The Philadelphia Eagles looked like a team capable of defending their Super Bowl victory on Thursday night against the New York Giants.
Carson Wentz threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles cruised to a 34-13 victory over the Giants.
Philadelphia jumped on top quickly as Eli Manning was intercepted on the second play from scrimmage by linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill. Three plays later, Wentz hit Alshon Jeffery for a 13-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. It was an advantage they’d never come close to relinquishing.
While the Eagles were cruising up and down the field, the Giants offense could barely do anything unless Saquon Barkley or Odell Beckham Jr. were making defenders miss in open space.
But boy did Barkley look special in his chances for the Giants. He had over 200 yards from scrimmage and scored on a 50-yard touchdown run for New York’s only touchdown of the night.
Barkley carried 13 times for 130 yards and a touchdown and caught nine passes for 99 yards for the Giants. He was one receiving yard shy of becoming just the second player since 2011 to have a 100-yard rushing and 100-yard receiving game. Todd Gurley rushed for 118 yards and had 158 receiving yards for the Los Angeles Rams against the Tennessee Titans on Christmas Eve last year.
After Jeffery’s early touchdown, Corey Clement scored on a 1-yard run late in the first quarter and Wentz hit Zach Ertz for a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter as the Eagles built a 21-6 lead around a pair of Aldrick Rosas field goals for New York. Jake Elliott added a 33-yard field goal for Philadelphia with 1:29 left in the first half to give the Eagles a 24-6 halftime advantage.
Wentz and Jeffery connected again on a 1-yard touchdown to push the lead to 31-6 on the opening drive of the third quarter.
Barkley would get into the end zone on a terrific run bouncing a carry backside and running by Nigel Bradham and Rasul Douglas for a 50-yard touchdown to make it a 31-13 game.
Elliott would later add a 30-yard field goal to cap the Eagles victory.
Manning completed 24 of 43 passes for 281 yards with an interception for the Giants. Rosas’ two field goals were from 33 and 21 yards.