October 20, 2024
In Week 7, the Philadelphia Eagles blew out the New York Giants in Saquon Barkley's return to MetLife Stadium. As always, win, lose, or tie, we hand out 10 awards.
During the first ever offseason version of "Hard Knocks" this summer, HBO documented Saquon Barkley's free agency and subsequent signing with the Eagles from the perspective of the Giants. During that process, owner John Mara said to GM Joe Schoen, "I'm gonna have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that."
Well, Schoen very clearly didn't want Barkley on the Giants' roster anymore, and Barkley did indeed land in Philly.
On Sunday he had 17 carries for 176 yards and a TD, with several highlights throughout the game. He had this 55-yard gain.
SAQUON. 55-YARD RUN.
— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
📺: #PHIvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/x02woOkZaj
Notice the blocks by Cam Jurgens and Fred Johnson on that run.
"Fred did a great job sealing that edge, and on that play I can go inside or outside, and he did a good job of making it clear where I should go, and I just skated out the backside, saw there was just one guy left, and Saquon is gonna make you look good," Jurgens said.
Barkley also had this 41-yard gain:
Saquon Barkley is at it again.
— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
📺: #PHIvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/iGCd9x3WWo
Notice the block by linebacker/fullback Ben VanSumeren, who led Barkley through a hole that wasn't necessarily the intended direction of the play.
"That's just blocking color," VanSumeren said. "That's just instincts. We want to put a hat on a hat and move these guys, so if you can do that every play you're going to give yourself a chance."
Barkley also posterized a Giants safety.
Saquon Barkley my goodness. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/4zek3cFZI9
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) October 20, 2024
That last run was actually a 3rd down play that ended up short of the first down, and the Eagles subsequently punted, but nobody will remember that.
Barkley and the Eagles' offensive line dominated in the run game, as they often do against the Giants:
| Eagles rush O | Rush | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Week 12, 2021 | 33 | 208 | 6.3 | 1 |
| Week 16, 2021 | 30 | 130 | 4.3 | 1 |
| Week 14, 2022 | 31 | 253 | 8.2 | 4 |
| Week 18, 2022 | 34 | 135 | 4.0 | 1 |
| Divisional, 2022 | 44 | 268 | 6.1 | 3 |
| Week 16, 2023 | 35 | 170 | 4.9 | 2 |
| Week 18, 2023 | 24 | 133 | 5.5 | 0 |
| Week 7, 2024 | 45 | 269 | 6.0 | 3 |
| AVERAGE | 34.5 | 195.8 | 5.7 | 1.9 |
Giants running backs combined for 11 carries for 41 yards. It's going to be a bad night for Mara, and perhaps a tough day for Schoen tomorrow.
The Eagles pass rush got out to a slow start this season, but they had 5 sacks Week 6 against the Browns, and 8 sacks Week 7 against the Giants.
Jalen Carter and Nakobe Dean had two sacks apiece, while Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff, Nolan Smith, and Jalyx Hunt each had one.
When asked what clicked with the pass rush, Brandon Graham responded, "Just hearing y'all talk s**t. That's what clicked. (Loud BG laugh). But for real, that helped. Keep talking. Keep talking. Tell them to keep talking. I love when we hear it, but I know that sacks come in bunches. Once we smelled that blood in the water, we just kept coming."
The Giants had a historically awful offensive line last season, when they allowed 85 sacks. They've been a competent group this season, but looked a little bit more on Sunday like they did a year ago after losing star LT Andrew Thomas for the season. Still, credit the Eagles' pass rush for smelling blood, as Graham put it, and taking advantage of an overmatched line.
The Eagles used a lot of premium draft capital on defenders who played at Georgia.
• Jalen Carter: 10th overall pick, 2023
• Nolan Smith: 30th overall pick, 2023
• Jordan Davis: 13th overall pick, 2022
• Nakobe Dean: 83rd overall pick 2022
The Eagles desperately need those guys to produce, and they did on Sunday. Carter, Smith, and Dean combined for 17 tackles and 5 sacks. Davis didn't have any stats, but Giants running backs had 4 yards in the first half.
Also, Georgia beat No. 1-ranked Texas on Saturday.
The Eagles' defense didn't allow any touchdowns Week 6 against the Browns, and they didn't allow any against the Giants Week 7 either. The Giants' team stats:
• Points: 3
• Total yards: 119
• Rushing yards: 76
• Passing yards: 43 (!)
• Third down: 3/14
• Punts: 11 (!)
A.J. Brown made a big play... again.
JALEN HURTS TO AJ BROWN ON 4TH DOWN. 41-YARD TD.
— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
📺: #PHIvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/H2S70NsOda
Brown has 16 catches for 324 yards (20.3 YPC) and 3 TDs in the 3 games he has played in this season.
Turnovers were a problem for Jalen Hurts in 2023, and that carried over into the Eagles' first four games in 2024. But over the last two games, Hurts has not turned the ball over, and he has mostly been efficient with the football.
On Sunday Hurts only had to throw 14 times, completing 10 of those passes for 114 yards and the dime to Brown for a TD, shown above. He was also able to wiggle away from a sack and pick up a crucial 16-yard gain that led to a game-sealing TD.
Third down… FIRST DOWN EAGLES!
— DIE-HARD 🦅 REALTOR® (@Eaglesfans9) October 20, 2024
Jalen Hurts breaks a tackle and moves the sticks! pic.twitter.com/8ex9QeLQE8
He also scored on a pair of Brotherly Shoves.
"If we need to run the ball to win games, that's what we're going to do," Landon Dickerson said. "If we need to throw the ball to win games, that's what we're going to do. At the end of the day, whether it's the run game, pass game, I don't really care what we do as long as we're doing to right thing to win the game. Some people like different things, but I like wins more than anything else."
With Jordan Mailata on IR with a hamstring injury and Mekhi Becton suffering a concussion, the Eagles were without two offensive line starters. They gave up 5 sacks on a day in which the Eagles didn't pass a whole lot.
The Giants did come into this matchup leading the NFL in sacks, so the Eagles were at least facing a formidable defensive line, but it's not often that we see the Eagles' usually stellar offensive line give up pressure they way they did on Sunday.
Fans and media won't harp on the Eagles' slow starts this week because this game turned into a blowout, but the Eagles still haven't scored a point in the first quarter yet this season.
13 possessions. 59 plays, 175 yards (2.97 yards per play), 5 three-and-outs, 3 turnovers. 0 points.
That's still a problem.
As of this writing, the Commanders are beating the atrocious Panthers 37-7, so they'll remain in first place in the NFC East. The divisional standings will look like this when that game is officially a Commanders win:
| NFC East | Record | Div record |
| Commanders | 5-2 | 1-0 |
| Eagles | 4-2 | 1-0 |
| Cowboys | 3-3 | 1-0 |
| Giants | 2-5 | 0-3 |
The Eagles kept pace with the Commanders, gained a half game on the Cowboys, and pretty much buried the Giants.
Remember "The Gauntlet" last year? Well, the Eagles are in the middle of the the opposite of a gauntlet right now.
Those four teams have a combined record of 8-20 (0.286) with a combined point differential of -140.
Two down, two to go.
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader
