Eagles Beat Giants: Five Big Picture Takeaways

3.) Billy Davis & Staff Should be Commended for the 2015 Defense’s Performance

Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Nolan Carroll (23) returns an interception 17 yards for a touchdown against the New York Giants during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

After a shaky showing against Matt Ryan in the opener and a forgettable final drive vs Kirk Cousins in the team’s loss to Washington, it’d be easy to point at Billy Davis and drum up the same old complaints that have dominated discussions when it comes to the Eagles defense under Chip Kelly. The rest of the football world found out on Monday that Davis’s unit is legit and the much-maligned coordinator and his staff deserve a ton of credit.

Much was made during the offseason about the acquisition of defensive backs coach Cory Undlin from Denver to come in and help fix some of the issues that plagued the secondary in 2014. Against an offense that featured Beckham Jr. and one of the most explosive passing attacks in the game, the Eagles yielded zero ‘X-plays’ (20+ yards) and turned over the Giants three times. The linebacker core has withstood injuries to Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso and managed to emerge as a stabilizing force for one of the best defense’s in the NFC.

Davis did not start his career in Philadelphia as a renowned defensive coordinator. Over two years, he did very little to change that narrative. With an injection of talent and a top-notch coaching staff, Davis is currently in charge of the premiere unit of the Eagles and it only seems as if things will continue to improve. The defense seemed as if they were looking forward to quieting the hype around the Giants offense and managed to do so in a big way. The front seven dominated the line of scrimmage and the secondary continued to demonstrate the ability to make plays in big moments.

Davis is fortunate to have individuals such as DeMeco Ryans and Malcolm Jenkins on the field as eyes and ears, but to discredit the work he and his staff has done would be ignorant. The defense has been put in less-than-favorable situations against future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks several times over the last few weeks and suffocated the opposition’s offense when it mattered most. It may not feature the earth-shattering hits and mind-blowing sack numbers of years past, but the Eagles defense is as solid as one can remember and Billy Davis and company are a big reason why.