It’s wasn’t the kind of exclamation points Eagles fans wanted to see to end the regular season.
Instead, the Eagles narrowly defeated the Giants’ backups 22-16 to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the first-round bye.
While the Eagles definitely aren’t going into the playoffs playing their best football, having the No. 1 seed, the chance to get healthier without a game next week and home field advantage throughout the playoffs is a huge advantage.
OK, now for the grades from this game:
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 20/35, 229 yards, 1 INT; 9 rushing attempts, 13 yards
Give Hurts a ton of credit for toughing it out and getting back on the field for his team. He clearly wasn’t 100 percent but he knew the Eagles needed to win this game so he was out there. He missed some throws and his interception in the red zone early in the second half was brutal. It was an OK performance but the Eagles need Hurts to heal up over the next couple of weeks and have to hope the MVP version returns in the divisional round.
NFL
Grade: C
Running back
Boston Scott: 9 attempts, 54 yards, 1 TD
Not a great afternoon for Miles Sanders, who had 11 carries for 33 yards and a drop on a play where he might have been demolished by the defensive player. But Scott played the Giants and he kills the Giants. He averaged 6.0 yards per carry and scored his 10th career touchdowns (of 17!) against the Giants.
Grade: B-
Receiver
A.J. Brown: 4 catches on 10 targets, 95 yards
While Brown’s catch percentage wasn’t great, getting 10 targets is fine. And DeVonta Smith chipped in with 67 yards on 7 catches. Brown set the franchise record for receiving yards in a season and Smith set the franchise record for receptions by a receiver. Quez Watkins chipped in just 2 catches for 14 yards but Brown and Smith — as always — led the way.
Grade: B
Tight end
Dallas Goedert: 6 catches on 7 targets, 46 yards
Goedert had an efficient game, catching just under 86% of his targets. The Eagles finally connected on a screen to Goedert, which should be a weapon when the Eagles get into the playoffs.
Grade: B
Offensive line
Not the strongest performance from the Eagles’ offensive line, which is really missing Lane Johnson at right tackle. Jack Driscoll is a solid enough backup but Johnson is the best right tackle in the game. The Giants were obviously blitzing because that’s what they do but there were moments where the line gave up some pressure they really shouldn’t have, especially going against backups.
Grade: C
Defensive line
Haason Reddick: 1 tackles, 3 QB hits
This was a weird game for the Eagles because they got just two sacks and neither came against the quarterback. In his first NFL start, Davis Webb was not sacked by the NFL’s top sack defense so credit to him. The Eagles got pretty constant pressure on Webb all afternoon but couldn’t bring him down. Some nice plays from Reddick, Javon Hargrave and even Robert Quinn in this game.
Grade: B
Linebacker
Kyzir White: 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hits, 1 TFL, 2 PBUs
White had struggled some in recent weeks but turned in a strong performance in this game, leading the team in tackles and filling up the stat sheet everywhere else. Meanwhile, T.J. Edwards struggled some in coverage, but still had 10 tackles. Edwards did miss an interception opportunity.
Grade: B
Secondary
C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 7 tackles, 1 TFL
After missing five games with a lacerated kidney, Gardner-Johnson returned for this game and showed off his verticality. He started the game at safety and played there in the Eagles’ base package and then slid up to play slot corner in the nickel package. He was active in this one. Darius Slay gave up a touchdown to Kenny Golladay and Reed Blankenship was truck-sticked by Webb for a touchdown. The Eagles also had a few chances for interception and failed to make plays; in the playoffs, they need to make them.
Grade: C+
Special teams
Jake Elliott: 5/5 on FGs, including 2 from 50+
Elliott hadn’t made more than 2 field goals in any game this season and he made 5 of them against the Giants, including one from 52 and one from 54. So the Eagles should have confidence in their kicker going into the playoffs, which is huge. But veteran punter Brett Kern has been shaky. He had two punts for 67 yards; a 38-yarder and a 29-yarder. Yes, it’s cold, but that needs to get better.
Grade: B
Coaching
Record: 14-3
The game plan on offense was pretty vanilla in this game and you’d probably want to see the Eagles call more straight running plays in a game where the starting quarterback is dealing with a sore shoulder. The Eagles had plenty of RPOs that turned into passes. On defense, the Eagles pitched a first-half shutout but had one of those typical frustrating drives. Still, they got the job done.
Grade: B-
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