Giants vs. Eagles Full Team Grades

Rush Defense Grade: C+

Oct 19, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray (29) breaks the tackle attempt of New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) and rushes for a 12 yard touchdown during the third quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants came into the game as one of the top rushing defenses in the NFL, but were once again done in by their nemesis DeMarco Murray. Murray has had a ton of success against the Giants in his career, and that continued Monday night.

Murray had easily his best game of the season, gaining 109 yards on 22 carries, adding one touchdown. Murray was the beneficiary of some Giants miscues, as he took advantage of a gassed defense in the second half. He racked up more 10+ yard runs against the Giants than he had the rest of the season combined.

While Murray averaged 5.0 yards per carry, the numbers look worse for the Giants because of the volume the Eagles ran the ball. They attempted 37 rushes in the game, gaining 155 yards. That 4.2 yards per carry average isn’t outstanding, but it is not bad either and it got the job done Monday night.

The Giants were shorthanded defensively and it began to show as the game wore on. They had to turn to players not used to playing this amount of plays, and used packages that they normally wouldn’t rely on. For example, Craig Dahl was playing linebacker at times, leading the team with eight tackles, as he has spent most of the season as a special teams player but was needed on defense against the Eagles.

Next: Special Teams Grade