NY Giants in command of NFC East after 27-17 win over Eagles | analysis

Aggressiveness pays off

Joe Judge deserves a slew of helmet stickers for the culture he’s established in such a short time as the Giants’ head coach, and certainly earned another with an aggressive gamble to open the second quarter.

With the Giants leading 7-3, and coming up just short of a first down at the Eagles’ two-yard line, Judge clearly smelled blood in the water and pounced. Literally.

Judge’s aggressiveness, going for it on 4th and 1 from the two, Garrett called a halfback dive with an extra offensive lineman on the field and Wayne Gallman took the handoff and leapt over the top for a touchdown to give the Giants a 14-3 lead.

Sunday carried the most postseason implications of any game the Giants have played since 2016, and Judge deciding to go for it rather than settling for a field goal sent a resounding message to his players that he not only trusted them to make a big play in the biggest of games but also that the Giants need to be taken seriously in the division race.

However, Judge should have learned from his earlier success when he elected to punt from the 41-yard line, nursing a 14-3 lead towards the end of the first half. Going for it would have sent a message that Judge trusts a defense that had been playing well, and potentially set up a field goal try to go up 14 points.