Giants snap the curse, dominate Eagles to close out 2023 season
The New York Giants hosted the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon in their 2023 regular season finale.
MetLife was rife with Eagles fans and empty seats. Philly came into the game with a chance to win the NFC East. The Giants were simply there to play the role of spoiler.
Veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard, possibly playing his last game for the Giants, represented the team as one of the game-day captains at midfield before the game.
Here is how things played out…
Final score: Giants 27, Eagles 10
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
Giants | 3 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
Eagles | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
Keys to the game
The Giants came out and asserted themselves in the first half with 24 unanswered points. The Eagles had a horrendous first half, punting three times and also giving up the ball on downs, a fumble, and two interceptions.
The Giants amassed 415 yards of offense in this game, their second-highest output of the season (439, Week 2 versus Arizona) en route to their first victory over the Eagles in six games.
The Giants held the Eagles to 299 yards. It was the 8th time this season, they held an opponent under 300 yards.
Saquon Barkley needed 84 yards rushing to eclipse 1,000 on the season. He only managed 46.
The Giants averaged 6.3 yards per offensive play to the Eagles’ 4.6.
It was over when...
The Giants took a 24-0 lead over a listless Eagles team into the tunnel at halftime. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni decided to pull many of his key players including quarterback Jalen Hurts and center Jason Kelce.
Philadelphia, who was already without starting wide receiver DeVonta Smith and Pro Bowl running back D’Andre Swift, lost stud wideout A.J. Brown in the first quarter with a knee injury.
There was no way their backups were going to mount a comeback against this inspired Giants defense.
Players of the game
Safety Xavier McKinney, who can become an unrestricted free agent this coming March if the Giants allow, was all over the field and recorded two interceptions.
Running back Saquon Barkley scored two touchdowns and had a 46-yard reception.
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor just missed out on a 300-yard passing day, throwing for 297 yards and rushing for 38 more.
Wide receiver Darius Slayton had five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. He finished with a career-high 770 receiving yards on the season.
Wideout Wan’Dale Robinson had another strong showing, reeling in five passes for 85 yards.
Injuries
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor injured his right hand taking a sack during the Giants’ first possession. He was evaluated in the locker room and was replaced by Tommy DeVito on the next possession.
DeVito then had his right ankle taped after the Giants were forced to punt in the first quarter. Taylor was summoned to come back into the game.
Taylor was sandwiched by Eagles defenders in the third quarter and left the game, leading to DeVito being reinserted into the game only to swap back out, again, shortly thereafter.
Rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt left the game with a hamstring issue in the second quarter and was ruled out.
Tight end Darren Waller left the game in the second quarter with a ‘burner’ or ‘stinger’ but returned in the second half.
Cornerback Nick McCloud left the game in the third quarter after being shaken up. He was spelled by Tre Hawkins III.
What's next?
Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will hold a year-end press conference at 8:30 a.m. ET on Monday morning. They will speak for roughly 30 minutes before the locker room is opened for the final time and players are made available at 9:00 a.m. ET.
