A Few Thoughts as Eagles Beat Giants

A few thoughts and notes after watching the Eagles improve to 3-1 with a 19-17 win over the Giants on Sunday night.

What it means: The Eagles are 3-1, with their three wins coming by a combined four points.  They have now beaten the Giants eight-out-of-nine times. Questions about their approach on offense in previous weeks won't go away after they ran the ball 36 times this week and threw only 30 passes. Mike Vick did not turn the ball over and led the Eagles to their third fourth quarter come-back win. The Eagles, under Juan Castillo, have been much better defensively this season in late-game critical situations than last season.

The good: The Eagles rushed for 191 yards, including 123 from LeSean McCoy, who had just two yards at halftime. DeSean Jackson had a solid game as well with six catches, 99 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles offense did not turn the ball over in the game. On defense, Fletcher Cox was in the Giants' backfield all game long. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie intercepted Manning's under-thrown pass into triple-coverage in the end-zone to shut-down a late Giants attack.  Michael Vick improved his record to 9-2 against the NFC East as the Eagles starting quarterback (3-1 vs. NYG). His career regular season record as a starting quarterback is 56-38-1.  Alex Henery set a career high by making all four of his field goal attempts, including a season-long 48 yarder and a game-winning 26 yarder with 1:49 to play

The bad: The Eagles settled for four second-half field goals despite being in a good position for a touchdown two times. While they only committed five penalties, some of them were costly and unnecessary, totaling 49 yards. Todd Herremans was flagged twice for holding.  The Eagles special teams coverage on kick-off was dreadful.  The Eagles did not sack Eli Manning, but did have pressure on his most of the night.

Eagles go back to basics. The Eagles used fullback Stanley Havili led the way for a pair of big LeSean McCoy runs and also carried the ball two times for 15 yards.  Its a play that in the Andy Reid era I can't remember ever seeing a basic sweep with the fullback leading the way down field.

Injury notes: The Eagles escaped with no major injuries. LeSean McCoy is dealing with swelling in his knee after suffering a "little tweak" in Sunday's win, but is expected to be fine for Week 5.  Coach Andy Reid confirmed that Michael Vick merely sustained a minor knee contusion. Nnamdi Asomugha was forced from Sunday's game against the Giants with an eye injury.  Derek Landri has some knee inflammation and should be ready to go on Wednesday. Akeem Jordan with the hamstring strain. He is making progress. He’ll struggle to practice on Wednesday.  Jon Dorenbos actually made it through the game and did very well with a high-ankle sprain. He feels pretty good today and should be ready to practice this week