The game opened up with the Giants getting the ball and going three and out and punting it right to the Eagles. Once the Eagles got the ball, Carson Wentz completed one pass and then immediately threw and interception. This was an interception that immediately went for an Eli Manning touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. This was a positive and a negative for me because I have both of those guys on my fantasy team. Then on the next drive, Carson threw another interception and then Eli Manning threw another touchdown, this time to Roger Lewis after the Eagles cornerback and safety ran into each other.
On the Eagles next drive, they got their offense started when they featured Trey Burton twice for a total of 43 yards, but the drive stalled deep in Giants territory and then Stugis kicked a field goal. However, Landon Collins rolled into the kicker but no penalty was called. The Eagles would then force a punt and with their next drive they again, went down the field, but they stalled deep in Giants territory. However, on a 4th and 2, Doug Pederson elected to go for it on a Quarterback sweep, but Wentz was dropped for a loss and the Eagles were forced to hand the ball back to the Giants when they could have gotten a field goal. The Giants would go backwards on their ensuing drive and on the Eagles drive, Wentz would connect with rookie free agent receiver, Bryce Treggs, for a 61 yard pass. This would be the longest completion of the day and the longest of Carson's career. Many Eagles fans were eagerly awaiting the playing of Treggs because he is very quick and he didn't disappoint. The drive would eventually lead to a short run for a touchdown by Ryan Matthews to make the game 14-10.
On the Giants ensuing drive, Eli Manning would methodically take the Giants down the field with the highlight play being a Victor Cruz catch over the head of Leodis McKelvin. Cruz would then leave the game with an injury after the play and the Giants would score on a passing play to Odell Beckham Jr. The only highlight of the rest of the half for the Eagles would be a long return by Darren Sproles and if he would have scored, it would have been good for the Eagles, but instead of kicking a field goal when the drive stalled, Doug Pederson again elected to run it up the middle on 4th and 1 with little Darren Sproles. The Eagles didn't get it and the whole time I sat there, yelling at the TV, "KICK THE F***ING FIELD GOAL!" The half basically ended with a blocked Caleb Sturgis field goal by Jason Pierre Paul so when Dog finally stopped being stupid, he wasn't even allowed to get the points.
The Eagles would open the second half with a long drive the was mostly set up by Darren Sproles. Carson was able to throw a 20 yard pass to under achieving receiver, Nelson Agholor and Kenjon Barner was able to pound the rock into the end zone for a touchdown. With the Giants next drive, they went straight down the field on a long drive that was capped off with a Sterling Shepard touchdown thrown by none other than Eli Manning. It seemed like in this game, whenever the Eagles could catch a break, the Giants were always able to take the momentum back to their side.
On the bright side for the Eagles defense in the 4th quarter was the fact that they were able to get two turnovers. One in which Nolan Carroll was able to steal it away from Odell Beckham before he was able to secure it and the other with the ability to run the ball, Eli Manning threw a tipped pass right into the hands of Jordan Hicks. This was an extremely ill advised situation because it put the Eagles in the situation where they could score the go ahead touchdown after adding two field goals. So with the game on the line, the Eagles ran three passing plays from the Giants 17 yard line. I couldn't believe this, even with one time out, I expected them to at least try to run the football. However, on 4th down, Carson Wentz threw a fade route to Jordan Matthews, Jordan tried to adjust but was looking over his opposite shoulder. The ball fell to the ground incomplete and the Giants won.
It really sucked to see the Eagles lose this game because there were many points in the game where they could have won. Too many points were left on the field and the Eagles were also completely foolish to not kick those field goals earlier in the game. Carson Wentz also blew the first quarter by throwing costly interceptions. I don't really fault him because he is a rookie, but it appears that he has been trigger happy in certain situations. He did settle down eventually and was one of the reasons why the Eagles were able to come back in the game. I will say that as a football fan, this was a very good game and the better team won here. It isn't easy to say that, but the team has to play smarter. Not to mention, Doug Pederson has to find the featured back on this team because he just keeps mixing and matching backs without allowing them to get in a groove. He was criticized for playing to conservatively against Dallas and showed everyone by playing to aggressively against the Giants. He needs to find a middle ground soon or the fans will eat him alive.
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| Jason Pierre Paul blocks Eagles field goal |
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