The last month might not have been pretty, but with the regular season now over, there is no denying the end result is a beautiful one for the Eagles.
The Eagles clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the NFC East title on Sunday with the 22-9 win over the New York Giants, ending a two-game losing streak and ensuring the road to the NFC goes through Philadelphia in the postseason.
It likely isn't a coincidence that the Eagles got back on track in the same game Jalen Hurts returned, ending his two-game absence with a shoulder injury.
While it is possible an upset happens, and the Eagles would play the lowest seed that advances, the most likely outcome is the Eagles will play the winner of the Wild Card matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys.
There will be plenty to discuss over the next two weeks as the Eagles prepare for their postseason run, but for now, here is a recap of what happened on Sunday:
4th Quarter: Eagles 22, Giants 16
While there is the reality that the Eagles offense likely wasn't running their best stuff, and were playing to win but not get injured, there is also no denying the offense wasn't what everyone was hoping to see in Jalen Hurts return.
The offense struggled in the red zone and on third down, struggling to sustain drives and not showing the same kind of explosive plays they hit on routinely when they are playing their best. Making the offense even more concerning was that the offense was going against a Giants defense that fielded just one starter and otherwise played completely backups.
The hope for the Eagle has to be that the poor offensive performance was the result of rust and being conservative as opposed to larger issues that have stated to creep up over the last month of the season.
On defense the Eagles didn't end the game on a high note, allowing the Giant to go on a 10-play, 59-yard touchdown drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The drive ended with Davis Webb trucking Reed Blankenship on the goal line and going in for the touchdown, pulling the Giants to within 19-9. They then allowed an unreal catch by Kenny Galloday for a touchdown with just under two minutes to play, pulling the Giants to within 22-16.
3rd Quarter: Eagles 19, Giants 3
Jalen Hurts showed some signs of rust in the third quarter. After a nice drive got the Eagles down to the Giants seven-yard line, Hurts forced the ball into double coverage for an easy Giants interception. The decision was a terrible one, and uncharacteristic, as Hurts has been great this season protecting the ball. He had just three interceptions in the first 13 games of the season but now has three in his last two after throwing two against Chicago before injuring his shoulder.
On defense the Eagles finally gave up a scoring drive to the Giants, allowing the offense to go 69-yards on eight plays and kick a 24- field goal. The drive could have ended in a touchdown but the Giants had back-to-back delay of game penalties to ruin what was an otherwise impressive drive.
2nd Quarter: Eagles 16, Giants 0
The Eagles had a few chances in the first half to go for it on 4th down instead off kicking, and twice they elected to kick, despite Jalen Hurts' best efforts prior to a punt to convince the coaching staff to keep the offense on the field.
Robert Quinn showed some signs of life in his return, getting a few pressures on Giants quarterback Davis Webb in the second quarter. Quinn has been out for five weeks with a knee injury, and while his impact so far hasn't been great since the team acquired him in a trade, they should be encouraged by what they saw in the regular-season finale.
The Eagles offense looked fine in the first half, but they certainly didn't come out and put on a show, missing a few chances to covert on 3rd down and in the red zone to built a bigger lead heading into halftime. The good news is that Hurts didn't show any sign of returning from an injury when passing the ball, as his accuracy was good and he didn't make any poor decisions.
1st Quarter: Eagles 10, Giants 0
Hurts' first pass of the game was a 35-yard completion to AJ Brown across the middle, a play the has been an extremely productive one for the Eagles this season. In a game where seeing if Hurts looked the same as he did before the injury, seeing him immediately hit Brown with a perfect pass was a great sign. The drive did stall, however, in the red zone and ended in a 32-yard field goal by Jake Elliott to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.
On defense the Eagles did make a change with the return of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Instead of putting Gardner-Johnson back at safety, the position he has played all season, he lined up at nickel cornerback — the position he made a name for himself to begin his career. With Gardner-Johnson at nickel the Eagles kept Reed Blankenship at safety, a sign they have clearly been impressed with the undrafted rookie.
The Eagles went right down the field on their second possession, leaning on the running game, and capping off the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run by Boston Scott. The touchdown gave them a 10-0 lead, exactly the kind of start all fans (and the team) were hoping to see.
Even the special teams got in on helping the Eagles build a lead, not falling for a (very bad) fake field goal attempt by the Giants at the end of the first quarter.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
