First things first, Ellis Hobbs walked out of the X-Ray room on his own power after his tests were negative. Great news there.
Secondly, I'm not going to get into what happened first or second or who did what individually in this game because it won't make any sense. This game was completely stupid. The Eagles didn't deserve to win this game, but the Giants deserved it less, so I guess it's good that Philadelphia came out on top. This football game had so many different elements to it, not the least of which being the bonus of the winner gaining sole control of the NFC East.
The referees absolutely played a role. One that was far too big and deciding for an unbiased group of people. There is not a person in this world who understands and agrees with each helmet-to-helmet call or what constitutes an actual fumble. There's just not. It's a complicated game, easily the most difficult to officiate in any of our sports, and I try to cut the refs some slack on real time plays and snap decisions.
But the way this game was officiated and the calls that got made or didn't get made were completely random. Some helmet-to-helmet hits are violent, malicious, flag-inducing plays, while some are circumstantial and "part of the game" and ambiguous. What is the exact definition of "irrefutable" that the NFL referees are looking at when deciding a challenged play? Because it's different from the one I'm aware of, and I'd just like to be clear on how I should be watching a game.
Refs aside, the players were in a sort of NFC East Twilight Zone the whole night. It seemed like every other play was a fumble pileup that could have gone either way. This was far from a tightly played football game (hey penalties!) and it exposed a ton of weaknesses in this Eagles team. All week, people were crowning them the class of the NFC because of how unstoppable they looked against the Redskins. And they did look the best I've ever seen an Eagles team look. But it was one week and before we anoint them world champions, they need to prove it over multiple games against good football teams. The secondary had a ton of trouble tackling, the defensive line wasn't getting to the quarterback enough, and seriously, stop making useless penalties.
The game didn't make any sense, but all that matters I suppose is that the Eagles scored more points than the Giants and are now a full game up on them for the top spot in the NFC East. What this means for the rest of the season I have no idea. But we've got six more weeks left to figure out just what the hell this team is and one game will not determine that. Next week at Chicago, a team that is somehow 7-3. Be sure to bring your inhalers.