Giants-Eagles Week 14: By the Numbers

There was even more ugliness to behind the Giants' 48-22 loss to the Philadlephia Eagles, as the numbers revealed.

Thoroughly outperformed only begins to describe the manhandling the New York Giants received from their division rival on Sunday.

Welcoming the NFL’s best Philadelphia Eagles to MetLife Stadium, the banged-up Giants couldn’t match their visitor’s top-level production from the start and were mercilessly thrashed, 48-22, for their fourth loss in the last six games. After starting the season 6-1, New York’s Cinderella story has reached its conflict, with the team going 1-4-1 and their rankings on both sides of the ball crashing toward the bottom of the league.

While the Eagles found no problem pushing the football into scoring territory on all but two of their drives, the Giants offense couldn’t find their way into Philadelphia territory often. Commanding just two red zone possessions, quarterback Daniel Jones was held to 18 completions for 189 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including one with his legs on a goalline sneak. The run game was also limited, as Saquon Barkley struggled to claim 28 yards in cautious reps against the stout Eagles’ front.

Despite their early success, the Giants’ recent slump has become a difficult yet necessary reality check to the position the organization finds themselves in through 13 games of the Joe Schoen-Brian Daboll regime. They’re an eager, resilient group with much to improve both on and off the field, but they know Sunday’s game offers them a great opportunity to assess things as they approach the final laps of the regular season and contend for a playoff spot.

The Giants won’t have much time to sit back and lick their numerous wounds as the schedule turns to an all-important Sunday Night Football rematch with the Washington Commanders that could spell the fate of either side’s playoff hopes. Both parties enter 7-5-1 in the Wild Card seeds, yet the Commanders offense has been rolling while the Giants are reeling.

Head coach Brian Daboll expressed his belief that one game’s result doesn’t translate to what happens in the next, emphasizing the need to show up and play well on any given Sunday. With such a young group, it might be the right mindset, but it won’t disguise that the next matchup could dictate whether the Giants get an extra contest in January and their first since 2016.

Until the primetime lights turn on next weekend, let’s look at the numbers and playmakers that rocked the Giants’ world in Week 14.

Jalen Hurts Leads Charge to 437 Yards

Heading into Sunday’s meeting with the Eagles, Brian Daboll didn’t shy away from dishing praise to opposing quarterback Jalen Hurts. The two worked together at the University of Alabama in 2017 when Hurts was the starter. His former offensive coordinator stopped at nothing to show awe for the dual-threat abilities and RPO potential the 24-year-old has brought to the NFL level.

Playing in his fifth career contest against the Giants at MetLife Stadium, Hurts put all that and more on display as he led the Eagles offense to a whopping 437 yards of total production. In his second-best game over the last five, the 2020 second-round pick completed 21 passes (67.7%) for 217 yards, and two touchdowns, including 77 yards rushing and a score with his zone read talents.

Hurts got things going early, earning 17 of his completions for 171 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, including a 14-play, 80-yard opening drive that put the Eagles first. The Giants’ defense seemed to throw the entire kitchen sink at the quarterback to no avail, as he connected with nine different receivers at all three levels of the wintry MetLife field.

After the solid first possession by Philadelphia, Hurts one-upped it on the next drive by executing his game-best 12 play, 91-yard march that started at the Eagles’ 9-yard line and ended in a Devonta Smith touchdown. The most surprising part of the drive was the drops by his receivers—five total— but in the end, Hurts took advantage of a blown coverage by the secondary on 4th down and 7 to loft a nice ball to his target, who took it untouched to a 14-0 advantage in the second quarter.

In the second half, with the Giants earning some small momentum in 27-14 deficit, Hurts shifted the game to his dangerous legs to silence New York’s energy. On an eight-play, 63-yard drive that spanned four minutes of clock, the quarterback continued to dink and dunk to his receivers with ease as they attempted to slow him down with more pressure. At the New York 21-yard line. Hurts would take off twice with the football, the second a 10-yard burst to put seven more points on the board.

The Giants were caught off guard by the heavier dose of running in the second half by Philadelphia after having only 63 yards rushing at halftime. However, Daboll emphasized the sudden flip as one of the many ways the Eagles can respond to challenges throughout a game.

Adding Sunday’s numbers to his resume, Hurts now boasts 264 completions for 3,157 yards, 22 touchdowns, and three interceptions. The stats rank him top-10 among active quarterbacks, and his interception total is the lowest in the NFL through 14 weeks. With his second-half touchdown, he also neared 700 yards rushing and earned his 10th rushing score of the season.

