3 takeaways from Giants vs. Eagles in Week 6
Brian Burns fires his web after a sack during the Giants vs. Eagles game at MetLife on Thursday. Credit: Ed Murray
In the Giants’ last prime-time game, they were embarrassed by Kansas City. On Thursday Night Football, they delivered a statement win over the Eagles and improved to 2-1 since Jaxson Dart took over as starting quarterback.
Here are three takeaways:
The Giants’ receivers bounced back
The Giants’ receiving corps was a big letdown in Sunday’s loss to the Saints. Despite not having Malik Nabers or Darius Slayton on Thursday night, they made up for it in a big way.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey was elevated from the practice squad and started alongside Wan’Dale Robinson. He had a false-start penalty on his third play but made it up the next play with a 34-yard catch to introduce himself properly to Giants fans.
Jalin Hyatt had three catches, but his biggest play was drawing a pass-interference call in the end zone in the fourth quarter. The penalty put the Giants at the 1-yard line, and Cam Skattebo got his third rushing touchdown.
Robinson finished with six catches for 84 yards. Humphrey had four catches for 55 yards on a team-high eight targets. He might have played himself into getting more reps, given his familiarity with Dart.
“Even on a short week, that was somebody that I know Jaxson had a lot of confidence in throwing to him from the preseason,” coach Brian Daboll said. “He had a lot of reps with him. We talked about that. I felt comfortable with it. He did a good job.”
The Giants finished in the red zone
The Giants entered Thursday last in the NFL in red-zone efficiency. They were much better finishing drives against the Eagles, going 3-for-3 in red-zone efficiency. For the first time this season, they didn’t attempt a field goal. As a result, they crossed the 30-point mark for the second time this season, something they did only once last season.
“I feel like the last three weeks we’ve gotten better at it,” Dart said. “And I think we’re just trying to use the whole field. We’re trying to get everybody involved and guys are just executing.”
Dart had said the Giants moved the ball well against the Saints but the turnovers crippled them. On Thursday, they showed what can happen without self-inflicted mistakes by getting touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. That’s how this offense will grow going forward.
Brian Burns is playing at an elite level
Burns’ second season with the Giants has been everything the team expected. Thursday was his second multi-sack game of the season, but it’s not just getting sacks, it’s when he’s getting them.
His first sack ended the Eagles’ second drive, and the Giants turned around to score on their second drive to make it 13-3. His second sack came after the Giants made it 27-17 on Skattebo’s second touchdown.
It's a big reason the Giants, who entered 24th in third down-defense, held the Eagles to 1-for-9 on third downs.
With teams double-teaming Dexter Lawrence every game, Burns has capitalized on that. The Giants’ defense has needed somebody to be a closer and make big plays. Burns is turning into that guy.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
