At least it was fun — 4 takeaways from Giants-Eagles a day later

This game did not mean a single thing for the Eagles.

The NFC East is locked up, the second seed is locked up, and most of the starters spent the afternoon in hoodies on the sideline.

However, it is always nice beating the Giants, which the Eagles did, 20-13. They tied their franchise record in wins with 14, finishing the year 14-3, and now prepare to face the Packers in the Wild Card next Sunday.

Here are just four takeaways a day after the win:

The secret is really out now

After the Eagles’ dominant win over the Giants in Week 17, Jordan Mailata said the secret is out. The secret in question is Tanner McKee. He has now been fully exposed as an extremely solid quarterback.

What he did in limited time against Dallas was done with the best offensive line, running back, and wide receiver duo in the league. Against the Giants, he performed at a high level with an entire offensive line full of backup, a bunch of rookies, and backup receivers (excluding Dallas Goedert early in the game).

McKee threw 27/41, 269 yards, and two touchdowns, good for a rating of 100.6.

McKee is very tall, is accurate, and has a lot of intelligence in the pocket. All the attributes a young QB needs. McKee sure does have a bright future in this league.

I am sure we are all ready for a backup QB debate.

Good seeing Goedert return

Goedert returned from his four-week absence with a knee injury, and he looked good.

He did have one bad drop that should have been a first down, but otherwise, he caught four passes for 55 yards, good for his fourth-biggest game of the season despite playing just the first half. 

We obviously have not seen a lot of Goedert over the past few seasons, just because of how much talent there is around him on offense, but this was a good reminder of Goedert’s potential. When he is healthy and making plays, Goedert is one of the best tight ends in football. No question. It is just he is not out there a ton due to injury.

If the Eagles are going to make a deep playoff run like they want to, they need Goedert to be a factor. Sunday was a good ramp-up for him.

Third-string defense dominates starting Giants’ offense

The Eagles’ defensive backups held the Giants’ starting offense to 238 yards and 13 points Sunday afternoon. That is hilarious.

Yes, it is Drew Lock and the 3-14 Giants, but come on. That is awesome.

The Eagles’ efforts on Sunday locked up the NFL’s No. 1 defensive ranking for the season. This comes one season after they ranked 26th and were in absolute shambles by the end of the season.

This defense was rebuilt back into the best defense in the league, and a lot of that is on Vic Fangio. They are young, they are very good, and they will come up big in the playoffs.

Elliott is the Eagles’ biggest concern going into the playoffs

It is never going to be all positive.

Jake Elliott missed a 39-yard field goal with 14:06 left in the first half. It was his first miss inside 40 yards this season.

He did hit from 24 yards and 32 in the game, but it was another miss for Elliott this season.

He finished the year 28-36 kicking field goals, just 77.8%, and a career-worst 1-7 from 50+ yards. His average field goal percentage is 84.8.

There are absolutely going to be times this postseason where the Eagles are going to need points in a big spot. Can they rely on Elliott to knock in three from long distance? Right now, it is not looking great.

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