Hurts and his crew showed up to MetLife Stadium and never looked back, showing from the opening kickoff why they’re now a 12-1 football team with all the weapons to make a long playoff run in January. The Giants will have to face the Eagles again in Week 18, and they’ll need to prepare even harder if they want to outsmart and outperform a high-flying attack in Philadelphia.

Giants Succumb to Seven Sacks

If one were looking for an early sign of rough sledding to come for the Giants, they provided it on their very first possession of the ball game.

Receiving the kickoff after Philadelphia elected to defer to the second half, Daniel Jones and the Giants offense looked like sitting ducks on their opening drive. Against an aggressive Eagles pass rush, they moved the football just nine yards in five plays and edged only 2:41 off the official game clock. The worst part is that they gave up two sacks within that time.

After advancing the ball fairly well on their first few snaps, Jones was sent back seven yards from the 42-yard line by defensive edge Josh Sweat who came crashing down from the edge to make the stuff. Two plays later, the quarterback was thrown down again, this time by linebacker Hasson Reddick for a loss of two yards. What made the two losses even more significant was they came off the heels of the Giants’ best blockers in Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal.

Unfortunately, the backfield feasting wouldn’t cease with some halftime adjustments, as Jones continued to see an excess of pressure flood past his offensive line and sack him twice before he was pulled in the fourth quarter of a blowout affair. Neither would it for backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who lost 18 yards on three sacks while going 5/5 for 47 yards and garbage time touchdown.

In total, the Giants’ offensive front succumbed seven sacks to the Eagles, the highest number on the season despite injuries ravaging the line in recent weeks. The team has allowed 15 sacks in the past five contests, which stands toward the bottom of the league and has contributed to their inefficient offense.

Their struggles have also transcended to the failures of the rushing attack, something the Giants offense rode high on during their strong first half of the season. After having four games of 100+ yards and an average of at least 4.3 yards per rep, Saquon Barkley has had a time getting past the line of scrimmage behind poor protection. His highest rushing total was 63 yards in the past four games, and his averages have dropped tremendously to as low as 1.5 yards per attempt in that span.

The Giants’ offensive identity may lie behind the rushing prowess of Jones and Barkley, but if they don’t figure out how to clean up the frontline blocking, there will be no scheme to work in their favor. Daniel Jones said the team needed to be honest about what they didn’t do well on Sunday, so if they don’t fix the protection issues, it could help facilitate the crumbling of their playoff dreams.

Philadelphia Rushing: 235 Yards

As noted in our preview of the Philadelphia Eagles offense, one major element that defined their success in the 11-1 start was the prolific rushing department.

Entering Sunday’s game, the Eagles stood top 10 in most rushing categories, including second in attempts and first in rushing touchdowns. They had a core of three running backs pushing a combined 1,000+ yards on the year, a feat that was helping the team rank second and third in total points and yards accumulated.

With that trio and some extra help from Jalen Hurts, the Eagles continued their dominance and put on a rushing clinic against the Giants weary defense, pushing 235 yards for one of their best totals in the 2022 season.

Lead running back Miles Sanders finished with the best outing of the Philadelphia backfield, continuing his upward trend with 17 carries for 144 yards (8.5-yard average) and two touchdowns. The feat marked his second game with over 140 yards rushing in the last month, the other contest coming against Green Bay in Week 12. Sanders now ranks seventh among active rushers in attempts, fifth in yards, and third in rushing touchdowns.

The Penn State product made his presence felt on the Eagles’ first possession of the afternoon, taking two rushes for 13 yards amid the first 13 snaps of the opening drive. On play 14 of what would be an 84-yard journey by Philadelphia, Sanders blasted a handoff up the middle for three yards and put the Eagles on the board first, 7-0, to cap a masterful eight-minute drive that took the life out of MetLife Stadium early.

Then in the fourth quarter of a blowout 34-14 ball game, Sanders added more salt to the Giants’ wounds by taking his third rush of a seven-play, 76-yard drive nearly half the distance of the field into the endzone for his second touchdown and the Eagles’ fifth of the contest. It was the longest rushing play of the game and something no Giants ball carrier came close to in their combined 123-yard outing.

Daboll admitted his team gave up too many yards on the ground to an Eagles team that was more run-conservative in the first half. Yet, their second-half struggles didn’t end when Sanders stepped to the sidelines.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts also got involved with seven carries for 77 yards and a touchdown, his third-best rushing line in the last five games. Perennial Giants killer Boston Scott, whose damage mostly came in the special teams return department, threw in six rushes for 33 yards and a score in the fourth quarter to improve his MetLife Stadium resume.

