The Giants bounced back from their deflating loss to the lowly Saints in emphatic fashion, dominating the hated Eagles in primetime to pick up their second win in three weeks.
Philly, struggling to find its footing since its Super Bowl victory, struggled against Big Blue’s pass rush and run defense all night, while Cam Skattebo logged 98 yards and ran in three touchdowns to match a rookie feat that the franchise had not seen in over half a century.
New York had been painfully familiar with getting embarrassed in primetime, but on Thursday night, it was the Giants delivering the beating, wearing the Eagles down with a 34-17 laugher while committing zero turnovers, a far cry from the five they committed a week prior.
The Eagles took the early lead with a 42-yard field goal from Jake Elliot, but the Giants responded quickly with a six play, 54-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard touchdown run from Jaxson Dart. The highlight of the drive was a deep heave to Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who went up and snagged a 50/50 ball for a brilliant leaping catch for 34 yards to set up the eventual Dart touchdown, part of another 50-plus yard night on the ground for the rookie quarterback.
Humphrey’s sparkling grab came on a 3rd and 12 to save the drive and help the Giants score a touchdown on the opening drive for the third straight game, the first time a Big Blue team accomplished that feat since 2009.
The Giants extended the lead later in the first when Dart escaped pressure and fired a strike to Wan’Dale Robinson, who quickly cut in to make a defender miss and run it in for the 35-yard score to make it 13-3 following the failed PAT.
Two straight Philly touchdowns took the air out of the building at MetLife Stadium, but the Giants responded late in the first half with a methodical 15-play drive that started at their own 33 and had no play more than nine yards. But Dart and company moved the football down to Philly’s 4-yard line, where Cam Skattebo punched in his third rushing touchdown of the season to put New York back in front.
Skattebo shined again midway through the quarter, busting free for a 12-yard run to the 1-yard line, and muscled his way in for a touchdown on the next play on a classic Skattebo effort play to put the Giants ahead by 10.
The Giants were dealt a scare late in the third quarter when Dart was sacked and grabbed at his head. He was down on the turf before running off under his own power, taken to the medical tent to be checked for a possible concussion. Russell Wilson came on and skipped an incomplete pass to force a Giants punt and halt another promising drive, and Dart returned shortly after, in time for the first drive of the fourth quarter.
The Eagles were poised to cut into the lead and make things very interesting, but Cor’Dale Flott jumped in front of a wobbly throw from Jalen Hurts, logging the first interception of Hurts this season and running it back 68 yards from inside New York’s own 10-yard line. With a short field, Jalin Hyatt drew a pass interference in the end zone to bring the ball to the 1-yard line, and Skattebo punched in his third touchdown of the day to put the game out of reach.
For Skattebo, he became just the second Giants rookie in franchise history to run for three touchdowns in a game, the first since Charlie Evans in 1971, and the first Giants player since Ahmad Bradshaw in 2011.