The better team won on Sunday, we can’t deny that. Entering this matchup, NY Giants fans were hoping that Big Blue would be able to keep things tight and try to steal a game away from the Eagles. Things didn’t go as planned, with Philadelphia having zero issues improving to 12-1 on the year, dominating and posting a 48-22 win. Ugh.
Unfortunately for Brian Daboll, we all saw just how much stronger of a squad the Eagles are compared to the Giants. From early on during Sunday’s meeting, it was clear Philly was going to record a rather easy win. All in all, this was tough to watch, with five things in particular sticking out.
5. The nightmare start for the Giants was maddening
On NY’s opening drive, things actually looked promising for a short period of time, with Daniel Jones hitting wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins for a 14-yard gain. That was exactly what the doctor ordered to open things up. After that nice gain, however, things went downhill for the G-Men and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.
A failed screen to Saquon Barkley and sacks given up by Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal led to the G-Men having to punt the ball to the Eagles early on. The two sacks were so disappointing to witness, especially with Thomas giving up one. He’s been arguably the best left tackle in the game this year, but Philly got to him early.
To make things worse for the Giants and Daboll, the Eagles got the ball and Jalen Hurts did his thing. Hurts powered Philly to a 14-play, 84-yard drive that was wrapped up with a short touchdown run by Miles Sanders. In the blink of an eye, the Eagles took a 7-0 lead and they never looked back.
4. Giants defense came out flat
Everything that could have gone wrong for the Giants defensively did in the first half. With so many injuries and the secondary looking rough, the Eagles took full advantage of things. Philadelphia was able to start the game off 4-for-5 on their third-down attempts. Whenever the Giants were in a position to make a stop, they choked.
In that lone third-down miss for the Eagles, they were in Giants territory and head coach Nick Sirianni decided to go for it. In heartbreaking fashion, Hurts tossed a deep ball for Devonta Smith, who not only hauled the ball in, but he then raced his way to the end zone for the big-time touchdown. What in the heck was Julian Love thinking here?
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Love actually looked like he was going to be able to make a play on the ball, but the angle didn’t work out in his favor. He should have just jumped in the air to try and knock it down, but instead he had to watch Smith celebrate after his score.
3. Jalen Hurts showed how much better he is than Danny Dimes
This felt like it was going to be a great opportunity for Daniel Jones to prove that he deserves his new contract from Joe Schoen. The stage was set: Jones vs. Hurts for NFC East bragging rights. It goes without saying, but Hurts was easily the better signal-caller in this one, putting on a show vs. the G-Men.
In the first half alone, Hurts tossed for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Let’s go ahead and compare that to Jones. Woof, we don’t really want to, as Jones posted 54 passing yards and his short touchdown strike to Isaiah Hodgins. That TD came after the NY blocked punt. Other than that, Jones, who finished with 169 yards passing, couldn’t do much of anything. The poor play of the offensive line was the main reason for that.
The mood around the Giants wasn’t great in the first half, and the lack of big plays, other than the blocked punt and TD, really was frustrating. Jones was nearly intercepted in the second quarter too trying to hit Richie James. Again, this was the kind of game where Jones could have made a statement. If anything, he took a step back.
2. Miles Sanders was a Giant killer on Sunday
Entering Week 14, Giants supporters were worried sick that Boston Scott would have another monster game against NY. While Scott had a nice return on special teams, he was non-existent in the run game until garbage time. Unfortuantely, the same can’t be said for the other No. 26 on the field: Miles Sanders.
Sanders, who topped 1,000 yards rushing for the season during Sunday’s action, had a sensational day and the Giants run-defense couldn’t slow him down. Sanders opened things with his score to put Philly up, and then he also provided some extra fireworks in the fourth quarter for his side.
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Sanders received the handoff, broke to the outside and flew down the field for his second score of the day. For the game, Sanders rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns. As great as Hurts was for the Eagles, Sanders was arguably the best player on the field vs. the Giants. It was a day to remember for him, no doubt.
1. Giants are a totally different team since the Houston win
Now, more than ever, this team is going to have to do some serious soul searching. The last time the Giants went into victory formation was on Nov. 13 against the Houston Texans. That now feels like years ago, as the Giants have since lost to the Lions, lost to the Cowboys, tied with the Commanders and lost to the Eagles.
That’s an 0-3-1 mark in the last four games. Ouch. To be quite honest too, the 20-20 result with the Commanders felt like a loss too, as the Giants had so many opportunities to put that game away. With the Giants now at 7-5-1 on the year, the playoffs are feeling less and less likely.
The performance against the Eagles let us know that this isn’t even a postseason-caliber squad. If the Giants do manage to sneak in, how much noise will they be able to make if they put up a stinker in the Wild Card Round in the same kind of fashion they did against Philadelphia?
Offense, defense, special teams – it was all a mess in Week 14. Daboll is quickly learning that this roster is in serious need of a makeover for next season. That’ll be on Schoen to make it happen. What we saw against the Eagles was unacceptable. The Giants simply have to be better than this.
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