Giants-Eagles Stock Market: Eagles Win The Backup Bowl

The Eagles finished 14-3 on the season with a Week 18 win over the Giants.

Jan 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Will Shipley (28) is tackled by New York Giants cornerback Cor'Dale Flott (28) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles rested most of their key contributors on Sunday but it didn't matter. Third-string quarterback Tanner McKee threw for two touchdowns and a Philadelphia defense paced by the 17 tackles of Oren Burks stymied an undisciplined New York Giants team en route to a 20-13 win.

The Eagles and Giants finished as polar opposites on the season with Philadelphia at 14-3 and destitute New York at 3-14.

The Eagles move on to Wild Card Weekend where they will host the 11-6 Green Bay Packers next weekend.

TANNER TIME

Tanner McKee, the Eagles' QB3, was effective, especially early in setting the tone during Philadelphia's first offensive drive with consecutive completions to the returning Dallas Goedert before throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ainias Smith, the first of the rookie's career. Later, McKee got E.J. Jenkins his first TD on his first NFL reception.

McKee went 17 for 26 for 190 yards in the first half, with one, spreading the ball to seven different receivers. The 190 passing yards were the most for Philadelphia in any firts half this season.

McKee finished 27 of 41 for 269 yards and a 100.6 passer rating, one of the highest-volume passing games of the season for a typically run-centric team..

GOOD TO GO GOEDERT

Typically Goedert would be one of the key contributors the Eagles would have rested in a game like this. However, the star tight end missed the previous four games with a sprained knee so the Eagles wanted Goedert to work off some of the rust before the playoffs start next week.

Goedert delivered in a big way by hauling in the first two completions of the game from McKee and finishing with four receptions on six targets for 55 yards.

With Jalen Hurts set to return next week from a concussion, getting a trusted target like Goedert back for the Eagles is an important development for the Eagles.

DOT-STANDING

Usually, the team's WR3, Jahan Dotson sees little traffic coming his way each week leading some to criticize the Eagles for acquiring the 2022 first-round pick before the season.

With A.J Brown and DeVonta Smith sitting on Sunday, Dotson got to show off his ability as the WR1 and generated consistent separation for McKee, hauling in a team-high seven receptions for 94 yards, numbers near his career-high of eight receptions for 108 yards set against Philadelphia last season while with the Commanders.

Dotson also did a smooth job as the punt returner giving Michael Clay another option if Cooper DeJean is declared too important for the defense to continue in the role.

HEALTH

The Eagles rested a host of starters and decided not to play several others who had to dress. Obviously, none of these players, which included playmakers Saquon Barkley, A,J, Brown, and DeVonta Smith, were injured with the postseason kicking off in a week.

There were also no obvious injuries suffered by those who did play so all's well that ends ell for the Eagles.

THE BEARS

KICKING GAME

It's been a tough season for Jake Elliott and most of that was tied to long-range field goals. For the first time Sunday Elliott missed from under 40 yards against the Giants when he was wide left from 39 yards in the second quarter.

Braden Mann was back on kickoffs and his second one was delivered out of bounds. Meanwhile, a low punt in the fourth quarter allowed Ihmir Smith-Marsette to return it 25 yards to the Philadelphia 38 down 17-10.

THIRD DOWNS

The Eagles and McKee did a lot of nice things but third down wasn't one of them. Philadelphia converted just three of 14 opportunities on the night (a disappointing 21.4% on the afternoon).

MORE NFL: Eagles Ride Backups To 14th Win, Beat Giants And Turn Attention To Playoffs