Eagles down Giants in unconvincing fashion, 22-16

PHILADELPHIA. PA - Sunday’s goal was clear for Nick Sirianni and the Eagles; Win, just win. After enduring the last two weeks without star QB Jalen Hurts, the Birds were in a must-win situation in order to secure the number one seed and an NFC East division crown. And while they didn’t put on the clinic many expected to see as the number one ranked team in the NFL took on the New York Giants B-squad, the Birds got the job done and will now await their opponent as Wildcard weekend approaches.

“Your gonna win some ugly ones and your gonna lose some, the last two weeks we thought we just weren’t up top to our standard, winning in this league is hard to do and we won’t apologize for that” That is a snippet of what Nick Sirianni had to say when he was asked if he was concerned with the teams recent struggles heading into the playoffs. While you can’t argue what he’s saying, there is still room for concern heading into the round of 14. Over the last 3 weeks, we’ve seen an Eagles team that has taken multiple steps back from their previous form. It’s plain to see that the Birds have lost their midseason stride just as other clubs like the 49ers, Bills, Chiefs, and Giants have hit theirs.

Despite the winning line, it never at any point felt as though the eagles were “running away” with the ballgame as the Giants made sure that Jalen Hurts and the starters wouldn’t see the bench all the way into the 4th quarter. Even with a 19-0 lead mid-way into the 3rd, there was still an uneasy feeling in the building as the Giants began to put up some resistance, scoring twice, once on a 14-yard Davis Webb run that made it just 19-9. And as the stagnated offense continued to toil, it seemed at one point that the Giants may even have a chance to come back. Though they did eventually come away with the victory, the postgame emotions of Eagles players and coaches didn’t reflect those of a club that had just won an NFC East crown.

Momentum is a huge factor in the NFL and that seems to be the one thing the Birds don’t have. Over the past 3 weeks, the Eagles have ranked toward the bottom of the league in offensive efficiency and nearly every other major offensive stat. It definitely has shown on the field as the Birds put up only 10 points on a lowly Saints squad last week, and scored just one touchdown in last night’s win, instead of opting to give the nod to Jake Elliott who accounted for 16 of the Birds 22 points, going 5/5 on field goals and 1/1 on PAT attempts. As the playoffs approach, and the Eagles await their opponent (being the lowest-seeded NFC team to advance during wildcard weekend, either; Tampa, Dallas, Giants, or Seattle) we will have to hope that the bye week treats the squad well DE Josh Sweat, CB Avonte Maddox, OT Lane Johnson, and possibly a near 100% Jalen Hurts could all be possibilities come the divisional round.