Eagles Beat Giants: Five Big Picture Takeaways

2.) Mental Toughness is a Weapon for the 2015 Eagles

Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans (59) celebrates after recovering fumble New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings (23) (not pictured) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Even though Monday’s game ended with a 20-point victory for the home team, both the Eagles and Giants were presented with opportunities to seize a win. For New York, that came two drives into the contest. Odell Beckham Jr. had given the Giants a 7-0 lead and, after an Eagles three-and-out, New York was poised to extend their lead to double digits. Having collected their third 3rd-down conversion of the drive, Big Blue was already in field goal range when the tide of the game started to turn. Manning delivered a catchable ball to tight end Larry Donnell with DeMeco Ryans in tight coverage. The veteran linebacker won the battle for the ball and came down with as crucial an interception as one can envision that early in a game.

The Eagles would score on the subsequent drive to tie the game at seven. The next Giants drive would end on a failed 4th down conversion in Eagles territory. This would be the last time New York would finish a drive on Philadelphia’s end of the field. A Giants offense that had garnered its fair share of praise in the days leading up to Monday’s matchup sputtered to a screeching halt and was rendered ineffective against an energized Eagles defense. It was not as if they were not allotted the same types of opportunities courtesy of their defense as Monday’s opponent was.

New York was unable to turn any of the Eagles’ four turnovers into points. If anything, it looked as if the Eagles defense invited the opportunity to get back on the field after the offense would give up the ball. After making the necessary adjustments after New York’s lone scoring drive, the Giants looked as ineffective on offense as the Eagles have at times earlier this season. Being able to bounce back from a drive where they allowed the most notable player on the opposition to open the scoring on their home field said a lot about where the Eagles defense is mentally.

On the other side of the ball, there’s something to be said for a team going up against an opposition’s strength, in this case the Giants’ run defense, and commit to attacking it until they can finally break through. The ability to maintain a formidable rushing attack up until the final gun kept the offense from giving the ball back to New York in the latter stages of the contest. The Giants also fell victim to some costly, drive-extending penalties that proved devastating to their hopes for a comeback. There was no panic throughout the game for the Eagles and the Giants allowed the game slipping away from them to affect their play on the field.

With a roster that features several leadership-type players, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is very little visual signs of frustration in terms of individuals going at one another. The Eagles consist of quite a few players whose sole desire is to win and realize that pointing fingers and getting worked up over things does not help achieve that goal. While talent obviously prevails more often than not, the NFL is a game that can turn quite a bit if one team is unable to maintain composure. The Eagles have shown the ability to do so, even in defeat, in 2015. That should continue to benefit them as the season goes on.