EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- An unexpected result should have been the expected outcome. That is, if you saw the Philadelphia Eagles play football over the past six weeks.
Tyrod Taylor and the New York Giants offense had 272 yards in the first half and chased the Eagles starters out of the game in the second quarter as New York led by 24 points at halftime en route to a 27-10 victory over Philadelphia. With the Eagles losing, the Dallas Cowboys clinched the NFC East title. Philadelphia will travel to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers in the NFC wild card round.
Saquon Barkley had two touchdown runs for the Giants and Darius Slayton had a touchdown catch in a 21-point second quarter for the Giants, one which New York scored on three straight possessions to take control of the game. The Giants finished a disappointing season with just six wins, but closed the year on a 4-3 stretch.
The Eagles had plenty of injuries in the first half, which led to the decision to pull some of their starters (along with the 24-0 deficit). A.J. Brown left the game with a right knee injury and was downgraded to out after halftime. Sydney Brown left in the first quarter with a knee injury and was shortly ruled out, and Jalen Hurts suffered a dislocated right middle finger -- but didn't miss a play. Hurts was pulled late in the first half (along with starters Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson) as the Eagles punted on the game trailing by more than three scores.
The Eagles lost five of their last six games after a 10-1 start, becoming the first team to make the playoffs to lose five of their last six since the 1999 Dolphins. That Dolphins team did win a playoff game on the road before losing 62-7 in the divisional round, potentially a sign of how the 2023 Eagles season will end up.
Takeaways from the regular-season finale are below, along with a recap of the Giants victory.
Why the Giants won
This game meant nothing for the Giants, yet New York was clearly the better team than the one that's going to the playoffs. Taylor carved up the Eagles defense in the first half, going 15 of 20 for 229 yards and a touchdown, hitting Wan'Dale Robinson for a 33-yard gain and Barkley for a 46-yard gain -- part of the big plays the offense had in the first half. All the Giants had to do was show up against an Eagles team that appeared lifeless -- especially once Brown was injured in the first quarter.
Why the Eagles lost
Same story hurting this team for the past several weeks. The Eagles can't stop anyone on defense, allowing the Giants to gain 272 yards and get in the red zone five times in the first half (Giants scored touchdowns on three of them). Without Brown for an extended period, the Eagles went 1 of 7 on third down and 7 of 17 throwing the football with two interceptions in that span (one from Jalen Hurts and one from Marcus Mariota).
Hasson Reddick and Nolan Smith in coverage isn't helping the defense and missed tackles are at the forefront of the team's problems. The middle of the field is also wide open for opposing quarterbacks to take advantage of. The Eagles are just a broken team with no way of fixing their issues.
Turning point
Brown's fumble on the Giants' 18-yard line in the first quarter set the tone for how the Eagles' day was going to go. Brown caught a 9-yard pass from Hurts on the Eagles' second drive before Nick McCloud forced a fumble on the play, the first of two Eagles turnovers in the first half.
Brown came up limping after the play, previously laying on the MetLife Stadium turf for several minutes before walking off under his own power. He was ruled out with a right knee injury in the second half, but the Eagles offense was lifeless immediately after Brown walked off the field. The Eagles ran 20 plays for 32 yards in the second quarter, with Hurts suffering a dislocated finger in the process (Hurts didn't miss a play). The Giants outscored the Eagles' 21-0 in that stretch.
Play of the game
Not sure what the Eagles were doing on this play, but Smith was covering Barkley on a third-and-2 in a 17-0 game. That didn't go well -- as expected. Barkley beat Smith down the left side for a 46-yard gain just out of the two-minute warning, as the Giants running back looked like the Barkley of old.
Slayton caught a 19-yard pass for a touchdown on the next play to put the Giants up 24-0. That summarized how poor the Eagles' day was and how well the Giants' day went.
Up next
The Eagles locked up the No. 5 seed with the loss and will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round of the playoffs. The Giants' 2023 season has concluded.