4 things we learned from the Giants’ 34-17 victory over the Eagles

I entered this game not considering a New York Giants victory over the Philadelphia Eagles as a possible outcome. That’s sad, because I do feel that the Giants’ talent has been upgraded this season, while the Eagles’ has either diminished a little, or been out of sync thus far, or some of both. Thus my pre-game thinking for this post focused on a few smaller questions:

• With Jalen Carter out, could the Giants run the ball effectively against the Eagles’ defense?
• With Landon Dickerson out and the Eagles’ offensive line as a whole not being quite as impressive as in years past, could the Giants’ defense somewhat neutralize Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts?
• Could Jaxson Dart figure out a Vic Fangio defense (made more difficult by the absence of Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton)?

Well, I’ll be darned.

The Giants defeated the Eagles for the first time since Tyrod Taylor defeated them, 27-10, in the meaningless final game of the 2023 season. This game was anything but meaningless. Let’s look at a few reasons why.

The defense came to play

I know, I know, you want to focus on the offense. But the defense was a huge part of the Giants winning this game. Brian Burns is having a monster season. With three dangerous edge defenders on this defense, Burns is leading the pack with his play. He had another two sacks tonight when the game still hung in the balance. In addition he had three solo tackles and four assists. The Giants’ interior run defense was better last week than it had been, and it was really solid tonight, holding Saquon Barkley to 58 yards on 12 carries and the Eagles overall to 73 yards on 20 carries. The Eagles’ OL was not at full strength, but this was still the best run defense we’ve seen from the Giants this year. Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Dexter Lawrence each had four assisted tackles. It also took four consecutive tush pushes (plus the referees not flagging their guards for moving before the snap) for the Eagles to get into the end zone on one of their TDs. Ultimately, limiting the effectiveness of the running game is the way to beat the Eagles.

The secondary looked shaky in the first half. Paulson Adebo had a rough time with A.J. Brown, but how many cornerbacks don’t? Dallas Goedert was a thorn in the Giants’ side as always. But the second half was different. The Giants shut the Eagles out for an entire half with the game on the line. Dru Phillips helped force one of the Eagles’ fumbles, and Cor’Dale Flott made the secondary’s biggest play of the season, intercepting Hurts in the second half when the Eagles were driving. Flott (I think) played the entire game tonight, as Shane Bowen finally jettisoned the rotation with Deonte Banks. It’s no accident that the Giants’ two wins this season have also been the defense’s best efforts.

I’m not sure what Jaxson...