Anthony DiBona
Just two weeks into the regular season, many of us were ready to write off the Philadelphia Eagles. They looked like a team without direction or the talent to succeed. Now just a few weeks later and they’re sitting atop the NFC East in first place after a dominant victory 27-7 over the New York Giants.
But once again, it felt like another disappointing win for the Eagles. Sure, the defense proved it’s one of the league’s best and likely won’t get the credit they deserve. Yet the offense continues to struggle, especially Sam Bradford as he threw some inexplicable interceptions last night. One of Bradford’s picks essentially looked like a punt, which many chalked up as a “miscommunication,” but that shouldn’t happen in week six of the regular season.
The lone bright spot on the offensive side of the ball was once again the running game. DeMarco Murray had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season, against one of the NFL’s best rushing defenses. But a good chunk of Murray’s yards came when the game was already out of hand anyway. So depending on how you look at it, the Eagles’ offense still isn’t where it should be.
Alright, enough about the disappointing offense, let’s get happy again! The Eagles may have one of, if not, the best defense in the NFL. Call me crazy for saying that but I don’t care, they straight-up dominated the Giants last night. After New York’s 80-yard opening drive that was capped off with an Eli Manning touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants racked up a whopping 167 total yards for the rest of the game. Just think about that!
The Eagles allowed just 167 total yards on offense after the Giants opening drive.
— DiBirds (@DiBirdsBlog) October 20, 2015
It’s time to stop saying the Eagles’ defense is “playing out of their minds,” maybe they’re just this damn good. Even without Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso, two of their best players, they’re still shutting down some of the league’s best offenses. The story was no different last night against the Giants as they held them to just 59 total yards in the second half. New York’s longest drive of the second half was nine plays for 17 yards…seventeen yards.
Here’s one last stat proving just how dominant the Eagles’ defense was last night against the Giants, courtesy of yours truly:
After the Giants opening drive, they averaged 2.9 yards per play against the Eagles for the rest of the game.
PER PLAY!
— DiBirds (@DiBirdsBlog) October 20, 2015
That’s all for my recap of the Eagles dominant victory over the Giants. Now the team will face it’s toughest test of the season to date, when they travel down south to take on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday Night Football. Be sure to check back here at Philly Influencer for everything and anything going on in the City of Brotherly Love!