Eagles, Wentz and rookie RB rally past Giants
PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles were left for dead.
Then they might have saved their season.
That’s because the Eagles rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second quarter and beat the Giants 25-22 Sunday on Jake Elliott’s 43-yard field goal with 22 seconds left.
The Eagles improved to 5-6 and are one game behind first-place Washington and Dallas, their next two opponents, respectively.
The Eagles did it despite playing without their top five cornerbacks and then losing a sixth. And they did it with a defense that couldn’t stop the Giants in the first half as they piled up 346 yards and an offense that kept getting in its own way.
Yet Carson Wentz completed 20 of 28 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Josh Adams, an undrafted free agent, rushed for a career-high 84 yards on 22 carries, including the touchdown that put the Eagles in front for the first time, at 22-19 with 10:19 left in the game (Adams also ran in the two-point conversion).
It was part of a dominant second half in which the Eagles outgained the Giants 132 to -7 after taking that lead on Adams’ TD. The Giants tied the score with a field goal with 5:52 left after Cre’Von LeBlanc, signed just three weeks ago, broke up a pass into the end zone intended for Odell Beckham Jr.
The Eagles then drove down the field, converting a 4th-and-1 from the Giants’
42 when Nelson Agholor made his first reception in two weeks for 12 yards. The Eagles then drained the clock down to
25 seconds before Elliott connected. That outcome seemed so unlikely through the first half. The Eagles couldn’t stop the Giants through the first half, and they couldn’t get much go- ing on offense.
Yet they trailed just 19-11 at halftime. That’s because they got a touchdown with 1:04 left in the first half on Wentz’s 15-yard pass to Zach Ertz and the 2point conversion. Then Malcolm Jenkins intercepted Giants quarterback Eli Manning at the goal line with 5 seconds left.
The Eagles were without five cornerbacks, all out with injuries, although Rasul Douglas was dressed for the game. It was easy for Manning to pick apart the defense, which he did. Manning threw for 236 yards and a touchdown in the first half but just 61 yards in the second half.
Running back Saquon Barkley, meanwhile, ran through the defense, with 94 yards rushing, including a 51yard TD run with 4:06 left in the half. Barkley had just 7 yards in the second half.
In all, the Giants had 346 yards in the first half to 159 for the Eagles.
Early on, the Eagles couldn’t keep pace, in part because of their own mistakes. They didn’t score a first-quarter touchdown for the ninth time in 11 games this season.
On the Eagles’ second offensive play of the game, after the Giants scored easily on their first possession, Josh Adams ran for a 52-yard touchdown. It was called back because of a hold on Jason Kelce.
Later on the drive, Wentz overthrew Golden Tate deep over the middle, and the Eagles had to punt.
An offensive pass interference on Alshon Jeffery followed by a sack ended the Eagles’ next drive at midfield.
The Giants, meanwhile, kept scoring, whether it was a field goal or a touchdown.
The Eagles got to within 12-3 with 5:19
left in the first half. But they faced a 3rdand-2 from the Giants’ 23. Wentz kept the ball and was stopped for a 1-yard loss. The Eagles decided not to go for it on 4th-and-3 and kicked the field goal.
Then the Giants turned to Barkley and scored again.
But the Eagles got to within one score going into halftime when Wentz hit Zach Ertz for a 15-yard TD and then got the 2-point conversion.
Then Jenkins made his interception. And as Eagles coach Doug Pederson said last week, the Eagles “flipped the script” in the second half.