October 27, 2013, was a long time ago, especially since Giants-Eagles happens annually in Philadelphia.
For 13 seasons, Lincoln Financial Field has been a house of horrors for the Giants. It started in 2014 when the Eagles shut them out in an early-season game, and Victor Cruz suffered a season-ending knee injury. Things only worsened from there.
Rock bottom was the 2023 Divisional Round blowout, but don’t forget the 2023 Christmas Day disaster or Cam Skattebo’s season-ending injury in last season’s blowout loss in Philly. Every year, when the Giants visit the Eagles, the game either punctuates a lost season or destroys a somewhat good one.
But this year, things are different. This time, the Eagles are reeling, and the Giants are soaring like Eagles, but better. With seven sacks, including three by Arvell Reese, the Birds drowned in a Big Blue wave, 19-11.
This is the dawn of a new era. The Green Dynasty is over. The New York Football Giants have arrived!
It was not the prettiest game, and both teams struggled to move the ball downfield. The Eagles, losers of seven straight for the first time since 2012, are without Jalen Hurts, and Tanner McKee wasn’t cutting it at backup, so they signed Joe Milton III off the Cowboys’ practice squad.
Milton made his first start of the season yesterday, just his sixth career start. The Giants sacked him seven times, including 21-year-old rookie Reese, who became the youngest player in NFL history to record three sacks in one game. With Reese’s help, the Giants’ defense has allowed 301.4 yards per game this season, the fifth-fewest in the NFL.
Reese led the Giants with 12 tackles yesterday, including 10 solo tackles and a strip sack. The Giants’ fifth-overall pick recorded that sack 2.29 seconds after the snap, the fastest sack in the NFL this season. Sure, the Eagles are restructuring their offensive line, but Reese’s move was marvelous.
Leading the Giants 8-6, Philadelphia opened the second quarter with a three-and-out. Charlie Jones, replacing injured punt returner Braxton Berrios, muffed the catch, and the Eagles recovered the ball with excellent field position at the Giants’ 47-yard line.
At this point, the Giants needed a stop more than ever. First, Reese tackled Makai Lemon after a five-yard catch. Then Milton missed a short pass to his left. It was third down and five at the Giants’ 42-yard line when Reese mowed down the Eagles’ offensive line and body-slammed Milton to the turf.
“First, I’m like, ‘The back is gonna block me,’” Reese said, describing his strip sack. “Then I see him go away. I’m like, ‘Okay.’ Then, I see the quarterback still holding it. I’m like, ‘Okay, he’s gonna keep holding it.’ It was as free as a layup. Can’t miss it.”
Micah McFadden, whose nine tackles ranked second on the Giants yesterday, recovered Milton’s fumble. He also had a sack, as did DJ Reader, Dawuane Smoot, and Darius Alexander. With six solo tackles, recently-extended cornerback Greg Newsome II, who started this season on a prove-it deal, complemented the defensive line.
“Defensive Rookie of the Year, that’s already a stamped thing,” Newsome said of Reese, who is competing with Jets pass rusher David Bailey for the award. “He keeps doing stuff like this, now you’re thinking of Defensive Player of the Year. That’s the type of impact he makes. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a rookie make this big of an impact.”
Added nose tackle Reader, “I don’t know any young players that can do the things he does. You don’t find a kid that can cover the way he can cover, come down, and fill gaps in the run game, rush the passer, and not miss tackles. The kid is serious, man. It’s special to watch.”
The Giants’ defense was spectacular, but their offense struggled. JJ McCarthy completed 12 of 19 passes for 127 yards. He wasn’t picked off, but he suffered five sacks and couldn’t find the end zone. But Jameis Winston did, completing a seam pass to Isaiah Likely for a third-quarter go-ahead touchdown.
On the second play of the second half, McCarthy hurt his hip pointer while running. Winston was ready as he rushed to the medical tent. The Giants’ next drive, highlighted by a 16-yard pass to Malachi Fields to convert third-and-15, finished in the end zone.
“It’s a testament to Jamo,” McCarthy said. “He’s a true pro. To be able to step in there, be that spark, and lead the team down the field was absolutely awesome to watch.”
With Winston at the helm, the Giants finally got the ball downfield. They still view McCarthy as their starting quarterback, and they expect him to face Washington on Thursday night. He reentered the game in the fourth quarter and nearly connected on a deep pass to Malik Nabers in the end zone, but he dropped the football.
Nabers was visibly disappointed after the drop, and FOX Sports analyst Greg Olsen criticized him. After the game, Nabers posted on Instagram that Olsen falsely accused him of being a bad teammate and was “trying [to] create a narrative on [him] so bad it’s actually crazy. If you don’t like the way I play the game, keep the camera off me.”
When asked about Nabers’s comments, Harbaugh brushed them off and ranted about how body language is a language, like German, that many people don’t understand. This Giants team has played with an edge all season, though. Expressing frustration during a game is part of the team’s culture. The Giants are 5-2-1, so it’s clearly working.
This win meant a lot to the players, especially young players like Kayvon Thibodeaux, whom the Giants drafted at the start of their rebuild. Having experienced the worst of Philadelphia, he suggested this is more than the end of an era for the Eagles.
“It’s really the beginning of a streak for the Giants,” he said.
This win was even more special for owner John Mara. He knows the Eagles are his team’s biggest rival, and every Giants loss in Philly ails him. He wasn’t at the game yesterday as he continues to fight cancer, but his brother, Chris, was.
“John’s been texting me the whole game, but you don’t want to know what he’s been saying,” Mara joked with the team after accepting a game ball on his brother’s behalf.
The Giants have overcome another obstacle in their journey to winning the NFC East for the first time since 2011. Now, they must take this momentum into a raucous MetLife Stadium on Thursday Night against another division rival, the Washington Commanders (8:15 PM, 7:15 PM CST – Prime Video).
“They have it,” Harbaugh said of his players. “They have what it takes. I don’t know how to describe it other than that. I think they’ve had it all along. Sometimes it’s one thing to have it, and it’s another thing to find it, and they’ve been able to find it in the way they play.”
The 5-2-1 Giants’ next game will be Thursday Night Football (TNF) at home against the 2-5-1 Washington Commanders on November 12 at 8:15 PM (7:15 PM CST) (Prime Video).
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Giants
