Eagles Stock Report: Slow Start Turns to Fromm-Fueled Finish

PHILADELPHIA - An ugly start turned into an emphatic finish for the Eagles in a 34-10 drubbing of the New York Giants.

It wasn't pretty, but Philadelphia took advantage of an inside straight named Jake Fromm to win for the second time in six days and move above. 500 at 8-7.

The Eagles are also now the No. 7 and final seed in the NFC playoff picture after Minnesota's loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Philadelphia offense was every bit as inept as the Fromm-led Giants through 30 minutes but the second half was another story as the Eagles cruised to the finish line with 31 points to easily outdistance the dismal Giants (4-11), who have lost at least 10 games in five consecutive seasons.

THE BULLS

The Defense - You really can't put too much stock in the gaudy numbers for Jonathan's Gannon's defense because Fromm was laughably bad to the point former Giants deep backup and current Eagles quality control coach Alex Tanney probably would have been a better option if Joe Judge could have convinced him to come out of retirement.

The Jets' Luke Falk was Joe Namath compared to Fromm in his debacle last season and Garrett Gilbert was as pesky as Joe Theisman last week when he at least valiantly fought for the Washington Football Team on Tuesday.

Either way, the defense did what they were supposed to do and smothered Fromm, who finished 6-of-17 for 25 yards with an interception, a dismal 1.48 yards-per-attempt, and a 19.5 passer rating before being benched in the third quarter for Mike Glennon.

Overall the Eagles' defense allowed just 192 total yards, a 29-yard Alex Singleton pick-six, and another INT by Rodney McLeod that provided a short field.

“Obviously we watched a lot of [Giants QB Mike] Glennon during the week. He’s been their quarterback for the last month. So we just knew they were going to kind of run similar things with Fromm and they kind of changed it up a little bit obviously," Singleton said. "They ran the ball a lot more. So when they went back to Glennon we knew what they were going to try and go to. They were throwing more shots with him.

"We knew once they switched what we were going to get.”

DeVonta Smith - The Eagles' rookie receiver made two brilliant catches, high-pointing the football for a 46-yard gain and then somehow staying inside the end zone on a four-yard TD pass from Hurts that was looked out interminably before finally being given the all-clear by the officials.

“It was really just a communication lapse on our part," NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Walt Anderson told pool reporter Zach Berman of The Athletic when discussing the play. "We originally were seeing a heel down. So, the original communication between the replay booth and the referee was that it looked like it was going to be an expedited review.

"And I know the referees are trying to make those announcements quickly. By the time we could say there are additional angles, he had already made that announcement. And then we said, no, we’re going to stop play and look at this because we had multiple angles relative to was it a continuous step.

"By rule, if the toe comes down first and then the heel comes down in one continuous step, then it’s out of bounds. But if there’s any kind of a drag with the toe, then that toe drag gets credit for the second step, in this case.”

Jalen Reagor - An early four-yard loss on a punt return was erased by a 39-yard return which extended the game from one score to two scores, typically not a death sentence that early but a lead that seemed insurmountable to this Giants offense because it was. Reagor also got involved in the passing game. Those are positive steps - small ones - but positive ones nonetheless.

TE Lane Johnson - He was once a QB so why not a tight end? Nick Sirianni was obviously bored in quarantine as evidenced by the dissertation he gave reporters on an innocuous game-management question on Friday.

Perhaps, Sirianni was also drawing up some unique stuff considering he unveiled the Johnston tackle eligible play in which the veteran right tackle got loose for a five-yard TD reception with 11:40 left in the game.

"The play was called ‘East Texas’ because [Eagles QB] Jalen [Hurts] is from East Texas and I’m from East Texas, but I knew that we were going to run it if we were ahead," Johnson said via a member of the team's PR staff.

Perseverance - Despite a short week with a holiday baked in and a coach working virtually due to a COVID-19 positive, the Eagles weathered the storm and persevered in games that should have won.

“I’ve always known that we’re a tenacious group," RB Boston Scott, who scored his seventh TD against the Giants on a three-yard run in the third quarter, said. "Fight through anything and stay close-knit. We don’t let what’s going on on the outside or anything like that interfere with the camaraderie and brotherhood that we have going on inside that locker room. I love those guys; I’ll go to war for them every week.”

Eagles' playoff hopes - The LA Rams handled their business in Minnesota, meaning the Eagles now control their own destiny. If Philadelphia wins out over the next two weeks - at Washington and vs. Dallas - the Eagles will be in the playoffs.

THE BEARS

Game Prep - Despite Sirianni claiming his short stint in COVID purgatory wouldn't affect anything when it came to preparation this week, the Eagles simply didn't come out ready to play and things were ugly for 30 minutes until Fromm's fatal mistake when he was picked by Rodney McLeod, setting up the Eagles on a short field. Once the Eagles took the lead the game was effectively over.

Injuries - Add a hand injury to the litany of issues Miles Sanders is facing while Jordan Howard was forced to leave early with a stinger and Nate Herbig exited with a knee injury. The Eagles had been very healthy this late in the season coming in but those issues, along with the daily uncertainty of COVID could make things tougher over the final two weeks.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.