No matter how bad things may have seemed to Philadelphia Eagles fans, they can be happy about one thing - they're not New York Giants fans. With a 36-21 road win at the Meadowlands against the now 0-5 Giants, the Eagles improved to 2-3 on the season and 2-0 against NFC East teams. With Dallas losing a shootout to Denver on Sunday, the Eagles are now tied for first in the division, with winless Tampa Bay next on the slate.
Philly led throughout most of the game, but had to settle for field goals early and often. With Michael Vick at quarterback, the team led 16-7 late in the 2nd quarter. However, as Vick was running out of bounds after gaining around ten yards for a first down, he appeared to reach for his hamstring and was removed from the game a couple plays later in favor of back-up quarterback Nick Foles. With Foles behind center, the team was able to kick a field goal at the end of the first half to go up 19-7 at the break. A pair of 3rd quarter touchdowns put the Giants up 21-19 and it appeared as if the game was slipping away from the Eagles. A late 3rd quarter field goal and a pair of 4th quarter touchdowns, however, vaulted the Eagles to re-take the lead and win the game by the final count of 36-21.
With the oft-injured Vick going down again and Foles leading the offense in the 2nd half to seal the victory, reports of a quarterback controversy were inevitable. Vick is scheduled for an MRI today, so it's yet to be determined just how serious the hamstring injury is. After the game, however, head coach Chip Kelly said Michael Vick is his starter if healthy.
While all the spotlight will be on the offense this week, especially with Vick going down and Foles stepping in, more attention should be placed on the Eagles defensive and special teams units. Both were atrocious in the team's 52-20 loss to Denver last week, and outside of a decent first-half performance against Washington in Week 1, Philly's defense has produced more facepalms by the coaching staff and fans than they've made tackles. Both units stepped up big this week against the Giants, however. The defense allowed only 53 rushing yards for the game (3.1 per), and forced four critical turnovers - picking off Eli Manning three times and recovering a fumble. Also, after allowing two special teams touchdowns a week ago, Giants returnmen averaged around 19 yards on kickoffs. Place kicker Alex Henery was 5-5 on field goal attempts. Punter Donnie Jones averaged 47.8 yards on six kicks and pinned the Giants back inside the 20-yard line on two occasions. All-in-all, I think it's pretty safe to say that this performance was the Eagles most complete one of the season thus far.
Offensively, it was kind of a strange game for the Eagles. Philadelphia scored eight different times, but five of those eight scores were field goals. Michael Vick was the most effective runner for the game, as he gained 79 yards on 7 carries (11.3 per). LeSean McCoy was bottled up for the most part - gaining just 46 yards on 20 rushes (2.3 per). He did score one touchdown, however. Overall, the team ran for 140 yards on 37 carries (3.8 per). The two quarterbacks combined to complete 22 of 39 pass attempts for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Vick completed just 6 of 14 passes for 105 yards, while Foles completed 16 of 25 pass attempts for 197 yards and a pair of 4th quarter scores. The quarterbacks spread the ball around to six receivers. DeSean Jackson led the way with 7 catches for 132 yards (18.9 per) and a touchdown.
Now at 2-3 and tied for first place in the NFC East, the Eagles will travel to Tampa to face the winless Buccaneers, before heading home to play two divisional opponents in the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. It's my guess that Vick may sit out the game against Tampa, so he can be fully ready to take on the two NFC East teams in the coming three weeks. Even if Philly splits those two games, they'll be 3-1 in the division, with two such games remaining, including their final game of the regular season - a game at Dallas. For as poorly as the Giants have played, it's nearly impossible to know what all could be learned about this Eagles team in the long-run based on this performance. For all the talk surrounding the two quarterbacks, this game came down to one thing - turnovers. The Eagles were +4 on the day, are +2 on the season, and if they continue to be on the plus side of things, they'll have as good a chance as anyone to come out of the NFC East, regardless if their starting quarterback is Michael Vick or Nick Foles.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=331006019
Philly led throughout most of the game, but had to settle for field goals early and often. With Michael Vick at quarterback, the team led 16-7 late in the 2nd quarter. However, as Vick was running out of bounds after gaining around ten yards for a first down, he appeared to reach for his hamstring and was removed from the game a couple plays later in favor of back-up quarterback Nick Foles. With Foles behind center, the team was able to kick a field goal at the end of the first half to go up 19-7 at the break. A pair of 3rd quarter touchdowns put the Giants up 21-19 and it appeared as if the game was slipping away from the Eagles. A late 3rd quarter field goal and a pair of 4th quarter touchdowns, however, vaulted the Eagles to re-take the lead and win the game by the final count of 36-21.
With the oft-injured Vick going down again and Foles leading the offense in the 2nd half to seal the victory, reports of a quarterback controversy were inevitable. Vick is scheduled for an MRI today, so it's yet to be determined just how serious the hamstring injury is. After the game, however, head coach Chip Kelly said Michael Vick is his starter if healthy.
While all the spotlight will be on the offense this week, especially with Vick going down and Foles stepping in, more attention should be placed on the Eagles defensive and special teams units. Both were atrocious in the team's 52-20 loss to Denver last week, and outside of a decent first-half performance against Washington in Week 1, Philly's defense has produced more facepalms by the coaching staff and fans than they've made tackles. Both units stepped up big this week against the Giants, however. The defense allowed only 53 rushing yards for the game (3.1 per), and forced four critical turnovers - picking off Eli Manning three times and recovering a fumble. Also, after allowing two special teams touchdowns a week ago, Giants returnmen averaged around 19 yards on kickoffs. Place kicker Alex Henery was 5-5 on field goal attempts. Punter Donnie Jones averaged 47.8 yards on six kicks and pinned the Giants back inside the 20-yard line on two occasions. All-in-all, I think it's pretty safe to say that this performance was the Eagles most complete one of the season thus far.
Offensively, it was kind of a strange game for the Eagles. Philadelphia scored eight different times, but five of those eight scores were field goals. Michael Vick was the most effective runner for the game, as he gained 79 yards on 7 carries (11.3 per). LeSean McCoy was bottled up for the most part - gaining just 46 yards on 20 rushes (2.3 per). He did score one touchdown, however. Overall, the team ran for 140 yards on 37 carries (3.8 per). The two quarterbacks combined to complete 22 of 39 pass attempts for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Vick completed just 6 of 14 passes for 105 yards, while Foles completed 16 of 25 pass attempts for 197 yards and a pair of 4th quarter scores. The quarterbacks spread the ball around to six receivers. DeSean Jackson led the way with 7 catches for 132 yards (18.9 per) and a touchdown.
Now at 2-3 and tied for first place in the NFC East, the Eagles will travel to Tampa to face the winless Buccaneers, before heading home to play two divisional opponents in the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. It's my guess that Vick may sit out the game against Tampa, so he can be fully ready to take on the two NFC East teams in the coming three weeks. Even if Philly splits those two games, they'll be 3-1 in the division, with two such games remaining, including their final game of the regular season - a game at Dallas. For as poorly as the Giants have played, it's nearly impossible to know what all could be learned about this Eagles team in the long-run based on this performance. For all the talk surrounding the two quarterbacks, this game came down to one thing - turnovers. The Eagles were +4 on the day, are +2 on the season, and if they continue to be on the plus side of things, they'll have as good a chance as anyone to come out of the NFC East, regardless if their starting quarterback is Michael Vick or Nick Foles.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=331006019
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