It wasn’t pretty, but the Eagles (11-4) now hold a one-game lead over the Cowboys in the NFC East after their 33-25 win over the Giants on Christmas Day.
Philadelphia snapped a three-game losing streak and needs to beat Arizona next week and defeat the Giants again in the season finale to finish atop the NFC East.
The Eagles are 11-0 at the Linc against New York since 2014 and beat the Giants three times last season in Brian Daboll’s first season.
With the matchup complete, here’s an instant analysis of the ugly win.
Big Game D'Andre Swift
Big response touchdown drive. Some really nice runs and a huge throw from Jalen Hurts to AJ Brown on 3rd and 20.
D’Andre Swift touchdown27-18
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) December 26, 2023
Swift is among the league’s leading rushers and has been criminally underused. The talented running back logged 20 important carries for 92 yards and a rushing touchdown.
THE HURDLE@DAndreSwift + #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/Z23wlhhl2U
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 26, 2023
Hurts turnover concerns
The Eagles star was 24-38 passing, for 301 yards, 1 touchdown and another costly interception returned for a touchdown.
Kelee Ringo continues to improve
Ringo got the start at cornerback and finished the night with the biggest play of his career.
THAT'S GAME, @KeleeRingo pic.twitter.com/oKRw7SkV0E
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 26, 2023
Ringo had 5 tackles, 1 pass defended and 25+ valuable snaps for a team thin at cornerback and headed towards the playoffs.
Shaquille Leonard was stout
The veteran linebacker got the start with Zach Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow out, and responded with a team high seven tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss and 1 QB hit.
Shaq Leonard, after he finished with team-high 7 tackles and his first sack since 2020:
“They wrote me off, talked down on my name. I’m here to prove it, prove I can still play, prove I can still make plays.” pic.twitter.com/R0sX60tT27
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) December 26, 2023
Brian Johnson's run-pass ratio
Philadelphia ran 74 plays, with OC Brian Johnson calling 38 passing plays, compared to 35 rushing attempts.
Fans at Lincoln Financial Field became so discouraged by the apparante pass-heavy offense that a chant of “Run the ball! Run the ball!” started in the fourth quarter.
Random Notes
The Eagles had 28 first downs, compared to the Giants 14, and Nick Sirianni’s team was 8-15 on third downs, while holding the Giants to 4-14 in the same stat.
Philadelphia amassed 465 yards of offense, rushing for 170 yards, while going 2-5 in the red zone.
