Copyright phillyvoice
If there was any doubt, the Eagles are still the class of the NFC East until proven otherwise. The Giants might have revealed some cracks in the surface in their Week 6 win over the Eagles in North Jersey, or perhaps caught the Birds by surprise, but Sunday's 38-20 Eagles trouncing in the rematch made sure the Eagles still lead the division comfortably heading into the break. It was the first Eagles win this season by more than one possession, and first regular-season win by more than a possession since beating the Cowboys 41-7 in Week 17 last year. These don't come very frequently for the Eagles, who enter the bye at 6-2 (2-1 in the division) and can feel pretty good about surviving the first tough leg of their schedule while they take the next week to get healthier, figure out some of their offensive issues that are still outstanding, and to see if there's a trade deadline deal to make sense. The next time you'll see them will be another huge game – Nov. 10 at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers in a major NFC showdown. The trade deadline will be over by then. Let's go ahead with the observations: Under center, more wrinkles continue to be a bonus for the offense The Eagles unveiled 16 snaps of under center last week and used Fred Johnson as an extra offensive lineman against the Vikings and saw some major positives, including a 79-yard touchdown catch from DeVonta Smith off play-action. The under-center formation made a return against the Giants, and yielded more benefits. Saquon Barkley's 65-yard touchdown run on the game's second offensive snap came from an under-center handoff, and so did his 28-yard run on the final play of the third quarter. Another wrinkle with star wide receiver A.J. Brown sidelined was using more tight ends, including three-tight end personnel groupings that put Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra and either Kylen Granson or Cam Latu on the field. The impact wasn't just limited to the run game as Jalen Hurts, fresh off his perfect passer rating against the Vikings, threw four touchdown passes. Five sacks was very good but ... Many of them were the result of Dart holding onto the ball, getting stuck in the pocket, and doing that behind an offensive line that's average on a good day. On the first snap of the second half, Dart held onto the ball for at least five seconds before finally running into another sack by Jordan Davis, who had two sacks. This shouldn't trick Howie Roseman into thinking that the Eagles are fine with their edge depth, even with Brandon Graham eventually coming back. Jihaad Campbell played some on the edge some to help, as Nakobe Dean again saw snaps at on-ball linebacker. But they can't use this game as evidence to think they're fine at the position. Tush Push controversy lives on Another week, another controversy surrounding the Tush Push. In the second quarter, on 4th-and-1, the Eagles executed a typical Tush Push for two yards to the New York 9-yard line. Giants cornerback Deonte Banks came out of the scrum with the ball. Replay showed Banks simply taking the ball away as Hurts extended his arms for more yards. It was legitimately a takeaway for the Giants – except the referee said the whistle had already blown for forward motion, which isn't reviewable. Giants coach Brian Daboll, in his infinite wisdom, angrily threw the flag anyway – challenging the spot instead of forward motion. Obviously, he lost. A totally ridiculous challenge. But the fact that Banks really did have possession will be the storyline for the anti-Tush Push faction, and the early whistle for forward motion will be more fodder for why the play is too hard to officiate. SIGN UP HERE to receive PhillyVoice's Sports newsletters. Follow Geoff on Twitter/X: @geoffpmosher
