PHILADELPHIA – Little more than two weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were in crisis. They had been dominated by the New York Giants on a Thursday night for their second straight loss, their star running back had continued to be bottled up, their star wide receiver frustrated by the offense and his own production, their new offensive coordinator's play-calling under attack, their very identity in question.
Some teams do best amid the noise, and the Eagles seem to be one of those. That loss to the Giants was the low point, certainly, but also it turns out, it was the turning point. Jalen Hurts excelled last week in a win over the Minnesota Vikings. And on Sunday, against the Giants, everything else finally fell into place for the Eagles in a 38-20 victory. It was the Eagles' most balanced, most efficient game so far -- they were 3-for-3 in the red zone -- and it showcased a daunting reality for the rest of the NFC: The Eagles are taking off as the second half of the season begins.
"The goal is to be playing the best ball at the end of the season, and there's a focus to do that," Hurts said. "You saw a lot of guys make big-time plays today."
Then, about his own progression: "I think the best is yet to come."
Sunday was already the best the Eagles have looked in a season in which they have been desperate not to think about their Super Bowl season. Saquon Barkley, the hero of 2024, finally broke out, first with a 65-yard touchdown run just seconds into the game, and with 150 yards total in a game that the Eagles had been sure was close for weeks. Tank Bigsby added 104 more. The offensive line, riddled with injuries and inconsistency, bulldozed the Giants, even getting the Eagles out of a second-and-26 with a 29-yard Bigsby run. With A.J. Brown injured, Hurts targeted DeVonta Smith over and over, for six receptions and 84 yards. The defense harassed Jaxson Dart with five sacks and kept him from using his legs to gash it as he had done two weeks ago in New York.
And perhaps most importantly, the Eagles put a lid on the energy Dart has brought to the Giants and which had seemed to surprise the Eagles in their first meeting. He never seemed to get fully into the flow that has buoyed the Giants since he became the starter, and when Cam Skattebo suffered a gruesome ankle dislocation midway through the second quarter, the engine of the offense started to sputter. Even Giants head coach Brian Daboll admitted his team was outplayed in every phase of the game.
"We like that balance," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said of his offense. "We had a lot of success with that balance. It's a good feeling for us. And a tough feeling for them."
What Daboll would not say were his thoughts about the officiating. There were two blatantly bad calls that went against the Giants -- the most egregious one in the second quarter a premature ruling of forward progress that disallowed a Hurts fumble on a tush push, and another a phantom offensive pass interference that took a Darius Slayton touchdown reception off the board in the fourth quarter -- that may have swung the tally by 14 points.
Perhaps that early fumble-that-wasn't would have changed things for the Giants. The Eagles scored two plays later to take a lead they never again surrendered. But officiating couldn't account for a defense that could not contain Barkley the way it had two weeks ago, that had no hope of stopping Smith from eating up the secondary player by player, that gave up an average of 7.5 yards per Eagles offensive play.
Hurts said it has taken time -- and adjustment period -- for offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo and his unit to get on the same page, and Sirianni credited Patullo for being mentally tough enough to block out anything that could distract him. Hurts has been playing under center more and he extolled the virtues of having that kind of variety in the offense. That acclimation process, in the last two weeks, appears to finally be ending just as the Eagles head into their bye week. Last season, the Eagles used an early bye week to improve their defense and set off on a trip to a championship. This bye week is likely to be about refining the offense, to getting even more of the coveted balance. And maybe to quieting some of the din that has surrounded the team in the first half of the season.
The trade deadline will pass before the Eagles play again, and in recent weeks, there has been speculation that Brown is so disgruntled he might want out. Perhaps this win will silence some of that speculation and refocus it on whether the Eagles will pursue more help -- maybe a pass rusher -- to bolster another run to the playoffs.
The next time we see the Eagles on the field, they could look a bit different. They have a bit of an NFC gauntlet to run after the bye -- games against the Packers, Lions, Cowboys and Bears -- that looks less daunting today than it did only a few weeks ago. Good teams get through bad times and for the Eagles, even bad times are relative. They are 6-2, and nobody in the NFC has more wins.
"Ultimately, it's about finding a flow," Hurts said of his offense. That goal can apply to a season, too. And the Eagles may finally have caught their wave.
