Giants grades vs. Eagles in Week 6

Cam Skattebo of the New York Giants celebrates his fourth-quarter touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Thursday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
OFFENSE: A
Two rookies who didn’t even begin this season as starters have emerged as the heart and soul of the team and the most productive drum-beaters of the offense. Cam Skattebo had 98 rushing yards on 19 carries with three touchdowns and Jaxson Dart threw for 195 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 58 and a score. Lil’Jordan Humphrey came off the practice squad and was the most-targeted player on the team with eight passes coming his way; he caught four of them for 55 yards.
DEFENSE: A
There were more teasers for the Saquon Barkley documentary on Prime during the game than there were impact plays by the former Giants running back, who spent most of last season torturing them. After rushing for 31 yards on his first two carries of the game, Barkley was limited to 27 on his next 10. Brian Burns had two sacks and spent time dropping into coverage. Cor’Dale Flott’s interception and 68-yard return was a back-breaking play.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
It didn’t start out great with a mis-hit kickoff by Jamie Gillan for a penalty that gave the Eagles great field position. Jude McAtamney missed an extra-point kick in the first quarter that felt as if it was going to be costly, but the units rebounded. Dane Belton made a great tackle on a first-quarter kickoff to pin the Eagles at the 25 and Gunner Olszewski had 103 yards in kickoff returns with a long of 37.
COACHING: B+
A few management issues throughout the game — why did the Giants call a timeout late in the half when the Eagles were about to be penalized for a delay of game, and why did they call quarterback runs after Dart returned to the field after his passed concussion test? — but they were overcome by a strong showing on other areas. The Eagles weren’t at full strength (defensive tackle Jalen Carter was a pregame scratch, cornerback Quinyon Mitchell left early on) and the Giants exploited that. Defensively, they kept Jalen Hurts off balance with mixes of dropping into coverage and pressures.