Domination

[time2rock]

Domination

Posted: January 22nd, 2023 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

The Giants came into Lincoln Financial Field as the Flavor of the Week. That ended quickly and harshly. The Eagles scored on the opening drive to go up 7-0 and never looked back. It was 28-0 at halftime. The final score was 38-7.

Domination.

The Eagles have flown under the radar in recent weeks after being the best team in the NFL for most of the year. The rest of the league saw just how good this team is as they totally controlled this game.

The Giants played well at Minnesota last week and that game had a weird effect on people. You had some good media members and analysts buying into the Giants. I re-watched that game during the week and could see it was completely fool’s gold. The Vikings were terrible. They made it easy for the Giants. Things were very different in South Philly. The Eagles came out hot and hungry. They showed right away they were the better team and physically overwhelmed the Giants.

DT Dexter Lawrence was incredibly good for the Giants a week ago. Not so much this week. He got 6 tackles, but no TFLs or QB hits. He was basically a non-factor. That’s not an insult to him, but rather a compliment to the Eagles OL. Those guys were awesome. They kept Jalen Hurts clean and paved the way for the Eagles to run for 268 yards. Miles Sanders ran for 90 and Kenny Gainwell for 112 (his first 100-yard game). Boston Scott ran for a TD.

The big questions heading into the game were about the health of Hurts and Lane Johnson. Both guys started and looked good. Johnson was hurting and you could see that at times, but he handled the pain and had a good game. Hurts was fantastic. His presence affected the defense and opened up the running game. He didn’t have to throw the ball that much, but looked good when he did. Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a 40-yard bomb. That was an accurate throw. No issues.

With Johnson and Hurts back healthy, the Eagles are back to being the best team in the league. That doesn’t mean they’ll win the Super Bowl. Anything can happen in a one-game setting. The Eagles roared out to a 28-0 lead and looked great. The offense moved the ball up and down the field. The defense stifled Saquon Barkley, pressured Daniel Jones and covered the Giants receivers. The Giants had 64 yards of offense in the 1st half. Miles Sanders had 75 rushing yards in the 1st half. That should give you an idea just how dominant the Eagles were.

Jonathan Gannon’s defense had 5 sacks and one takeaway. They also had stops on a couple of 4th down plays, which were essentially turnovers. Jones had a record-setting performance just a week ago. He looked hopeless against the Eagles. Gannon mixed in some blitzes that were effective and added to the Giants woes. Haason Reddick was great in his playoff debut. He led the team with 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 3 QB hits. Reddick was disruptive all night. He gave the OL fits. James Bradberry had a good game. He admitted afterward that it was sweet to play well and beat his former team. He had 2 tackles, 2 PDs and an INT.

The best thing about this win is that the Eagles didn’t do anything magical. There weren’t a bunch of deep balls or wild runs. There weren’t pick-sixes or fumble returns. This was a good team playing like a good team and just dominating a mediocre opponent. The crowd was fired up and helped the Eagles to play with emotion.

It was fair to have questions about how this group might play in the postseason. You just don’t know until you see it for the first time. The Eagles were favorites and played like it. They were confident and aggressive. They were smart and physical. They were the better team and made that clear from the first few plays of the game. That’s a great sign for next week and hopefully beyond.

Nick Sirianni won his first playoff game. Hurts too. The moment wasn’t too big for them. Sirianni preaches living in the moment and the players really bought into that. This was just the next game to them.

I knew the Eagles were the better team and all the matchups favored them. I think all of that positivity made me nervous. Thankfully the players went out and just executed. They were locked in. They can now watch the DAL-SF game on Sunday night to see who will face them in the NFC Championship game.

What a team.

http://igglesblitz.com/2023/01/domination-2/

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Bottom line this team did what the really good teams do. They beat down on an opponent who simply was not as good as them. An opponent who deserves a lot of credit for what they achieved but ultimately didn't have the talent to hang with the best team in the NFL.