7 Takeaways from NY Giants’ Huge 34-17 Win Over the Eagles

If Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen does indeed have full autonomy over who he plays and when, then he finally got the message on Monday when he was grilled about the headscratching rotation at CB2 between Cor’Dale Flott and Deonte Banks.

Banks, according to PFF’s in-game data, didn’t play a single defensive snap during the first half and, per the final snap tally kept by the NFL, he only played three “blink and you’ll miss it” snaps on defense.

The 2023 first-round pick logged 11 snaps on special teams, where he seems to be destined to play out the rest of his rookie contract with the Giants, and again didn’t jump out one way or another.

If, as suspected, the Giants were playing Banks just to decide whether to pick up his option year, due by May 2025, it’s pretty clear they have their answer.

Saquon Who?

How sweet was it that on a day when Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s documentary about his life and career journey which, along the way included a few subtle disses at the Giants, the team that drafted him and the team that he professed over and over that he wanted to be a part of for life only to quibble over the money not being good enough, was overshadowed?

The Giants' run defense held their former teammate in check to the tune of 58 yards on 12 carries (4.8 yards per carry). Of that yardage, 31 came on the Eagles’ opening drive.

After that? Crickets.

Meanwhile, some crazy but lovable dude by the name of Cam Skattebo was enthralling the Big Blue faithful with his hard-nosed, fearless running that wasn’t just for show, but which was very much productive toward the Big Blue cause. 

Skattebo finished with 98 yards on 19 carries (side note: was anyone else disappointed he didn’t get one more chance to finish the night at 100+ rushing yards?), an impressive 5.2 yards per carry. 

Even more impressive is that Skattebo finished the game with an average of 3.37 yards after contact per rush according to TruMedia (via Locked On Giants podcast), living up to his human bowling ball reputation as he seemed to effortlessly run over Eagles defenders who dared to try to stop him.

Infectious Energy

Over the years, the losses have drained the life out of the Giants' locker room. But with the arrival of rookies Skattebo and quarterback Jaxson Dart, that energy was overflowing at the rim not just last night, but since they got here.  

“It’s contagious,” said a smiling cornerback Cor’Dale Flott. “Jaxson and Skatt are two different guys–they don’t even feel like rookies in the locker room. We need the energy, and they help us all out as a team.”

Maybe the vibe comes from Dart and Skattebo having not been beaten down by the years of losing like their veteran teammates have, but whatever it is, here’s hoping that that youthful exuberance never goes away. 

Dart Dependency

Head injuries are nothing to brush over, but usually, during the course of a game, coaches and players, who are forbidden from sticking their heads into the blue medical tent when a player is being evaluated for an injury, keep their focus on what’s unfolding on the field.

Such was not the case, though, when Dart was hit in the head/neck area and appeared to have his head bent back awkwardly, which left him on the ground for a little too long for the Giants' tastes. 

Dart got up and jogged over to the medical tent for evaluation and Daboll, whose job is riding on Dart continuing to prove the head coach’s case that past offensive woes were indeed on the quarterback play and that his handpicked signal caller is the long-term answer, not only tried to stick his head into the tent to find out what was happening, he also was caught on camera having what appeared to be a tense, but brief moment with one of the team’s physicians. 

“Yeah, I mean, look, if you've ever been on an NFL sideline, there's a lot of emotions. I know I was asked about gloves the other day. There are a lot of emotions. I certainly am an emotional guy,” he said.

“I apologized directly to our team physician. I just wanted his [backside] out there if he was okay. But I wanted the process: like, if we were getting ready to go for it on a potential fourth down, I would have burned a timeout if he could have come out there. I was asking how long it was going to take.”

Daboll added, “I love our doctors. I'm sure you were going to ask me about that. I'm just answering. I apologized. I was in the wrong. But he's all right. He gave me a hug.” 

Red Turns to Green

Former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin always referred to the red zone as the “green zone” because, in terms of a traffic light, red meant “stop” and green meant “go.”

Well, this week the Giants, who have struggled in the red zone (sorry, Coach Coughlin, but old habits die hard), were a perfect 3-for-3 inside the 20, which also included a 100% conversion rate on third down.

The key? The run game. The Giants rushed for 33 yards inside the Eagles’ 20-yard line, averaging 3.7 yards per play. 

That's a significant shift in philosophy, because earlier in the season, the Giants were mostly going to the air in the red zone, on plays that were taking forever to develop and were thus being successfully defended.  

Burns Baby Burns!

If there’s any Giants player on defense having a better season than outside linebacker Brian Burns, then we’d like to meet him.

Burns, who continues to pay dividends on the Giants' huge investment made in him, made up for last week’s sackless game by posting two of the team’s three sacks in the winning effort. 

He’s now tied for first in the league with 7.0 sacks, is first with nine tackles for loss, tied for first with 21 quarterback pressures, tied for fifth with 21 pressures, and is tied for 10th with a 4.0% pressure rate.  

Something Special

The play of the Giants' special teams has been lost in the shuffle, but it’s worth noting that the unit has been playing some of its best ball this season, win or lose.

Per data collected by our Green Bay Packers On SI colleague Bill Huber, the Giants currently have the second-best special teams unit in the league, per the chart below.

Against the Eagles, the Giants' special teams dominated. New York’s average starting field position on their 10 drives was their own 36-yard line, whereas the Eagles’ average starting field position was their 22-yard line. 

On kickoffs, the Giants’ average start was their 33-yard line, which was 10 yards better than where the Eagles started.