Week 6 Recap: Eagles Defeat Giants, 34-13

Keith Allison via Flickr

NFL

The Philadelphia Eagles Come Out Strong In Win Against The New York Giants

Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles took a win in their first division matchup of the season. After falling to 2-3 in Week 5, Philadelphia’s season hung in the balance. While the Eagles have not placed themselves back in the power rankings, Philadelphia showed new promise.

New York, on the other hand, has all but cleaned out their lockers for the 2018 season. They currently sit at 1-5 and 0-2 in the division after six weeks of football. If the Giants made the playoffs, they would be the first team in the NFC East to make the postseason after starting the season at 0-2, nevertheless 1-5.

Philadelphia Eagles

Up until Thursday Night’s game, the 2018 Eagles were unrecognizable to the team of last year. Philadelphia couldn’t find ways to win; from play calling problems, poor game management, injuries and more the Eagles were floundering.

Against the Giants, Philadelphia called multiple run-pass options, instituted the hurry-up offense, and ran the ball with force. While the Eagles still saw problems at the offensive line and some problems on defense, overall the game was a great reset for the birds.

Wentz In True Form

A welcomed sight to sore Philadelphian eyes: Wentz rolling out of the pocket and throwing a bullet to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery in about the only place Jeffery could catch it and the defense couldn’t. Wentz looked much more comfortable on Thursday night to both move out of the pocket as well as make more dangerous throws he’s shown he can complete.

Play Calling

Wentz was only asked to throw the ball 36 times compared to the 50 attempts he took against Tennessee in Week 4. The Eagles also ran the ball over 30 times between two running backs, Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement, and Wentz himself. Philadelphia’s ground game was able to put up 108 yards.

Rumors have been swirling about GM Howie Roseman signing a new RB after Jay Ajayi was placed on IR. Before the game, Clement told Roseman this decision was unnecessary, and Roseman told him to prove it. Tallying 43 yards on 11 carries was an excellent showcase for a healing Clement and may have changed Roseman’s mind.

When Wentz was asked to throw the ball, the Eagles lined up in their pistol formation with consistency throughout the game. This formation gave Wentz extra space between him and the New York defensive line that made all the difference. This was a formation former play-caller Frank Reich used heavily. Philadelphia’s run-pass option plays also made their return against the Giants.

The summation of these schematic changes kept Wentz from taking as many hits as he has these first few weeks. Wentz was sacked just once and hit only five times. In contrast, he had been him 11 times in Week 5.

New York Giants

Ammo With No Aim

The New York Giants have one of the most talented rosters in football. Despite all of the weapons in the arsenal, the captain under center seems to have no aim. QB Eli Manning has always been a streaky player but the last few years have been awful.

Manning went 24/43 for 281 yards and one INT. The interception came on the third play of the first drive of the game. Manning has historically never been able to come back from games where he’s let up early turnovers. His delegation of those 281 yards had OBJ in near hysterics during the game.

Barkley accounted for 99 yards off nine receptions while Beckham had just 44 yards off six receptions. Beckham’s four other targets were thrown grossly off the mark. While Manning generously spread around his targets, the majority of this throws were simply uncatchable.

Thursday’s loss was the Giants biggest point differential this season. Their offense can often keep them in the game but never forces their opponents to have to outscore them. New York has lacked the ability to put games away rather than constantly playing catchup.

An Average Defensive Performance

The Giants’ defense is good but not great. With the current state of the offense, New York’s defense will need to become great to start winning games. While they do a great job at containing the run, the secondary allows a lot of plays for moderate yardage in the middle of the field.

Wentz and the Eagles made sure to take advantage of this. The Giants’ defense can only hold opponents for so long as their offense normally doesn’t give them much time on the sidelines. While the Eagles seemed to have their way with the Giants, New York’s defense isn’t really to blame.

They allowed 108 rushing yards and 278 passing yards by a dominant QB looking to have a breakout game. It wasn’t a great performance, but it wasn’t horrible either. The defense just needs the offense to lengthen drives and put points on the board. The offense, on the other hand, needs to the defense to shut teams out.

NFC East Playoff Picture

The most winningest division in the NFL has produced four painfully mediocre and poor teams this year thus far. The Giants’ postseason hopes are almost finished for sure. If the Cowboys, Eagles, and Washington were having an average season, New York would be out of the playoffs unequivocally.

Before Thursday’s game, each team was below .500 and in the bottom ten teams in scoring. The Eagles now sit at 3-3 with a tough schedule ahead while Washington is now far behind them.

If the Eagles continue playing how they did on Thursday and the Cowboys continue to perform as they have this season, Philadelphia will only have Washington to worry about. The next division matchup will be October 21st with the Dallas Cowboys taking on Washington to either take their second division win or give Washington their first.

Photo Credit

Featured Image courtesy of Keith Allison

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