PHILADELPHIA − It didn’t take long for Jalen Hurts to show that he’s back to full strength, or close enough for him to run like he was before he suffered a shoulder injury back on Dec. 18.
Hurts wasn’t the only one, either, as the Eagles completely overpowered the Giants in the first half in taking a 28-0 lead Saturday night in the NFC Divisional Round game.
The Giants scored in the third quarter, but they used up 6:01 on the 88-yard drive, a situation the Eagles had no problem living with.
Miles Sanders had 75 yards running in the first half, and Dallas Goedert and DeVonta Smith caught TD passes. On defense, the Eagles shut down the Giants’ running game and rarely let quarterback Daniel Jones have enough time to throw.
The Eagles outgained the Giants 258-64.
Hurts was 12-for-17 for 118 yards. He threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for another just before halftime. He had 8 carries for 30 yards, ending any doubts about whether his injured shoulder could take a hit.
That was tested midway through the third quarter, when Hurts was hit just as he was starting his throwing motion. He fumbled the ball on the sack and had to dive to recover it as a Giants defender landed on top of him. But Hurts got up and seemed OK.
Hurts set the tone early.
He started out a perfect 7-for-7 for 89 yards and 2 TDs on the Eagles first two drives. The first was a 16-yard completion to Goedert, who caught the ball with his left hand in stride and continued into the end zone. The second was a 9-yard TD to DeVonta Smith.
If there were any doubts on Hurts’ shoulder, he answered on the second play when he threw deep to Smith, hitting him for 40 yards down to the Giants’ 33.
The Eagles also put the read-option back into their offense against the Giants, using it twice in the first quarter. Hurts gained 9 yards on the second try, and took a hit on his torso. He was fine.
The Eagles’ aren’t nearly as dynamic if Hurts is strictly a pocket passer, like he was in the last meeting against the Giants, on Jan. 8 in the Eagles’ 22-16 win. Hurts clearly stayed away from contact as he threw 35 times while running only 9 times, and 3 of those runs were kneel-downs at the end of the game. Hurts also did not have any designed runs called for him.
The Eagles defense made sure the Giants never had a chance. After the Eagles opened with a touchdown, Haason Reddick sacked Jones on back-to-back plays on third and fourth downs starting at the Eagles’ 35.
On the next possession, James Bradberry intercepted his former team. The Eagles didn’t score on that drive.
But that was a temporary break. Sanders started the next drive by running on 6 straight plays down to the Giants’ 20. Then Boston Scott finished off the drive with a 3-yard TD to make it 21-0 midway through the second quarter.
Hurts capped off the next drive with a 5-yard TD to the left side, untouched.
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Boston Scott, Giant killer
For some reason, Eagles running back Boston Scott has great success against the Giants when it comes to touchdowns. Scott scored on a 3-yard run in the second quarter, giving the Eagles a 21-0 lead. That was Scott’s 11th career touchdown against the Giants in 9 games. He has 7 more TDs in 54 other games.
Miles Sanders did all the work on that drive, carrying the ball six straight times for 43 yards as the Eagles worked down the field.
Reddick 2 sacks, Bradberry INT
Haason Reddick had two huge sacks back-to-back on the Giants’ first possession. The first came on 3rd-and-3 from the Eagles’ 35. That knocked the Giants back 5 yards. But they went for it on 4th-and-8. This time, Reddick sacked Giants QB Daniel Jones for an 8-yard loss, giving the Eagles the ball at the 48.
They quickly drove down the field and scored.
Then cornerback James Bradberry, a former Giant, intercepted Jones at midfield, just as the first quarter ended.
Eagles inactives has 2 DBs
There was one surprise with the Eagles’ game-day roster as safety Anthony Harris was left off it even though he received a practice-squad elevation. The Eagles could have used the depth with injured slot cornerback Avonte Maddox sitting out his third straight game with a toe injury while Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is only playing in his second game since returning from injured reserve.
.In addition to Maddox and Harris, the Eagles’ other inactives were QB Ian Book, RB Trey Sermon, LB Kyron Johnson and G Josh Sills.
Harris was a starting safety for the Eagles last season. The Eagles released him just before the season started. He then signed with the Broncos’ practice squad and got into three games The Broncos released him Dec. 6, and the Eagles signed him to their practice squad a week later.
This was his first time getting the elevation as an Eagle.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
