped a drive in scoring territory. Huge play. Completely changed the game. Eli got Donnell matched up on Ryans again and tried to burn him deep in the late 1st. Donnell was behind Ryans, but DeMeco knew what to do. As Donnell reached for the ball, Ryans hit his arm and kept him from making the catch. Veteran move. Stuffed RB for minimal gain in early 2nd Qtr. Graham set the edge and Ryans scraped outside to put the RB on the ground. Recovered a fumble in the 2nd Qtr. Right place, right time. Didn’t play in the 2nd half due to hamstring injury. 5 solo stops, INT, PD, FR sounds like a terrific game. Amazing all of that happened in just 38 plays.

HICKS – Bit the cheese on early bootleg. Followed run action and left receiver open to his side for gain of . Did a good job of taking on blocks and keeping Ryans free to stuff run plays. Got TFL in mid-4th. RB was dancing and looking for hole. Hicks just flew up and got him. Got run over by Donnell on 4th Qtr pick play. Drew OPI call since Hicks was trying to cover Vereen. Had 10 solo tackles and 1 TFL in the game. Felt like he was right by the ball on most 2nd half plays. Either he made the tackle or was about to when someone else beat him to it. Very good in coverage throughout the game.

GOODE – Took over for Ryans at ILB after he left with hammy issue. Had great blitz in early 3rd Qtr that forced Eli into errant throw. Hicks blitzed A-gap and Goode looped around him and came free. Got his hand up and was right in Eli’s face. Perfectly executed and didn’t commit dumb penalty by hitting the QB. Good coverage of Vereen in mid-3rd. Pass was off target, but Goode was right there.

ALONSO – DNP

S

THURMOND – Helped to stuff 3rd/1 run in the late 1st. Cox pretty much had the RB under control, but love to see a coverage FS like Thurmond aggressively helping out vs the run. Made one bad play. Missed tackle of Beckham late in the 1st half on 3rd/16. Let play go for 17. Thurmond looked like he might have been trying for big hit instead of making simple tackle. Max went for ball on throw over middle in the 4th Qtr and missed it. Thurmond was right there to make the tackle and not give up an extra inch.

JENKINS – Had 4 solo tackles and a FF. Good in the box tackle of RB vs early 2 TE set. Terrific play in the late 1st Qtr. Lined up over Harris in slot. Giants tried to run wheel route. Jenkins stuck with the route perfectly. Ran route better than Harris and was in perfect position. Ball was intentionally overthrown. Made big play in the 2nd Qtr. Chased down RB from behind and knocked ball loose. Eagles recovered.

MARAGOS – #3 Safety. Mostly played deep.

COUPLIN – Didn’t see him on defense.

CB

MAXWELL – Did a good job on early 3rd down pass to Randle. Broke on the ball and looked like he had a better shot of getting to it, but was in the ground and incomplete. Gave up short completion ODB on 3rd/1 on crossing route. Chased him to far sideline and only gave up 5 yds. Called for holding in the late 1st. Legit call. Called for PI in the early 2nd Qtr. Legit. Gave Giants 13 yards. Gave up pass to Harris over the middle in the late 1st Qtr. Very handsy with Randle on route in late 3rd. Ball was incomplete. No flag. Tight coverage, but easily could have been flagged. Made tackle of TE after short catch in early 4th. Forced punt. Gave up pass to Randle in 4th for gain of 10. Went for the ball, but just missed it. Was in on 6 tackles.

CARROLL – Best game of the year. Played off coverage on early throw to his side, but broke on the ball quickly and made a good tackle. Randle pushed off to create a bit of separation on crossing route in the late 1st Qtr. Got 15 yards on the play. Carroll made a huge play in the early 2nd Qtr. Picked off short pass by Eli and ran it back for TD. Gave up short catch while playing off in mid-2nd. Broke quickly and pushed Randle out with no RAC yards. Gave up short completion to ODB in mid-2nd. Tackled him very quickly. No RAC yards. Had good coverage of Beckham on final play of 3rd Qtr. Pinned him along sideline. Eli threw that way, but the ball ended up out of bounds. Had perfect position on WR in 4th Qtr. Was inside and had guy pinned along sideline. Ball came right to Nolan, but couldn’t make catch. Had 6 tackles, INT (TD) and PD.

ROWE – Played one snap on D.

BIGGERS – Looks like they had him at Dime LB a few times. Missed tackle of TE Donnell in early 4th, but Max made the stop. Forced punt. Tackled RB after short catch on next drive.

RICE – DNP

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ST’s

JONES – Averaged 54.3 on 4 punts. Had 1 touchback and 1 downed inside the 20.

STURGIS – Good game. No misses. 2 of 2 on FGs and 3 of 3 on XPs. KOs were okay. Had 2 touchbacks. 4 were returned.

– MISC –

KOR – Riley Cooper returned opening KO. Should have let Huff get it. Only got 12 yards on that play. Huff returned on later on and got 21 yards.

PR – Sproles best return came in early 4th. Made a couple of guys miss and got upfield for 13 yards. Finished 4-25 in the game.

* Good tackle by Cooper in punt coverage in early 2nd Qtr. Made a strong, physical tackle on the run.

* Great job by Biggers as gunner in mid-2nd Qtr. Flew downfield and hit Harris just after ball got there. Harris lost 3 yards on the return.

* Eagles got big break in early 3rd when 2 Giants hit Jones as his leg came down from punt. They contacted him and didn’t give him room to finish. Obvious penalty. Those 5 yards turned 4th/2 into 1st down. Actually heard analyst say after the game that he knew they broke the rule, but still didn’t like the call. Can you get more ridiculously biased than that? Ugh.

* Jerome Couplin did a good job on 3rd Qtr KO. Fought through a block and got in on tackle.

GAMEBOOK