The Giants had waited so long for this — a chance to party on a primetime stage after beating their hated rival, a moment of hope with a quarterback who maybe, just maybe, can finally bury years of misery.
And they got it Thursday, when they shocked the Eagles, 34-17, silencing the many Philadelphia fans at MetLife Stadium, while giving their own faithful a long-awaited opportunity to roar into the chilly autumn night.
Suddenly, this Giants season that seemed destined to spiral into irrelevance — yet again — has signs of life. Suddenly, the trips to Denver and Philadelphia the next two weeks don’t seem so daunting.
Who could have imagined this, after that dud in New Orleans just four days ago and after the Giants entered Thursday without their top two wide receivers, Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton?
Hot-seat coach Brian Daboll’s team is now 2-4, having beaten the 4-1 Eagles by riding prized rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart’s second resilient performance in three games as the starter, plus three short touchdown runs by bruising first-year running back Cam Skattebo.
The Giants sealed the win with a massive fourth-quarter interception return by cornerback Cor’Dale Flott.
But ultimately, everyone will remember how the two big offensive pieces for their future — Dart and Skattebo — performed in this upset, as they scored their most points against the Eagles since a 42-7 win in 2012.
Dart’s final stat line: 17-of-25 passing, 195 yards, one touchdown and a 104.6 quarterback rating, plus 58 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Skattebo’s numbers: 98 rushing yards on 19 carries (plus 12 receiving yards) and touchdown runs of 1, 1 and 4 yards.
This was a must-win game for Daboll — and he got it, quieting calls for his firing, at least for a week.
The Giants entered the fourth quarter up 27-17.
You had to wonder: Could they polish off a win over the defending Super Bowl champions?
Flott’s pick (and the quick touchdown drive that followed) provided a resounding answer: Yes.
Daboll knew how badly he needed Dart down the stretch. Late in the third quarter, Dart got shaken up and taken into the sideline medical tent for a concussion evaluation, which resulted in Russell Wilson appearing for two unproductive plays — and a promising drive ending with a punt.
With Dart briefly sidelined, Daboll paced the sideline and screamed at a member of the Giants’ medical staff, apparently demanding a quicker update on Dart’s status. (He was cleared.)
This was the Giants’ second 10-point lead of the night.
Less than a week after blowing an 11-point advantage and losing in New Orleans, they opened up a 13-3 lead in Thursday’s first quarter, only to see the Eagles respond with touchdowns on their next two drives.
The Giants immediately answered with a 67-yard touchdown march to go up 20-17 heading into halftime.
They entered Thursday hoping to reverse monumental recent failure.
They were 2-15 in their last 17 games, 4-18 since the start of last year and 10-29 since 2023 began.
The Daboll/Joe Schoen regime was 4-15-1 against the NFC East, including 1-5 against the Eagles (plus a playoff loss). Since 2014, the Giants were 4-19 overall against Philadelphia.
The Giants had lost eight straight games in the division, including 0-6 last year — their first ever winless NFC East season. They hadn’t lost eight straight against the NFC East since 1976.
On Thursday — without Nabers and Slayton — the Giants were 7.5-point underdogs while facing an Eagles defense that ranked fifth in Pro Football Focus’ ratings, including sixth against the run and fifth in pass rush.
But ultimately, none of that mattered.
Not the receiver injuries. Not the awful history.
Here are our other takeaways from Thursday night:
• A huge defensive moment: The Eagles were driving with 11:36 left in the game, down 27-17, at the Giants’ 15. Then Flott picked off Jalen Hurts and returned the ball 68 yards, setting up a 23-yard touchdown drive that gave the Giants a 34-17 lead with 9:41 remaining. Skattebo, of course, was the guy who capped that drive with a 1-yard run.
• Fearless running: On the third-quarter touchdown drive that put the Giants up 27-17, Dart threw his body at the first-down marker along the sideline, crashing head-first into a defender and picking up 4 yards on third-and-3 from the Eagles’ 17.
Three plays later, Skattebo lowered his shoulder and made three pushes for the end zone — despite his face mask being grabbed — in order to get a 1-yard touchdown for his second scoring run of the night.
Giants fans should absolutely love this sort of fearless running from two of their prized rookies.
• No mobility issues early for Jaxson Dart: So much for Dart having a sore hamstring that was going to bother him Thursday night and limit his mobility. Dart — who limped around the Superdome just four days ago — showed no limitations while juking Zack Baun for a 20-yard touchdown scramble that put the Giants up 7-3 in the first quarter.
• Another fast start: For the second straight week, the Giants scored touchdowns on their first two drives. Before last week’s loss in New Orleans, they hadn’t cracked the end zone on back-to-back drives to open a game since November 2020. It’s quite the rare feat for this team.
On Thursday, they got two big touchdown plays to start — Dart’s 20-yard run and then a 35-yard pass to Wan’Dale Robinson, as they went up 13-3 late in the first quarter.
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