The Giants used the 2022 regular season finale as a day of rest ahead of the playoffs as the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the top seed in the NFC with a 22-16 win on Sunday evening.
Here are some key takeaways...
- With the playoff berth already clinched, their first trip since 2016, and New York locked into the No. 6 seed, head coach Brian Daboll took the Week 18 game as an opportunity to rest several key players as running back Saquon Barkley, safety Julian Love, tackle Andrew Thomas, and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence were all healthy scratches.
- Davis Webb got the nod at quarterback ahead of Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor. It was the first-career start for the six-year NFL veteran who was first drafted by New York with a third-round pick in 2017. His first career drive ended with his first career pass, a third-down incompletion at the feet of a wide receiver.
Webb showed flashes (23 of 40 for 168 yards and a touchdown, adding 41 yards and a score on the ground) but for long stretches of the game looked like a quarterback who was passed over for six seasons before getting his first NFL action highlighted by back-to-back delay of game penalties on 2nd-and-goal in the third quarter.
- The Giants’ reserves looked overmatched at times against the Eagles’ first-teamers, but at no point looked lifeless.
- Webb provided a big highlight for the Giants on a 14-yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter when he ran over Eagles safety Reed Blankenship. But Webb wasn't done: With a 25-yard touchdown pass Kenny Golladay, who made a sensational grab with Darius Slay draped all over him and got both feet in bounds late in the fourth quarter.
- Jalen Hurts made his return from injury after missing back-to-back games. He was greeted by MVP chants from the Philadelphia crowd before his first snap on offense and then hit AJ Brown for a 35-yard catch and run on a slant to set the tone for the Eagles' offense playing against a second-string New York defense.
- Big Blue did not play any of their regular starters on the first possession on offense or defense outside of offensive linemen Evan Neal, Nick Gates and Ben Bredeson and that was consistent throughout the game. Neal struggled in protection at times and Webb was under pressure on nearly every one of his first-half drop backs, especially from Philadelphia's Haason Reddick who forced a 16-yard loss on an intentional grounding that killed a promising drive in the second quarter.
- After two rough three-and-outs to start the game, Webb looked much more composed on the third drive hitting passes of six and 16 before an eight-yard scamper got 15 tacked on for a late hit out of bounds. But instead of a Graham Gano 47-yard field goal attempt on a fourth-and-8, Daboll made his first out-of-the-ordinary special teams call of the day with a fake. Unfortunately, the Eagles weren't fooled and had tight end Nick Vannett well before sacking Jamie Gillan on the final play of the first quarter.
- The Giants defense sacked Hurts three times -- including 1.5 from corner Nick McCloud -- and allowed just one touchdown in the first half, but surrendered four scoring drives and went into the locker room 16-0.
- Daboll continued the special teams trickeration with a surprise onside kick to open the second half. The ball bounced around free for a while before the Eagles' Nakobe Dean managed to jump on it. Philly took the short field and had the ball in the end zone seven plays later, but a flag took the score off the board and Hurts was intercepted by Dane Belton in the end zone on the next play the game's first turnover.
- Running back Gary Brightwell was a bright spot for the New York offense. He added 60 yards on 11 carries (5.5 average) on the ground and had a 40-yard kickoff return.
- Carl Cheffers’ officiating crew (who entered the game calling an NFL-leading 12.8 infractions per game, per Rick Gosselin) lived up to their standard with 12 total accepted penalties. New York’s loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Giants in games officiated by Cheffers.