Altogether, the Eagles’ rushing production accounted for the most ground yards allowed by the Giants defense this season, a number that only came close against Baltimore with 211 yards. More than that, New York has allowed at least 160 yards rushing to their last four opponents in a clear reversal of their run-stopping prowess earlier in the year.

With the final stretch of the regular season seeing some of the best rushing offenses in the NFL, including Washington next Sunday, who ran for 165 in Week 13, the Giants will need to focus a lot of their defensive attention on filling the interior gaps early and often. Rushing the ball has been their identity on offense, but stuffing it must be the attitude on the other end.

Getting those stops will force opposing offenses to be one-dimensional and put them into difficult situations on third or fourth downs, which has haunted Big Blue’s offensive unit for most of the season. If they can’t put up points themselves, the only other option is to reduce how much goes against them. Trusting the defense has gotten them huge wins before, so perhaps it can be the Giants' saving grace again as the postseason nears.

Special Teams Ineptitude

Not only was the Giants’ contest with Philadelphia an ugly one on offense and defense, the faulty play extended to the third realm of the field with several special teams blunders.

Among the Giants’ five punts in the first half of Sunday’s game, the first big mishap came on the team’s third possession. On another pitiful drive that saw Big Blue go just 18 yards in six plays and 3:41 game time, the Eagles stuffed their rival on back-to-back plays for a loss of two yards to bring up fourth down and another challenging kick for Jamie Gillan.

Punting from his 43-yard line, the “Scottish Hammer,” who has been reliable all season and averaged 46.8 yards per boot this season, lost control of the spiraling long snap, which hit the turf and caused him to boot it erratically to save the play. The punt only traveled 15 yards like a soccer ball down to the Philadelphia 42-yard line but would shed ten more yards as officials ruled it in an illegal kick and loss of downs.

To make matters worse for the Giants’ inept operations, Gillan’s punt would set the Eagles up for their easiest game score from the New York 33-yard line. Taking his first shotgun pass in excellent field position, Hurts lofted a deep ball to the right side for wide receiver A.J. Brown, who took it 33 yards to the house untouched for another touchdown and a resounding 21-0 Eagles’ lead.

Asked about the dropped punt after the game, Brian Daboll said his punter told him the ball “simply slipped” and tried to do what he could to save an empty play and pin the Eagles as far as he could. Gillan said he wasn’t aware of the rule, which will undoubtedly leave a lasting memory of the worst moments in Giants history.

Luckily for Gillan, he wasn’t the only tainted player on the Giants’ special teams front. The unit also saw major collapses in the kick return department, where familiar foe Boston Scott torched for 117 yards (39 average) on three attempts throughout the game.

Scott’s first blow came late in the second quarter after the Giants finally earned some life with a touchdown off the heels of a blocked punt inside the Eagles’ 20-yard line. To kick off a fast six-play, 24-yard drive, Scott took a 66-yard boot by Graham Gano through lines of defenders on the right side, breaking free at the midway point to return the football the same distance to the Giants’ 35-yard marker.

Coming off Scott’s longest return of the season, the Eagles moved the ball to the Giants’ 11 in a little over two minutes before being rarely halted on 4th down and 9. Yet, New York’s efforts made no save to their growing deficit as Philadelphia would add three more points on a Jake Elliot field goal try to extend their lead to 24-7 nearing the halftime break.

On the Eagles’ second possession of the third quarter, also off a Giants’ touchdown drive, Scott quickly put the Birds into solid field position by taking Gano’s kick from a 2-yard line pin down to the Philadelphia 37-yard line. The play kicked off a six-play, 63-yard scoring drive for the visitors, capped off by quarterback Jalen Hurts gashing the defense for 10 yards and a fourth Eagles’ touchdown.

In the end, the Giants’ best kick coverage came late in the fourth quarter after a garbage time touchdown by Tyrod Taylor to Richie James, when the unit forced an Eagles’ touchback to avoid any sort of substantial return. Philadelphia also added 29 yards on punt returns with Britain Covey to account for 146 yards of special teams production, making the Giants’ defensive job much harder amid injuries and pure exhaustion.

Heading into the final stretch, the Giants have seen their unit fall to 15th in the NFL despite being carried by an 11th-best field goal percentage. They rank towards the bottom of the league in opposing field goals attempted and made and are falling into the 20s in terms of opposing punt and kick return yardage.

This is not a formula for setting up the other two phases for sustained success on Sunday. Thomas McGaughey’s group has a lot to fix before facing a Washington crew that is top-5 in their own returning categories, including first in those troublesome punt return scenarios. Games are won in the trenches, but it’s where and how deep those trenches are for the Giants’ that the improvement of the special teams will decide.

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