Crisis averted: 5 takeaways from Giants-Eagles a day later
Drew Hallowell / Philadelphia Eagles
Two weeks ago, the Eagles were embarrassed in East Rutherford. They were outphysicaled and outclassed by the Giants in their second straight loss.
Things looked slim for the Eagles. Their backs were to the wall. The offense was stagnant. The defense was soft.
Look how quickly things can change in the NFL.
The Eagles avenged their loss in Week 6 to the Giants with a resounding, 38-20 win over New York at Lincoln Financial Field Sunday afternoon.
Philadellphia goes into the bye at 6-2 and riding high off their best win of the season, featuring the first complete game this team has played all year. What a sight it was to see in those Kelly Greens.
Here are my five takeaways a day after the win:
1. The run game is back on track.
It feels like every week the story is “when will Saquon Barkley achieve the century mark?” It has been a struggle for the Eagles to break a big one on the ground all season. They felt like they were just one block away. They got that one block on the second play of the game, where Barkley took a 65-yard run to the house.
It was shades of the Barkley we had seen in 2024. Shifty in the backfield, extinguishing the holes, and beating every man in sight, reaching a top speed of 21.68 mph, his fastest speed of the season.
His previous high was 18 yards on a rush. He beat that quickly in Week 8. Not just that, but he beat down all allegations. He had 14 carries for 150 yards, averaging 10.7 per carry, the 65-yard score, and also caught one, for a total of 174 scrimmage yards.
However, Barkley exited the game early with a groin injury as the time hit zero in the third quarter. Tank Bigsby, who was acquired after Week 1 from Jacksonville for a 2026 fifth and sixth-round draft pick, came in to ice the game.
After Jalen Hurts took a bad 16-yard sack, the Eagles were faced with a 2nd-and-26. With Barkley sidelined, Bigsby got the call, twisted his way through the Giants, broke a couple tackles, and got a monster 29-yard gain for the first down. Not just was it a first down, but it ultimately ended the game. Hurts fired a touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert a few plays later, and the Eagles led by 18 with 11 minutes to go.
Bigsby followed Barkley’s main act with the encore: nine rushes for 104 yards. The duo became the first pair of running backs with 100+ rushing yards each since Week 16 of 2013, when LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown combined for 248 yards in a 54-11 rout over the Bears at the Linc. Barkley and Bigsby combined for 254 yards on the ground, 118 more than their next closest game this season, and averaged 8.4 yards per carry, their most in a game since 2020.
Bigsby paved his way to the RB2 spot Sunday afternoon, coming up huge in a much-needed situation.
2. Brett Toth proved us all wrong. He had received so much slander last week when he filled in for and injured Cam Jurgens in Minnesota. He turned it around and was excellent against the Giants.
Toth, a seventh-year veteran, worked his way through Jeff Stoutland University, can play anywhere on the line. Center, tackle, and guard. It is extremely difficult to be thrown into the middle of a game to fill in as a swing guy as he did against the Vikings. But, this week, he had a whole week of practice at center, and it showed.
The Giants’ defensive line has stars, headed by Dexter Lawrence right there in the middle. Toth held his own. The Eagles do not have those big plays and rush for 276 yards without him.
He pulled blocked, dominated on passing plays, and looked like he belonged on Sunday.
His best block of the day came on Barkley’s big run to end the third, the play he hurt his groin. He pulls out, picks up the cornerback Korie Black, who was playing in-tight, and opens up the massive hole for Barkley.
Toth signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He also spent time with the Cardinals and Panthers, and has bounced between practice squads and active rosters throughout his time in the NFL. In seven years, he has appeared in just 28 games, and Sunday was just his fourth start.
He proved to the organization that he can do it, and built confidence in himself after years of struggle in the NFL. Good for Toth.
3. Goedert thrived on National Tight Ends Day. But he has really flourished all season long.
With Goedert due for a new deal this offseason, he has a career-high in touchdowns with seven, all in the last six games. His two touchdowns Sunday tied him for the most in the NFL with Amon-Ra St. Brown. Since 2015, only three tight ends have recorded seven or more receiving touchdowns in their first seven games played in a season: Rob Gronkowski in 2015, Travis Kelce in 2022, and now Goedert this year.
With A.J. Brown out, Goedert essentially became the second option for Hurts. He did not put up flashy numbers, but his three catches for 28 yards and two touchdowns were enormous.
4. This Eagles defense went from bullied to the oppressor. Two weeks ago, the Giants smacked them around and completely out-toughened them. Sunday was a complete 180.
Before garbage time, the Eagles’ starters held the Giants to 13 points. They got consistent pressure, were not scared to get in there like they were two weeks ago, covered well, shut down the run, and recorded a season-high five sacks, with Zack Baun, Jalyx Hunt, Moro Ojomo, Jalen Carter, and Jordan Davis responsible for the five. Hunt was all over the place with nine pressures, which was huge on a day the Eagles only dressed three edge rushers due to injuries.
The Giants lost Cam Skattebo to a horrific ankle injury in the middle of the second quarter, but the Eagles held them to just 68 rushing yards and 3.2 per carry, both the lowest the Eagles have allowed this year.
Vic Fangio was embarrassed walking out of MetLife Stadium two weeks ago. He made the adjustments, and the Eagles dominated.
5. The bye week is a good time for reflection. This team is 6-2, the most wins in the NFC, against teams with a combined 29-23-1 record, heavily weighed down by the Giants’ 2-6 mark.
Nothing has come easy. Most of these wins have been sloppy, and the losses have been appalling.
But when you look at the amount of talent they lost in the offseason, the offensive playcalling they received earlier this year, the locker room conundrum as of late, and the injuries, this start is very impressive.
It is the culture that Nick Siranni and Hurts have built over the years. Keeping the main thing the main thing: winning. It is all that those two do. Since Siranni took over and Hurts became the full-time starter in 2021, the Eagles are 55-22, including playoffs. That is second to only the Chiefs, who have been to three Super Bowls over that span.
The Eagles have their flaws. All teams do. The Eagles have as good of a shot as any team in the NFC to get back to the Super Bowl. They are 6-2 with inconsist play and identity issues. One can only imagine how this team will look when it all comes together.
Last season, the Eagles were 6-2 through eight weeks and just finding themselves. Seems pretty parallel.
Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin has been covering Philly Sports for Philly Sports Reports since 2017. He is a podcaster, writer, and founder of Philly Sports Reports. Benjamin is also an intern at the WBCB Sports Network on 1490AM. Through Philly Sports Reports, Benjamin has gotten the opportunity to meet Phillies owner John Middleton in his suite and be honored as the Philadelphia sports fan of the week for KYW News Radio. He hopes to be reporting on Philly sports as a full-time job in the future.
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