Arvell Reese, Jameis Winston step up as first-place Giants defeat Eagles
· Yahoo Sports
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles’ reign is over. The NFC East is New York Giants territory now.
Sunday’s 19-11 win by John Harbaugh’s team snapped a 13-game Giant skid at Lincoln Financial Field dating back to 2013 and improved New York’s first place record to 5-2-1.
Visit newssport.cv for more information.
Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese sacked Philadelphia quarterback Joe Milton III three times. Jameis Winston directed the Giants’ only touchdown drive, even though J.J. McCarthy started at quarterback. Rookie kicker Dominic Zvada hit all four of his field goal attempts despite struggling before the bye.
And the Giants are days away from putting a stranglehold on their division if they can beat the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football at MetLife Stadium.
Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline looms as an opportunity for Harbaugh to improve his roster. The Giants’ screaming need for a running back was evident again Sunday with Cam Skattebo (hamstring) sidelined, and they’ve been chasing defensive tackle help, too.
But Sunday was a success of its own. The Giants’ players turned behind their bench in the fourth quarter and pumped up the fans wearing blue in an otherwise quiet stadium, and they scored a win despite playing a pretty sloppy game.
The key turning point happened with about 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter and the Eagles leading, 8-6.
McCarthy hurt his hip on a quarterback run when he was hit by Eagles linebacker Zach Baun. Winston replaced him for the final two plays of that drive and one more possession.
The Giants punted the ball away, but when Winston got the ball back, he went scorched Earth on the Eagles’ defense.
Winston completed 6 of 8 passes for 71 yards and added a 10-yard scramble, capped by a 5-yard TD pass to tight end Isaiah Likely.
That gave the Giants a 13-8 lead with 2:25 to play in the third quarter and completely changed the complexion of the game as Harbaugh’s defense bottled up Nick Sirianni’s offense in Philadelphia’s seventh straight loss (2-7).
McCarthy returned to the game late in the third quarter and helped the Giants to two more field goals. He threw what could have been a nail-in-the-coffin pass that Malik Nabers dropped.
And as always, the Giants kept it interesting until the end: Milton hit wide receiver Darius Cooper for what could have been an 80-yard touchdown with the Giants up eight points in the final minute, and Cooper dropped the ball as Giants safety Ar’Darius Washington sailed by.
But Dennard Wilson’s defense blitzed and sacked Milton to prevent an Eagles Hail Mary attempt at the buzzer and seal the victory.
The Giants generated no offense to speak of in the first half and trailed, 8-6, at the break. Nabers was so frustrated he threw his helmet down on the bench late in the second quarter.
New York’s O-line got pushed around early. The Giants managed only 16 rushing yards and 88 total yards, and McCarthy was sacked five times.
The Giants also committed seven penalties as a team before half.
Zvada hit field goals from 53 and 49 yards for a 6-0 lead with 5:31 remaining in the first quarter. But they still trailed at halftime due to a Saquon Barkley 3-yard TD run with 2:09 to play in the second quarter.
Deonte Banks committed a 30-yard pass interference penalty on Cooper to set up Barkley’s score.
Philly kicked an extra point to go up, 7-6. But the Giants’ field goal block unit was penalized for having 12 men on the field.
So the Eagles accepted the penalty, took the ball at the 1-yard line and snuck Milton in for a successful two-point try and a two-point lead.
The first half was not without bright spots, though.
The Eagles offense only had 121 yards in the first half. Reese had two sacks and nine tackles by halftime, and he forced a key takeaway.
Giants punt returner Charlie Jones, playing with a bad thumb, fumbled away a punt and gave the Eagles the ball at New York’s 47-yard line early in the second quarter.
And Reese took the ball right back for the Giants. He crushed Milton on a third down blitz and forced a fumble that Micah McFadden recovered.
That’s how the day went for the Giants: It wasn’t pretty. But they made the bounces go their way.
____