Eagles Wallop Giants, 38-20, Behind Season-Best Rushing Attack

PHILADELPHIA – Every week the question was: Is this the week Saquon Barkley breaks out?

The Eagles running back, behind a strong game from backup center Brett Toth pulling to the outside, finally had an answer – yes. Barkley ran for 150 yards on 14 carries, a 10.7 yards-per-carry average, including a 65-yard burst just 17 seconds into the start of Sunday’s game against his former team, the New York Giants, to spark the Eagles to a 38-20 win.

Barkley added a 9-yard receiving touchdown early in the second quarter. His two-score half gives him six touchdowns this season – four rushing and two receiving. However, he injured his groin on a 28-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles will have a week to heal as they enter their bye week at 6-2 and in first place in the NFC East. The Giants continue on their road to nowhere for yet another year, and still have no answers with Brian Daboll as their head coach after falling to 2-6.

Tank Bigsby Adds To Rushing Attack

It wasn’t just Barkley. Tank Bigsby cleared 100 yards, too, rushing for 104 yards on nine carries (11.6 per carry) as the Eagles ripped the New York defense for a season-best 277 yards rushing.

The last time the Eagles had two running backs run for more than 100 yards in the same game was Dec. 22, 2103, when LeSean McCoy (133) and Bryce Brown (115) did it against the Bears.

The win avenged a 34-17 loss to the Giants just 17 days ago, and the running game was a big part of it. The Giants held the Eagles to just 73 yards rushing in that game and a 3.7 yards-per-carry average.

The Eagles weren’t slouches in the passing game, though. Dallas Goedert caught a pair of touchdowns – from 6 yards and 17 yards. He now has seven TD catches this season, which is a new career high.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw four touchdown passes – the two to Goedert, the one to Barkley, and a 40-yard heave to Jahan Dotson, who outjumped a defender to make the grab. It was the 100th TD pass of Hurts' career. A week after posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating, he ended this one with a PR of 141.5. He has 15 this season and only one interception.

THOUGHTS

-Who needs A.J. Brown? That is said tongue-in-cheek, but the Eagles offense ran quite well without the star receiver, who missed the game with a hamstring injury. It was the first time this season the offense put up more total yards than opponent. 427-246.

-DeVonta Smith needed to step up without Brown, and he did, catching six of nine targets for 84 yards.

-What a nice play design by OC Kevin Patullo on the 17-yard TD toss to Dallas Goedert with 11:17 to play in the game. The Eagles were eating on the ground with Tank Bigsby picking up big chunks, when Jalen Hurts kept the ball on a fake handoff to Bigsby. It looked like Hurts was going to sweep the right side for a run, when he pulled up and found a wide-open Goedert to make the score 31-13.

-Speaking Bigsby, he looks like he is entrenched as Barkley’s backup, so A.J. Dillon appears to be a spare part, one who could get released to make room for players expected to come off IR after the bye – Nolan Smith and Jakorian Bennett.

-Will Shipley deserves props for returning two kickoffs for a total of 79 yards – one for 41, the other for 32 – to give the Eagles good starting field position. The Eagles used that good starting position to score the touchdown that put them up 21-10 at halftime – a 6-yard touchdown reception from Dallas Goedert.

-Jordan Davis continues to put together an underrated season. The defensive tackle notched his career-high third sack.

-Speaking of sacks, two Eagles got their first of the season – Jalen Carter and Jalyx Hunt. Until Hunt ended one Giants drive inside the red zone, forcing a field goal with 19 seconds left to pull with 24-10, he had more interceptions (1) than sacks. Zack Baun had his third, but Moro Ojomo continues to lead the team after he notched his fourth.

More NFL: Saquon Barkley Helps Eagles Open Halftime Lead, 21-10, In Rematch Vs. Giants