BARKLEY, O-LINE LEAD EAGLES TO DOMINANT WIN OVER BIG BLUE
- Al Thompson
- 45 minutes ago
- 8 min read
The faces of the Eagles offensive linemen said it all after the Birds ran all over the New York Football Giants at Lincoln Financial Sunday afternoon, rushing for 276 yards as a team and 179 yards the the air as the Eagles (6-2) blew out the G-Men 38-20 in a game not as close as the score may indicate.
The only blemish on the day was with sacks- four of them – on Jalen Hurts who was 15 of 20 passing and quarterback rating of 141.5.
The linemen kept saying they were just a block here or a block there from breaking things open offensively.
They were also banged up.
All Pro right tackle Lane Johnson has dealing with stingers, Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens has had lingering issues from offseason back surgery and a recent knee strain forced him to sit out the game Sunday.
Three-time Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson had offseason knee surgery and has had back and ankle issues that forced him to miss the first Giants game on October 9, a 34-17 loss.
On the Wednesday before the game Dickerson said he was playing at about “70-75 percent” of his all-star self.
He has not been himself all season, which might explain why the Eagles running game, historically good in 2024 was ranked No. 30 out of 32 teams after Week 7.
After the Eagles 28-22 win over the Minnesota Vikings on the road, Dickerson said he felt better as the game went on.
Did he feel better as the game went on and the O-line was having its best day of the season?
“I mean a little bit,” Dickerson said at his locker after the game. “It (still) doesn't feel good.
Didn't having two one-hundred yard rushers make Landon feel better?
“Maybe emotionally,” he said.
Dickerson said he felt Sunday was going to go their way. His ankle is still sore, his back still bothers him.
“We just kind of had a feeling, I don't know,” Dickerson said. “It was just a feeling. It gets frustrating when you're one block away...if we were just six inches farther over here, we could have broken it...things just kind of clicked today.”
Dickerson was asked how Brett Toth played in place of Jurgens.
“I thought Brett did a good job,” Dickerson said. “It's tough...Brett's a swing guy..he kind of goes in for anybody. For him, especially, having a week at center there, go in and make the calls. He's playing against a really good tackle (Dexter Lawrence II)...I think he did well.”
GOOD START FOR THE OFFENSE
It didn't take long for Eagles Saquon Barkley to finally break the big one...on the second play of the first drive the 2024 rushing king blow by at lest three defenders for a 65-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead
Barkley had said getting the ball from his quarterback under center allowed him to see the field better.
Barkley went through a hole created on the left side which is populated by Mr. Landpn Dickerson, who, on Wednesday said he was at “70-75 percent” for the Giants game.
After the Giants went three-and-out, the Birds mounted a drive that stalled at the Giants 40-yard-line. Jake Elliott's 58-yard attempt hit the right upright and was no good.
The miss gave Big Blue the ball near midfield. Jaxon Dart took advantage of the field position and drove 52 yards on six plays ending on a Cam Scatttebo 18-yard TD pass from Dart.
On the kickoff Will Shipley returned the ball to the Eagles 47. The ensuing drive ended with a nine-yard TD pass from Hurts to Barkley. Eagles led 14-7.
The Giants made it 14-10 on a 34-yard field goal by Graham Gano.
The Eagles made it 21-10 at the half when Hurts found tight end Dallas Goedert in the end zone on a six-yard pass.
The Giants never really recovered.
Goedert scored on a 17-yard pass from Hurts with 11:17 left in the fourth to make the score 31-13. Eagles wide receiver Jahan Dotson 38-13 with 5:59 left in the fourth quarter when he went full A.J. Brown when he ripped the ball from cornerback Korie Black at the five line and walked into the end zone.
Dart scored a garbage time TD from the two 2:44 left in the game.
Elliott ended his missed field goal streak at two with a 40-yard field goal. Eagles lead 24-10 with 7:03 left in the third.
DEFENSE WAS UPLIFTED BY OFFENSE'S BREAKOUT GAME
The Eagles players to a man said a big reason the Giants doubled them up three weeks ago was from a lack of physicality. Safety Reed Blankenship was asked if that element of their game was on their minds going into today's game.
“It was a huge issue stating this week,” Blankenship said at his locker after the game. “I feel like we gave to to them a little bit. I felt like our guys were flying around no matter what was going on...just don't let them into the end zone. I felt we did a great job doing that.”
Blankenship days he feels the Eagles are starting to get it together.
“I feel like it's starting to come together,” said Blankenship, who finished with five solo tackles. “Last year we were 2-2 going into the bye, we didn't know what our identity was.
