The Philadelphia Eagles dominated in their Divisional Round matchup against the New York Giants. Led by star quarterback Jalen Hurts and a stout defense, the Eagles shut down the Giants 38-7.

The Eagles could not have asked for a better start to the first half. A 40-yard pass from Hurts to wideout DeVonta Smith set up a 16-yard Dallas Goedart touchdown on the opening drive. The Eagles followed that up with another touchdown bringing the score to 14-0 through the first quarter.

The Giants struggled early on. New York turned the ball over on downs on their opening drive after back-to-back sacks from Eagles’ edge rusher Haason Reddick. Then Giants’ quarterback Daniel Jones had a pass picked off by James Bradberry. The Giants’ defense could not slow the Eagles’ high-flying offense giving up 14 second-quarter points. New York trailed Philadelphia 28-0 by halftime with their offense only tallying 5 plays in the Eagles’ territory.

The Giants found the endzone on their second drive of the second half. New York’s defense stepped up and held the Eagles scoreless in the third quarter as well. However, the Giants offense could not build off their scoring drive and faltered throughout the rest of the game. Philadelphia extended its lead with 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles’ running game star in victory

There were no signs of a lingering shoulder injury in Hurts’ second game back as the Eagles’ starting quarterback. Hurts finished the game with 154 yards and two touchdowns through the air. He added another 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Hurts’ play was supplemented by a strong rushing game for Philadelphia. With the rushing attack firing on all cylinders, there was no need to feature the passing game after the Eagles took a comfortable lead. Philadelphia finished with 268 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Kenneth Gainwell and Miles Sanders led the way with 112 and 90 rushing yards respectively.

Philadelphia Eagles defense shuts down the New York Giants’ offense

It was a rough outing for Jones and the Giants’ offense. The Eagles’ front seven consistently applied pressure on Jones, sacking him five times. The secondary was dominant as well, forcing Jones to throw the ball away or try to make a play with his legs.

Jones finished the game with 135 yards passing and 24 yards rushing. With the Giants playing catchup throughout most of the game, Saquon Barkley was quickly dispatched from the gameplan. The star runningback finished the game with just 61 rushing yards off nine attempts, 39 of which came off one rush.

The silver lining for the Giants is that they overachieved this season. Many doubted the team would even make the playoffs, let alone win in the Wild Card Round. Expectations were that the team would be drafting a quarterback high in the draft and looking for a new runningback to put in the backfield this upcoming offseason. After the performance the team had this season, those expectations have changed. Both Jones and Barkley have played their way into contract extensions. With more talent added through the draft and in free agency and another year in head coach Brian Daboll’s system, the Giants are set to run it back next season.

The Philadelphia Eagles will host the winner of the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys matchup. The game will take place Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field.

As for the Eagles. They are one win away from making their third Super Bowl appearance in the 21st century. Both the 49ers and the Cowboys will pose a more difficult opponent than the Giants.

The 49ers front seven will be a bigger challenge for the Eagles’ offensive line. Kyle Shannahan’s offense has not faltered under rookie quarterback Brock Purdy. Purdy has not been perfect for the 49ers this season, but he has played well enough to help the team to wins.

The Cowboys looked like legit contenders in their victory over the Tampa Bay Buccanneers. Quarterback Dak Prescott had a bounceback performance after a poor outing against the Washington Commanders in week 18. A matchup with Dallas would give the Eagles a chance to break the series tie from the regular season.

(Featured Image Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)