Big Blue View
I doubt anyone was surprised that the outcome of the Thursday night game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles would be 34-17. Likewise, if I predicted before the game that it would involve the winning team’s defense shutting out the opposing offense and winning off of timely takeaways in the fourth quarter, I think most people would be nodding along.
But while the general shape of the game went entirely according to expectations, nobody expected that it was the Giants who doubled their opponent’s score with 5 touchdowns, 3 of which came on the ground. Likewise, nobody would have expected that it would be the Giants to shut out the Eagles in the second half.
So how did they do it?
If there’s one thing that stood out on replay with regards to the Giants’ defense against the Eagles, it’s just how disciplined and unselfish they were.
There was some grumbling during — and after — the game that the Giants weren’t exerting much pressure on Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts. It is true that the Giants didn’t pressure Hurts that often, and he only had nine (9) drop backs when under pressure (per NFL NextGenStats). However, it wasn’t so much that the Giants failed to pressure Hurts or that pressure wasn’t their goal.
Rather, the Giants’ goal was to contain Hurts, keep him in the backfield, and exert pressure at opportune times.
For instance, here’s how the Giants started the Eagles second drive after the Giants scored a touchdown on their first possession.
The Giants line up with a defensive front consisting of: Brian Burns, D.J. Davidson, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, and Abdul Carter. However, the Giants’ speed rushers don’t attempt to blow past the Eagles’ blockers. Instead, all four of the Giants’ defenders play with power, holding their blockers and constricting the pocket. This is underneath a Cover 1 shell, which locks down most of the Eagles’ receivers.
Dallas Goedert makes a 5-yard catch, however he’s the Eagle’s only option on the play. The Giants’ pass rush playing as they did kept Jalen Hurts in front of them, preventing him from stepping into the pocket or escaping to buy time. Meanwhile, the coverage design essentially dictates where the ball goes and allows Tyler Nubin to come downhill and tackle Goedert for a minimal gain.
From there, the Eagles attempt to run the ball, however Barkley is brought down for a 3-yard loss. It was likely that the Eagles would run in that situation, which was disrupted by Brian Burns shooting the left B-gap.
That brought up third-and-8, and the Giants’ first sack of the evening.
The Giants come out for this snap with their Four Aces DIME package, with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Dexter Lawrence, and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the line of scrimmage. The secondary is composed of cornerbacks Paulson Adebo, Cor’Dale Flott, Dru Phillips, and safeties Jevon Holland, Tyler Nubin, and Dane Belton. Bobby Okereke is the only off-ball linebacker on the field....
