The win clinched the Eagles’ playoff spot for the second straight season in a game that showed the difference between a Super Bowl contender and a leaky team battling for a playoff berth. The only other time in Eagles history that they were 12-1 after 13 regular season games was in 2004, when they won the NFC Championship and lost, 24-21, to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. (Technically, the 1949 NFL champion Eagles were also 12-1, but that includes their 14-0 NFL championship win over the Los Angeles Rams.) Miles Sanders’ 144 yards rushing against the Yankees pushed him to 1,068 yards rushing this season, making him the first Eagles running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season since LeSean McCoy rushed for 1,319 in 2014. AJ Brown’s 70 yards gave him 1,020 yards in 2022, making him the first Eagles receiver to surpass 1,000 receiving yards since Jeremy Maclin had 1,318 in 2014. The Eagles are the only undefeated NFL team on the road, and their 23 rushing touchdowns and plus-13 turnover differential tops the NFL—as does their 12-1 record. With 35-plus points in their last three games, the Eagles’ 123 combined points total is the longest three-game stretch since 1950. An interesting tidbit is the Eagles’ 34-14 lead early in the fourth quarter was the largest fourth-quarter lead on the road against the Giants since they beat New York, 41-28, on Dec. 19, 1971, at Yankee Stadium . The irony is that former Eagles coach Rich “Richie The K” Kotite scored a fourth quarter touchdown for the Giants in that game. There was a mountain of good, a touch of bad and some glaringly bad in the Eagles’ 48-22 loss to the New York Giants.
The good
Quarterback Jalen Hurts was once again phenomenal. He completed 21 of 31 for 217 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 77 yards and another score. Running back Miles Sanders’ two touchdowns and 144 yards rushing on 17 carries, averaging 8.4 yards per carry. His 40-yard touchdown run with 6:01 left in the game was met with two great blocks, one by tight end Grant Calcaterra to Giants safety Jason Pinnock and the other by tight end Jack Stoll to Giants linebacker Jaylon Smith, setting up a path for Sanders’ second score. Calcatra actually stumbled a few times before reaching Pinnock, though he still carried out his mission. Hurts’ 10-yard run sealed the game with 1:41 left in the third quarter. On the play, center Jason Kelce pulled right and blocked Giants linebacker Tae Crowder, left guard Landon Dickerson blocked Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence and left tackle Jordan Mailata pulled right, expected to eliminate any other interference. . By the time Mailata reached his spot, Hurts had already gone through the scoring hole. It was great game design blocked to perfection. The Eagles’ first-half offense produced 24 points, scoring on four of five drives, amassing 217 yards of total offense, an average of 6 yards per play, picking up 14 first downs, converting 4 of 7 third downs (two on penalties, a conversion resulted in a TD) and 1-of-1 fourth-down conversions (resulting in a touchdown), while Hurts completed 17-of-24 for 156 yards and two touchdowns. On the Giants’ fourth drive, they were able to move the ball up midfield. On a second-and-six at the Eagles’ 46, Brandon Graham and Patrick Johnson did a great job of throwing Saquon Barkley for a four-yard loss. Graham jostled right guard Mark Glowinski from the middle and Johnson came from behind. On third-and-10 at midfield, linebacker TJ Edwards picked off a Daniel Jones pass. Graham later had a fumble recovery that led to Boston Scott’s TD in the fourth quarter. The Eagles finished with seven sacks for minus-35 yards. AJ Brown’s 33-yard touchdown run beat Giant linebacker Nick McCloud, who had to pick Brown up close, and safety Jason Pinnock, who was nowhere to be found within yards of Brown having the ball in his hands of. It was a great read and find by Hurts, who caught Brown breaking free in the middle of the field. Brown actually started this play at receiver, on the right side, and ran right next to McCloud. By the time Brown was at the five, McCloughan was about five yards behind. DeVonta Smith’s 41-yard touchdown pass between Giants running back Darnay Holmes, who trails Smith by a yard, and tight end Julian Love, who may have blinked to hit Smith because he horribly whistled the ball and receiver. It’s a beautifully thrown pass from Hurts, whose touch is light years better than it was this time last year. By halftime, Smith had five catches on seven targets for 64 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles’ second drive, when they went 91 yards in 12 plays, took 4 minutes, 55 seconds. The key plays were Hurts’ 9-yard completion to Quez Watkins on a third-and-four at the Philadelphia 15, Hurts’ eight-yard run for another down on a third-and-six from the Eagles’ 41 and, of course, the 41 -yard Hurts to Smith on a fourth-and-seven. On the Giants’ first drive, sacks by Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat totaled nine yards, pushing New York back from the 42 to the 33 and forcing the Giants into a third-and-17. Sweat, Reddick, Javon Hargrave and Fletcher Cox put an exclamation point on Jones on a botched Giants fumble to stay competitive on fourth-and-eight at the Eagles’ 23 with 9:58 to play. On the Eagles’ opening drive, they traveled 84 yards in 14 plays while chewing 8 minutes, 5 seconds off the clock. A huge play came on the eighth play of the drive when Hurts’ 7-yard pass to Smith turned into a third-and-six at the New York 31. The Eagles made three of three first downs, one on a penalty, the Hurts-Smith connection that kept the drive going and Miles Sanders’ three-yard run that capped the drive. Left tackle Jordan Mailata, left guard Landon Dickerson and center Jason Kelce all make turnovers and down blocks to the right to pave the way for Sanders to march into the end zone for the first score. The Giants could do nothing to stop the Eagles on the opening drive, which was a harbinger of the day to come for the Eagles.
The bad
Right guard Isaac Seumalo is beaten inside by offensive lineman Azeez Ojulari for an 11-yard sack, back to the Eagles’ two. On the next play, the Giants blocked a punt, giving them an open door for their first touchdown. Gary Brightwell’s 13-yard run up the middle on the Giants’ first play of their second drive. Fletcher Cox was easily thrown aside by Giants right guard Mark Glowinski and Javon Hargrave caught him and was turned over by left guard Shane Lemieux.
The ugly one
After a week where the special teams shined, they reverted to their lousy ways. Punter Arryn Siposs received no protection in the middle. After making a solid defensive play earlier, Patrick Johnson was pushed behind by Giants tight end Ellerson Smith, whose left arm rose to block the punt in the end zone. Three plays later, the Giants scored for the first time. Sipos was injured in the game and later removed from the field. Safety K’Vaughn Wallace is beaten by tight end Daniel Bellinger for an 11-yard gain on the Eagles’ quarterback on the Giants’ first play after the blocked punt. Cornerback Darius Slay was tackled by Isaiah Hodgins on Jones’ two-yard pass with 2:57 left in the half. Slay received little help from the defensive front, which gave Jones plenty of time to find the broken receiver up the middle. Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area and has written stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Daily News. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project for ESPN.com titled “Love at First Beep.” He is best known for his award-winning ESPN.com feature on high school wrestler AJ Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015 he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
