Grayson’s Grades: Eagles vs. Giants (Division Playoffs)
PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles dominated and embarrassed the New York Giants en route to a 38-7 blowout win. It was the third time the Eagles beat the Giants this season.
The win propels the Eagles into the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2017 season. The Eagles will host either the Cowboys or 49'ers next Sunday.
The Eagles scored on their opening possession and never looked back. Jalen Hurts put to rest some of the questions regarding his injured shoulder while the defense harassed Daniel Jones all game long. The Giants were held scoreless in the first half while racking up just 64 yards of offense. The second half featured more of the same.
Not much to pick apart in this one as this is perhaps the best report card ever issued in Grayson's Grades.
A
Jalen Hurts - Hurts answered all of the critics regarding his sore shoulder. He looked like the MVP candidate he was throughout the season. Hurts did run some but was cautious in trying to get out of bounds or slide and avoid contact. He looked great throwing the ball. Hurts was efficient and accurate. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Hurts also carried it nine times for 34 yards and one touchdown.
Lane Johnson - Johnson's presence was big for this offensive line. He put off a needed surgery to play through a groin injury and try to help this team win a ring. You could see that Johnson was not 100 percent healthy but played well enough to help this line pave the way for the offense.
Offensive Line - The entire offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage on nearly every play. It seemed the Eagles could do whatever they wanted on offense. They could run it or pass it almost at will. The line certainly looked more comfortable and productive with Lane Johnson back at Right Tackle.
Dallas Goedert - Goedert was a frequent target early in the game and produced some great catches and yards after the catch. Goedert found the endzone on the opening possession. He caught five passes for 58 yards and one touchdown.
Miles Sanders - Sanders has been a more effective runner with Hurts in the lineup. He has shown a lot more patience to allow holes to open in front of him and that patience has paid off with bigger gains. Sanders ran the ball well in this game and typically added some decent yards after contact. He carried it 17 times for 90 yards.
DeVonta Smith - Smith helped set the tone on the opening drive when he caught a pass for 40 yards. It quickly got the Eagles into Giants territory and that drive ended with a touchdown. Smith did a great job of taking what the Giants gave him. His routes were precise and gave Jalen Hurts some large windows to throw into. Smith caught six passes for 61 yards and one touchdown.
Boston Scott - Scott once again proved to be the 'Giant Killer.' Entering this game 10 of his 17 career touchdowns were against the Giants. He added another one in this playoff game. Scott did a great job of driving his legs at contact and managed to cross the goal line before his knee touched the ground. Scott had six carries for 32 yards and one touchdown.
Kenneth Gainwell - Gainwell got a lot of playing time and cashed it in for a great performance. He played a big role in the rushing attack that helped milk the clock in the fourth quarter. Gainwell even added a long touchdown run with less than two minutes to go. It gave him his first career 100-yard rushing performance. He finished with 12 carries for 112 yards and one touchdown.
Haason Reddick - Reddick seemed to be in on just about every tackle. He helped set the tone on defense when he recorded back-to-back sacks on the Giants opening drive. The first sack forced them out of Field Goal range. So they went for it on fourth and eight and Reddick again got another sack to force a turnover on downs. He had a monster game and at one point seemed to have Daniel Jones seeing ghosts. Reddick led the team with 1.5 sacks. He added five tackles, one tackle for a loss and three quarterback hits.
James Bradberry - Bradberry wanted nothing more than to stick it to his former team. They released him in the offseason and the Eagles quickly signed him. He got the chance to stick it to the Giants early when he jumped a route and intercepted a pass. Bradberry promptly turned to the Giants sideline and bowed. He has two tackles with two passes defended and that one interception.
Reed Blankenship - Blankenship has been a nice find and has been rewarded with more playing time after how well he did filling in at safety when CJ Gardner-Johnson was injured. Blankenship broke up some passes and made some good tackles in this one. Blankenship finished with five tackles, one tackle for a loss and one pass defended.
Josh Sweat - Sweat has a quick motor and gets upfield so fast. He was in the backfield helping to blow up some plays. Sweat did record half a sack in the first half and added another late in the fourth quarter when he forced a fumble. He had three tackles and 1.5 sacks. He seemed to have more of a factor on the game than it showed in the box score.
Nick Sirianni - Sirianni did a great job of having this team ready to play out of the bye. The game plan was solid, the players were focused and fired up and they looked like they took the field with a chip on their shoulder. Sirianni and his staff clearly took lessons learned from last year's playoff appearance and loss in the wild card round and applied it in this one. The fast start was impressive and so too was a 15 play, 70 yard drive that milked nearly eight minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter.
Shane Steichen - Steichen's game plan was solid. He used the bye well to put together a quick-strike opening script and then played with the lead very well. They did not need Jalen Hurts to throw it too much and used the ground game behind this talented offensive line to control the clock and continue to score points at the same time. Steichen's offense ran 69 plays for 416 yards and had the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game.
Jonathan Gannon - Gannon's defense was great. They stuffed Saquon Barkley early in the game and added a great pass rush to get to Daniel Jones in a hurry. The defense also forced an interception as well as a pair of turnovers on downs. They played well and continued to show why they are one of the top defenses in the league.
B
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C
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D
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F
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