“Fast forward to this year, we're 6-2, feeling good going into the bye. Obviously, there's still mistakes here and there that we can work on, but that's part of the game. We want to keep getting better. It's always an uphill climb.”
The Eagles offense rushed for 276 yards with Barkley gaining 150 yards on 14 carries and third-year running back Tank Bigsby recorded 104 yards on nine carries.
Did seeing the offense have a breakout game give the defense some inspiration?
“Oh my God,” Blankenship said, reacting to the question. “It's huge. If I was on defense, it's going to be a long ride home. That's kind of demoralizing...you have two backs who come in, I think they both rushed for 100 yards? That's tough. That's a tough day at the office for them boys. I'm glad we got the job done.”
Bigsby talked at his locker about getting some opportunities.
“It felt great,”: Bigsby said. “I'm just doing what I can to help the team win. Grateful for the opportunity. Just always being ready when your name is called. I just want to be the best player I can be when my number is called. I'm just happy we won today.”
GIANTS LOSE STAR ROOKIE RUNNING BACK
According to NFL.com, Giants running back Cam Skattebo suffered a dislocated ankle in the second quarter of the team's 38-20 loss to the Eagles.
The rookie out of Arizona State underwent surgery Sunday night at a local Philadelphia hospital, the team announced.
Coach Brian Daboll confirmed Monday that Skattebo underwent surgery but did not disclose the severity of the injury or his expected recovery timeline.
"All went well," Daboll said. "He's recovering. Obviously, he'll be missed but on the road to recovery. ... He's got a road ahead of him.
SOUR GRAPES OVER 'TUSH PUSH' CALL
With the score tied 7-7 early in the second quarter, the Birds were facing fourth and inches at the Giants eleven-yard line with 12:57 left in the half. Hurts and his O-line tried a Tush Push play which they have done countless times over the last few years.
Hurts crossed the first-down marker, but linebacker Kyvon Thibodeaux ripped the ball out of Hurts’ hands.
The call was that Hurts' forward motion has stopped before the ball was knocked out. The Giants challenged and lost.
Tribodeax at his locker after his game was not buying it.
“Man...ugh...That was some bull---t,” the fourth-year outside linebacker out of Oregon said at his locker. “When it comes to that play, and what happened...they refs...they kind of have a hard job...they don't know when to stop it.
"I think it's tough on defense because you stop the first surge, the refs don't blow the whistle...you get the ball out and you take it...all of a sudden it's like...whatever he said...forward progress...at the end of the day you just have to keep playing...s--t happens...keep trying to give your best”.
Thibodeaux was asked if the refs give and explanation to the defensive players on the field?
“He said they called the forward progress before [Hurts] reached the ball out. Sounds like bulls--t to me.”
Thibodeaux continued to rant realizing he is doing a press conference at his locker in front many media members, many cameras...some from the league.
“That's the hard part of the Tush push...” Thibodeaux said, then the idea of a fine for ripping officials must have come to mind for Tribodeax as he stopped, smiled and said, ”That was a great call by the ref.”
Thibodeaux didn't blame the loss on the officials or the “Tush Push” itself.
“You can't blame miss calls on anything,” Thibodeaux said. “We didn't stop the run. They made the 50-50 balls, they got the best of us.”
QUOTES AND OTHER STUFF
Barkley limped off the field in the fourth quarter after a long run. He was seen limping and went to the medical tent for evaluation. It was announced he suffered a mild groin injury that does not seem to be serious.
Barkley was at his locker after the game talking about the running game and how it works.
“The thing that's important is knowing the scheme we've got to run, dominate our blocks, and
I think our O-line did an amazing job with that today,” Barkley said. “I thought KP (Kevin Patullo) and those guys did and amazing job calling plays today.”
Hurts, who tied a career high throwing four touchdown passes, was asked how important it was for the offense to be efficient in both the running game and the passing game.
“Very important. Very important,” Hurts said. “I think we've been having a desire. We've had a desire to stay on schedule and be better on first and second down, really first down.
“And those guys up front, they played their tails off in the combo blocks and getting movement in the run game. And then Saquon being Saquon.
“He had those opportunities and he took them and made the most of them. And then Tank (Bigsby) coming in and running as hard as he did.
“I think those things, when you're able to run the ball efficiently like that, it kind of gives you a flow a bit. And so proud of how we were able to run the ball and I'm proud of how we were able to make plays and win in the red zone and take advantage of those opportunities there, too.” *
Email Al Thompson @al.thompson@footballstories.com
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