Philadelphia Eagles Avoid Christmas Collapse, Beat New York Giants to End Skid
The holiday season hasn't been kind to the Philadelphia Eagles, but Christmas Day at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday brought tidings of good joy -- at least somewhat.
The Eagles overcame big plays in all three phases from the New York Giants and grinded out an ugly 33-25 win to end a three-game losing streak. The Giants battled back from a 20-3 halftime deficit after benching Tommy DeVito in the third quarter in favor of Tyrod Taylor, who had a chance to send things to overtime on the game's final drive.
But Kelee Ringo picked off Taylor's last-second pass in the end zone to seal the win.
However, it's hardly a win the championship-minded Eagles will feel completely satisfied with. Philly's big lead at halftime probably should've been more, but Jalen Hurts and the offense were able to weather the storm despite the early New Year's fireworks that the Giants brought in the second half.
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Hurts went 24 of 38 passing for 301 yards, one touchdown to DeVonta Smith and one pick while running eight times for 34 yards and another score. D'Andre Swift gashed the Giants defense in the second half to help drain out valuable game clock before finishing with 20 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown.
This was enough to beat a pesky Giants team that used three game-changing plays in the second half to avoid a Christmas embarrassment.
First, Eagles receiver Olamide Zacceheaus bumped into Boston Scott on the second-half kickoff, causing Scott to lose a fumble that the Giants recovered. New York punched it in with running back Saquon Barkley two plays later.
After the two teams traded punts, Hurts looked like he had the Eagles in position to score before tossing a pick-six on a 76-yard interception return by Giants defensive back Adoree' Jackson. This cut the Philly lead to two at 20-18 after an ensuing two-point conversion
The Eagles scored 10 straight in response, but Taylor found Darius Slayton for a 69-yard touchdown with 5:22 to play to make it a 30-25 game.
Philly's strong first half provided them with a comfortable cushion in the last two quarters. Instead, the game came down to the final play.
The Eagles will still have more work to do for the postseason. But first they'll host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET for a New Year's Eve matchup.
