With the end result in mind, Giants fans probably will overlook one specific early decision made by head coach Brian Daboll on Saturday. After all, the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles mopped the floor with New York and claimed a 38-7 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.
But there’s no debating that, at least at the time, Daboll’s aforementioned decision was more than questionable. Daboll opted to go for it on fourth-and-8 from the Philadelphia 40-yard line with the Giants trailing 7-0 with 5:46 left in the first quarter. It took aggressive to a new level.
“Yeah, with that fourth-and-8, where we were, I knew what the line was for our kicker,” Daboll told reporters after the game, per the team. “It was passed that. So I felt good about the play that we worked on. Throughout the week, we had practiced a fair amount of fourth downs and just didn’t get it done.”
Daboll said the line for kicker Graham Gano was the Philadelphia 35. That means Gano was comfortable with a 52-yard attempt while the Giants, in that situation, could have gone for a 57-yard attempt. Daboll said he didn’t take much time to ponder the decision since he wanted to be aggressive.
“I didn’t struggle with (the decision),” Daboll added. “I wanted to be fairly aggressive. Where we were at, it was too far to kick a field goal and I liked the play that (offensive coordinator Mike) Kafka was going to call and went for it.”
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was sacked on fourth-and-8, which resulted in a turnover on downs. It marked the second consecutive play where New York allowed a sack, the first of which took place with the Giants at the Philadelphia 35-yard line — the target line for the field goal.
Philadelphia made quick work of its next offensive drive, as the offense had the benefit of starting the drive at midfield. The Eagles covered 52 yards in eight plays to take a 14-0 lead.
The Eagles now will host the winner of Sunday’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game. Meanwhile, Daboll and the Giants enter the offseason after a promising step forward in 2022.
