For one step forward, there was a gigantic step backward.
For the first time all season, the Eagles showcased a running game Thursday night that was both efficient and explosive. Saquon Barkley opened with his longest run of the season on the first play from scrimmage, then ripped off another double-digit yardage run on the very next play and found more lanes and yards against his old team throughout the first half.
Of course, the breakout of the Eagles' run game coincided with a surprisingly disappointing effort in run defense that looked porous and – dare we say – soft?
The Eagles were without their best interior lineman, Jalen Carter, but to suggest that Carter's absence alone should result in the rest of the defensive front getting steamrolled by the Giants' ground game would be ridiculous.
The Giants at times bullied the Eagles up front as they pulled off a shocking 34-17 upset at Metlife Stadium, where this time there'd be no miracle comeback for the Eagles.
Here's a look at a missing piece of the Eagles' offense that finally saw its stock rise, and an alarming failure on the other side of the ball from Week 6's stunning defeat up the New Jersey Turnpike:
Stock up: Running game 📈
It almost felt like Barkley was headed for one of those monster games as he ripped off an 18-yard run on the Eagles' first play. On the next snap, he scampered 13 more yards for another first down.
At that point, Barkley's 31 yards were already more than his entire rushing total from Sunday's Week 5 game against the Broncos. Imagine that. He looked slithery, explosive and gave the impression that if he got fed more than six carries, he'd easily have his best rushing game of the season.
Smart of the Eagles to also get reserve OT Fred Johnson onto the field at times to add some beef up front to help the run game. The Tush Push even made a triumphant return after a week off against the Broncos.
Even without Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson, who was out with an ankle injury, the Eagles' run game looked functional and intimidating again.
And maybe if the Eagles hadn't fallen behind by double digits in the third, Barkley would've touched the ball more and broken bigger runs, as great running backs tend to do when they're fed a steady diet of handoffs.
But Barkley, who had 60 yards on his first 10 carries, had to play second fiddle to the pass offense after the Eagles fell into a 10-point hole when the Giants took a 27-17 lead on their first drive after halftime.
Stock down: Eagles run defense 📉
The Giants, without Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton, really only had one option to move the ball – on the ground. The Eagles knew this, and still didn't stop them.
Two New York rookies, RB Cam Skattebo and QB Jaxson Dart, helped the Giants rush for 172 yards at an average of 4.4 per carry as the Giants scored way more points than anticipated in their major upset.
They rushed for four touchdowns as they asserted themselves at the point of attack in a way the Giants haven't done often lately, especially against the Eagles.
Dart's 20-yard scramble in the first quarter gave the Giants an early 7-3 lead and set the stage for a Giants ground game that combined finesse from the QB and power from the rookie Skattebo.
Skattebo, a cult hero at Arizona State and around college football for his no-holds-barred style of running, bowled through both Zack Baun and Adoree' Jackson at the goal line on his third-quarter 1-yard TD run that built up a 10-point Giants lead that was almost shocking to see.
But even more surprising than the 1-4 Giants having a double-digit lead on the 4-1 Eagles was just how soft Skattebo made the once-proud Eagles defense look.
There's no denying that the Giants are an improving team and that Skattebo has brought a higher level of physicality and energy to them, but it's also a surprise that the Eagles missed tackles, took poor angles and were even occasionally steamrolled in a way we haven't seen since their 2-2 start last year.
The Eagles were able to right their wrongs last season and climb to being the No. 1 defense by season's end. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has some work to do with this group.
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