Five Biggest Plays in Eagles Win Over Giants

See which five plays stood out in Philly's Week 14 48-22 rout of New York

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – For the second week in a row, the Eagles blasted an opponent.

This time, it was the New York Giants who they swatted away like a spring fly, winning 48-22. Last week, it was the Titans who were squashed, 35-10.

Here are my five biggest plays from Sunday’s win at MetLife Stadium that clinched a playoff spot for Philadelphia and moved its record to 12-1.

1) JALEN HURTS TO DEVONTA SMITH

The 41-yard TD from QB to WR gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead and the rout was basically on at that point, which happened with 12:05 to go in the second quarter.

The throw came on fourth-and-seven and was what Hurts called “a pivotal moment in the game, a big momentum swing for us.”

The ball was thrown beautifully, behind a cornerback and just before safety Julian Love arrived.

“Quarterback made a great throw and just gave me a chance to make a play,” said Smith, who now has five TD catches, the same number he made as a rookie.

Smith said he didn’t see the safety sprinting to the scene, but knew he was over there.

The WR also said Hurts checked out of a play into that one. What did he like, Smith was asked.

“Man (coverage),” he said.

2) JOSH SWEAT SACK

The Eagles posted seven sacks, but it was the first one – the one from Sweat – that set the tone and was, frankly, a blur. Sweat just plowed right past left tackle Andrew Thomas and was Daniel Jones in an instant.

It came on New York’s third offensive play of the game.

“Everybody fed off of it because we got another sack the next play (from Haason Reddick) then once we got some points on the board, we thought they’d eventually drop back eventually, and after a while, they had to, but I felt like I set the tone with it,” said Sweat, who tied his career-high set last year with 7.5 sacks.

3) DROP-KICK PUNT

Giants punter Jamie Gillan did something you never see – he dropped the ball nowhere near his foot on a punt try. The ball bounced on the ground and Gillan punted it at that point. Except a drop-kick punt is an illegal play.

New York was penalized 10 yards from the spot giving the Eagles the ball at the NYG 33.

One play and 8 seconds later, Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 33-yard touchdown an a 21-0 lead with 8:16 to go in the second quarter.

4) BOSTON SCOTT KICKOFF RETURN

The Giants had a little life after blocking a punt in the end zone and setting up shop at the Eagles 15, field position that allowed them to score their first TD and cut Philly’s lead to 21-7 with 2:57 to play until halftime.

Then Boston Scott did what he always does against the Giants – burned them.

He returned the ensuing kickoff 66 yards to set the Eagles up at New York’s 35.

Though the Eagles couldn’t turn it into a TD, they got a 29-yard field goal from Jake Elliott to give Philly a more palatable 24-7 lead at the intermission.

Scott later added a 3-yard TD run, his ninth career touchdown against the Giants. This one made the score 48-14.

5) MILES SANDERS TD RUN

His 3-yard touchdown that opened the scoring was nice. 

The 40-yard run was better. In the scheme of things, it wasn’t much, as it gave the Eagles a 41-14 lead, but it was just nice to see the RB, who eclipsed 1,000 yards, hit a home run touchdown for the first time this season.

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