No Miracles Needed

Normally losing your punter mid-game would be a huge issue. The Eagles offense was so good against the Giants that Arryn Siposs leaving the game was more a concern for his role as the holder than the punter.

The Eagles scored 48 points and piled up 437 yards. They were up 21-0 and controlled the game throughout. The Giants scored a TD in garbage time to make the final score 48-22. If there was any question about the difference in the quality of these teams, it was answered emphatically. The Giants struggled to do anything. The Eagles made things look easy.

The Giants have a new coaching staff, lack top talent and are dealing with a lot of injuries. Give them credit for playing hard and never giving up. They just didn’t have the horses to win this game. They were going to need some help from the guys in green, but they played a pretty clean game and that meant a W for the good guys.

Jalen Hurts had another strong performance. He started red hot, going 9 for 10. Beyond the numbers, he was spreading the ball around and using the whole field. He completed passes to eight different receivers in the first half. His best throw came on a 3rd down to DeVonta.

Hurts is placing these throws so well! pic.twitter.com/cPlU5wZq7n

— Laurie Fitzpatrick (@LaurieFitzptrck) December 11, 2022

Not a huge gain, but such an accurate pass and such a catchable throw. Love seeing plays like that. It kept the chains moving and helped lead to a TD.

After going up 7-0, the Eagles faced 4th and 6 on the next drive. They were at the NYG 41, no man’s land. Too far to kick a FG, but not somewhere you want to punt from. Nick Sirianni believes in being aggressive so he went for it.

No alligator arms here. DeVonta Smith catches the fade and runs it in for the TD pic.twitter.com/WSBBrOVJXO

— Laurie Fitzpatrick (@LaurieFitzptrck) December 11, 2022

Boom. TD. Eagles were up 14-0 and they had control of the game.

Hurts finished the game 21-31-217 with a pair of TDs. The Giants blitzed a lot and Hurts burned them. He had one scramble for a 1st down in the first half, but did most of his damage with his arm.

The Eagles turned to the ground game in the second half. Miles Sanders ran for 100 yards and Hurts ran for 60…after halftime. The Eagles finished with 253 yards on the ground. Sanders set a new career high with 144 yards (17-144-2). He’s now got 11 TDs this year and more than 1,000 rushing yards. Sanders also blocked really well in the game. He was terrific.

There were times in the second half when the Giants seemed to have no idea what the Eagles were doing. Defenders were confused as Sanders, Hurts and Boston Scott ran all over them. This offense can be so much fun to watch. The Eagles have now scored 123 points in the last three weeks. Talk about getting hot at the right time of the year…

The defense was very good as well. They came up with 7 sacks and a takeaway. They limited Saquon Barkley to 9-28 on the ground. He wasn’t completely healthy, but the defense was so good that I don’t think it made a big difference.

Brandon Graham led the way with 3 sacks and a FF. He was very disruptive. I thought Fletcher Cox played well. He had a sack, but was in the backfield on a regular basis. Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick also had sacks.

STs was interesting.

https://twitter.com/Eaglesfans9/status/1602013177444794375

That was an illegal punt, something I don’t ever recall hearing before. You can’t kick the ball after it hits the ground. That mistake set the Eagles up with great field position and they scored.

The Eagles had their own punt disaster.

https://twitter.com/Eaglesfans9/status/1602018694489669633

That set the Giants up in the red zone and they scored a TD. Ugh.

Worse, Siposs was hurt on the play and left the game. It was called an ankle injury. We’ll have to wait and see if he’s going to miss some time. Does anyone have Sean Landeta’s phone number and a single-bar facemask?

I focused on how Siposs absence would affect 4th down decisions. It didn’t even occur to me to think about him as the holder. Britain Covey took over that role and was perfect. Kudos to the rookie for stepping into that role on a cold, rainy day and coming up big for his team.

The Eagles got a 16-yard PR from Covey and a 66-yard KOR from Boston Scott. It is very encouraging to see STs showing some progress. On the punt that was blocked, the Eagles didn’t have enough space to work with so that made it easier for the Giants to get pressure and a hand on the ball. The offense did a bad job on that series.

Injuries were an issue. Reed Blankenship left the game with a knee injury that didn’t look good. LB Kyron Johnson got hurt. Lane Johnson sat out most of the fourth quarter but said he could have played if needed. Hopefully nothing comes of that.

Losing Blankenship hurt. K’Von Wallace struggled after taking his place. We’re still a couple of weeks from CGJ returning. Josiah Scott got some safety reps and can help fill that void until CGJ does come back.

The Eagles are clicking on all cylinders right now. This team looks good and you know other teams are paying attention. The Vikings lost to the Lions today and the Cowboys had to come from behind to beat the Texans in the last minute. The Eagles are clearly the best team in the NFC right now. I think they’re the best team in the NFL period.

They are 12-1 and officially in the playoffs.

That’s nice, but they have bigger fish to fry.

_