On Second Watch: Eagles’ Rout Over Giants Was A Statement Not An Identity

Don't expect the Eagles to dive into their running success against the Giants.

Oct 20, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) hands off to running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) during the second half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - My immediate reaction after the Eagles’ 28-3 destruction of the offensively-challenged New York Giants was “well done.”

You can only play who’s on the schedule and for the second consecutive week, fate gifted Philadelphia with a lesser foe. 

After a 20-16 white-knuckler against Cleveland where embattled head coach Nick Sirianni had to play the it’s-hard-to-win in the NFL card in Week 7, Sunday’s declarative win in North Jersey came with the added style points of Saquon Barkley embarrassing his old team and the fans who once worshipped the superstar running back only to turn their backs and burn the laundry that once represented the idolatry.

Forget about the Eagles as a whole, Barkley outgained the moribund Giants by himself (187 to 119) and didn’t even play the fourth quarter.

Then came the overreactions with a substantive victory tint attached to them.

And those overreactions were just as rash as wanting to run Sirianni out on a rail after the loss in Tampa without A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Lane Johnson back on Sept. 29.

This time the pendulum swung to the Eagles now have an identity based on a 269-yard rushing performance versus 14 passes thrown by Jalen Hurts, an idea Sirianni brushed off with succinctness.

"It’s what we needed to do this week to win," the coach said.

Former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz used to explain that games have personalities.

And the personality of this one was punt-punt-punt-punt-punt-punt-punt (seven if you’re counting)  before the Eagles struck gold on their fourth possession with a 55-yard Barkley run off left end with the help of a pulling Cam Jurgens.

Four plays later Barkley and Co. pushed things in from three yards out for what turned out to be the winning score with just under 39 minutes left in the game.

In the fourth quarter, the Eagles ran 15 plays and 13 were runs because they were already up 21-3 en route to the 28-3 final.

The personality of this game was that the New York offense was so ineffectual that the Eagles could afford to stay conservative and be patient with the run to wear down a Giants defense that doesn’t excel in that aspect generally.

None of that is transitive to Week 8 at Cincinnati and certainly not to more accomplished foes in the distance.

Nor should anyone want it to be because the goal for this offense is to evolve not devolve into a 1975 mindset to protect a $255 million quarterback.

The Eagles win over the hapless Giants accomplished a lot of things, most notably peace of mind for Barkley and some more confidence for a young, emerging defense that hasn’t given up a touchdown in nine quarters,

In the end, Philadelphia authored a statement victory in East Rutherford. However, you don’t establish identifies against the patsies on your schedule 

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