PHILADELPHIA — So much for Jalen Hurt’s shoulder injury that affected the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs.
Hurts became only the second Eagles player with two pass touchdowns and a rush touchdown in a playoff game, joining Donovan McNabb on this exclusive list as the Eagles to a 38-7 win over in a playoff match drove the New York Giants, who was never close.
The Eagles are facing their seventh NFC Championship game since the start of the 2001 season and their second in five years. Hurts finished 16 of 24 for 254 yards with two touchdowns (112.2 rating) and had nine carries for 34 yards and one touchdown — all in a first half that saw the Eagles lead 28-0 and drive to victory.
Defense also took over early on as Haason Reddick had 1.5 sacks in the first half for the Eagles, both of whom came in back-to-back games to prevent the Giants from moving down on their first drive. James Bradberry intercepted the Giants’ second possession, the first by an Eagles cornerback since Week 9. Philadelphia was leading 14-0 at that point in the game.
Boston Scott scored a touchdown for the Eagles in the second quarter to give them a 21-0 lead, his 11th touchdown in nine career games against the Giants. Scott has 19 career touchdowns, living up to his reputation as a “giant killer.” Hurts had a rushing touchdown to round out the dominant first half.
The Eagles (15-3) milked the clock from there and advanced to the NFC Championship Game. They will be hosting the Dallas Cowboys or San Francisco 49ers next Sunday at 3:00pm ET at Lincoln Financial Field. The Giants’ season ends 9-8-1.
Here are some additional takeaways from the blowout:
Why the Eagles won
Jalen Hurts was back in full MVP form, Miles Sanders had lanes open all night, and Jonathan Gannon’s overall defense made it look like moving Daniel Jones forward would be easy. In other words, the Eagles looked like the top version of themselves from their 2022 campaign. Despite taking a conservative approach in Week 18 while recovering from his shoulder injury, Hurts was fully rejuvenated, feeding DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert with ease and perhaps more notably using his legs to support a dominant ground play. Sanders was consistently fluid in the room, and Kenneth Gainwell delivered one hard carry after another down the stretch as Philly lunged well over 250 yards. At “D,” sack artist Haason Reddick was busy again, easily outperforming Andrew Thomas to keep Daniel Jones under fire. Ex-Giants star James Bradberry read Jones like a book about an early election. And Brett Kern did his part to pin New York on the Eagles’ few punts of the night.
Why the Giants lost
Both Brian Daboll and Wink Martindale failed to improve a roster that was already at least a year ahead of schedule in terms of competition. Daboll deserves credit for the way he’s rejuvenated Daniel Jones this season, but his situational decision-making left a little to be desired; that was never more evident than on fourth downs, when he decided to play a fourth and long early but rebounded near midfield with a deficit of 21. Martindale, meanwhile, saw his “D” play soft and conservative in the second episode of the week, and unlike the Vikings, the Eagles refused to let up on the ground. It didn’t help that Jones had precious few clean pockets or open receivers, forcing an early throw that sealed a two-point deficit early on. All hope is not lost in New York; Daboll has this team on the right track. But they were outplayed, overtaken and overwhelmed at every stage in Philly.
turning point
The Eagles went up two points in a rush, with Jalen Hurts finding both Smith and Goedert out of goal in back-to-back TD series. New York was brave on his first drive of his own, flipping it on downs after trying near midfield. Down 14-0 in their second series, they appeared to have life left when Daniel Jones beat Matt Breida for 19. But then, in the next game, when a free rusher came straight in the gut, Jones threw an unwise quick strike over the middle, and former teammate James Bradberry took it easy. The Eagles failed to score on their subsequent possession, but the rally confirmed that the momentum belonged solely to the home side.
game of the game
Haason Reddick had several standout prints, but Dallas Goedert’s one-handed catch-and-run started it all for Philly:
What’s next
The Giants will go home the offseason on a bittersweet note: They shouldn’t even make the playoffs, so that’s something to be proud of; Still, plenty of improvement awaits as Jones is still unsigned in QB and both sides of the ball require multiple upgrades. The Eagles, meanwhile, will advance to their second NFC championship game in five years, hosting either the Cowboys or the 49ers on Jan. 29.