Jalen Hurts erased doubts about the condition of his right shoulder, throwing two touchdown passes and running for a score during a dominant first half, and the Philadelphia Eagles overwhelmed everyone. New York Giants 38-7 on Saturday night in an NFC Divisional Playoff game.
Hurts is back, and so are the Eagles as a Super Bowl threat. Top-seeded Philadelphia will host the NFC Championship Game next Sunday Dallas or San Francisco.
Hurts suffered two season-ending losses due to a sprained right shoulder, and then the Giants came to nothing in the season finale when the Eagles ran a vanilla offense designed to protect Pro Bowl QBs.
Under the bright lights of the post-season at Link, the Eagles fielded an offense designed to contain the Giants. Hurts dazzled early with his arm and Philadelphia’s offensive line opened big holes for Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell as the Eagles finished with 268 yards on the ground.
Hurts finished 16 of 24 for 154 yards. He showed that he was fine when he aired a pass on the second play of the game and hit Devonta Smith for a 40-yard reception. The fun in Philly had only just begun.
Hurts was flawless on the drive, completing 9 yards, 5 yards, and then – boom – a 16-yard TD pass on a one-handed catch by tight end Dallas Goedert.
Second drive, more of the same. Hurts had completions of 12 yards and 9 yards en route to a 9-yard TD pass to Smith.
It was 14–0 in the first quarter and the Giants already needed eight counts from the standings. New York turned the ball over on downs on their first possession, and Daniel Jones It was intercepted by James Bradberry on its second.
Link “Eagles!” Flair and coach Nick Siriani took wild chest-bumping assistants to the sidelines.
Hurts’ shoulder may not have been 100 percent.
But his passing was spot on: He went 7-of-7 for 89 yards in the first quarter.
“Yeah like they were saying. Would love anyone at QB for the Eagles.. yeah ook. Haters man!! Jalen Hurts is special,” Lakers star LeBron James tweeted.
Even when the calls for the Eagles were clear, the Giants were powerless to stop them. Case in point: The Eagles had the ball at New York’s 3. Boston give Scott the ball? Yes they did. Scott scored his 11th touchdown against the Giants for a 21–0 lead. He only has 19 TDs in his career. Giants defensive coordinator Vink Martindale upset Philly fans this week when he insisted that Scott was not a “Giant killer.”
Now it’s hard to argue against that point.
Hurts wrapped up the half with a 5-yard touchdown run—he tossed the shotgun snap but still remained untouched in the end zone—for a 28–0 lead. There have only been four more one-sided first-half playoff shutouts in NFL history.
Gainwell finished with 112 yards on 12 carries, including a 35-yard touchdown run. Sanders had 17 rushes for 90 yards.
Coach Brian Dabol’s Giants were confused from the start. The Giants played nothing like the team that beat the Minnesota Vikings, 31–24, for their first post-season win since their Super Bowl victory under Tom Coughlin 11 years earlier.
Matt Breida had an 8-yard TD run for the Giants in the third quarter. Daniel Jones was 15 of 27 for 135 yards and one pick.
Hurts ran, threw and directed the offense with the same authority as he did when he led the Eagles to a 14–1 start and victory over a city that still wasn’t sure about him in the preseason. . In the previous year’s playoff loss to Tampa Bay, Hurts threw two interceptions and was just 23 of 43 for 258 yards.
never break the chain
There was a busted link at the link.
The game was stopped briefly in the opening quarter due to a broken chain in the first quarter. The NFL still uses chains attached to two signal poles to measure the distance to the first down. With the Giants driving in the middle of the quarter, the game was delayed due to an “administrative stoppage”. The series was quickly folded and the game ended with the Eagles leading 7–0.
mvp
two time NL MVP Bryce Harper, who led the Phillies to the World Series, narrated a hype video. Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout, a New Jersey native and Eagles fan, attended the game and inspired the crowd to boo loudly.
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The Eagles went 6–0 and Hurts threw two touchdown passes in a 26–17 victory over the Cowboys in October. The Cowboys won 40–34 on December 24 against Hurts’ backup, Gardner Minshew.
The Eagles last played San Francisco in 2021 and lost.
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