EAGLES 38 – GIANTS 7
When quarterback Jalen Hurts guided the Philadelphia Eagles on a crisp 75-yard scoring drive to open the football game, culminating in a 16-yard touchdown to Dallas Goedert, one had to know that the Giants were in big trouble.
Hurts was a perfect 4-for-4 for 60 yards on that opening drive. Any concerns over Hurts’ injured shoulder subsided quickly as he tore apart a healthy Giants defense. Hurts looked like the man that guided the Eagles to a 13-1 start to the season, and the Eagles looked like the team the G-Men saw in Week 14 when they served up a 48-22 smackdown.
On the Giants ensuing drive, Daniel Jones had Big Blue moving into Eagles territory with completions to Richie James and Lawrence Cager; but the drive quickly stalled when Jones was sacked for a five-yard loss on third down.
Instead of punting the ball and playing defense, Brian Daboll inexplicably decided to go for it on fourth and eight. Jones was nearly sacked before tossing the ball away. The Giants turned the ball over on downs at midfield.
The Eagles quickly responded, scoring again eight plays later with Hurts hitting DeVonta Smith for a nine-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
Just like that it felt like the game had totally slipped away.
It's been that kinda night for the Giants 😕 pic.twitter.com/K3KS0ifPJJ
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 22, 2023
By the time the halftime gun sounded, the Eagles held a 28-0 lead. They out-gained the Giants 258-64; had 18 first downs to the Giants three, and held the Giants to only 20 yards rushing. Saquon Barkley managed only seven yards on four carries in the first half alone.
In short, the Giants had no answer for Hurts and company. The Eagles did practically anything they wanted to all night long.
And so the season ends in a 38-7 loss to the Eagles. Big Blue finished the season 10-8-1 and 1-5-1 in the NFC East. All five NFC East losses were to the Eagles and Cowboys combined. The Giants have a lot of work to do in order to close the gap in their own division.
Regardless, it was an immensely successful season for Big Blue. The Giants made the playoffs for the first time in six years, and won a playoff game for the first time since Super Bowl XLVI in 2011. Daniel Jones enjoyed a renaissance season, and head coach Brian Daboll proved to be one of the best head coaching hires of the 2022 hiring cycle, and could be the NFL Coach of the Year.
Now a busy off-season awaits. The first order of business will be working out deals with free agents to be quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkely. Reports over the past few weeks indicated the Giants have an interest in bringing them back. The questions will be can they? We will find out soon enough.