The AFC Championship Game may be played at a neutral site next week, but the NFC champion will be crowned in Philadelphia.
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead and rolled over the Giants for a convincing victory at home on Saturday night. The 38-7 win moves them into the NFC Championship Game and they will host the 49ers or the Cowboys next Sunday.
One of the big question marks heading into Saturday was how well Jalen Hurts would play after getting two weeks off to rest his injured right shoulder. Hurts hit wide receiver Devonta Smith for 40 yards on his first pass of the game and wound up throwing for two touchdowns in the first half. He also had a rushing touchdown and spent a lot of time handing the ball off to Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, and Boston Scott.
That proved to be a sound strategy. Sanders finished with 90 yards while Gainwell picked up 112 and a touchdown. Scott also ran for a touchdown, which moved him up to 11 against the Giants for his career. The team piled up 268 rushing yards overall as the Giants defense continually got overwhelmed at the line of scrimmage.
The Giants offense couldn’t find any similar success. They failed to convert a fourth-and-eight on their first possession and Daniel Jones was intercepted to end the second, which helped the Eagles get out to a big lead very early in the game. That lead grew to 28-0 by halftime and the Giants didn’t get onto the scoreboard until midway through the third quarter.
The Giants won games this season by keeping things close and making big plays in big spots, but Coming from behind proved to be way too much to ask of them on Saturday. The Eagles pass rush picked up five sacks against a one-dimensional attack in the second half. The Eagles are now up to 75 sacks between the regular season and postseason
Disappointing ending aside, the 2022 season was a big success for the Giants. They advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and won a playoff game for the first time since 2011, so head coach Brian Daboll found the right formula to get the team on track despite some major holes on the roster. The offseason will bring decisions on contracts for Jones and running back Saquon Barkley as well as the arrival of cap space that can be used to address other areas.
The Eagles will not be thinking about next year. They’ll spend Sunday seeing who will be on the other side of the field next weekend and then they’ll start working on a way to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since winning in Minneapolis in 2018.