Giants Country

Giants Routed by Eagles, 48-22

The New York Giants were no match against the Philadelphia Eagles, who routed their division rivals into submission.

Joe Najarian

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
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East Rutherford, N.J. - The New York Giants, riddled by injuries and facing an 11-1 Philadelphia Eagles, suffered their worst loss of the season, a 48-22 blowout at MetLife Stadium.

New York was straight-up dominated by the best team in the NFL. Their defense allowed 438 yards, including 254 on the ground, and the offensive line offered little resistance against the Eagles pass rush.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was harassed all day by the Eagles’ defensive front but still managed to put up a respectable performance. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 26 yards and another score. Despite being sacked four times, Jones didn’t turn the ball over against an Eagles defense that leads the NFL in turnovers.

Jones was relieved by backup Tyrod Taylor when the game got completely out of hand. Taylor lost a fumble but did have a touchdown pass, albeit in garbage time.

Running back Saquon Barkley, considered “50-50” to play because of a neck injury, was used on roughly 20 snaps. Under those circumstances, he had only nine carries for 28 yards, alongside a pair of catches for 20 more.

The game got off to a poor start for the Giants, as Jones was sacked twice on the opening drive, resulting in a punt. The Eagles then marched 84 yards on a 14-play drive that took a staggering 8:05 off the clock, culminating with a 3-yard touchdown run by Miles Sanders for an early 7-0 lead.

After the Giants were forced to punt again, Philadelphia put together another 10+ play drive, eventually facing a 4th-and-7 at the New York 41-yard line after 11 plays. With the Eagles’ offense staying on the field, the Giants defense had a huge opportunity to swing the game’s momentum; a stop on 4th down would potentially give Jones and the offense good field position. 

Instead, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts took advantage of a lapse in coverage and threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, giving Philadelphia a 14-0 lead and demoralizing the MetLife Stadium crowd.

The nightmare continued on the next drive; with the Giants forced to punt at their own 43, punter Jamie Gillan dropped the ball and was flagged for an illegal kick by punting the loose ball. The penalty gave the Eagles the ball at the Giants' 33, and it took just one play for them to capitalize; Hurts immediately threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown, extending the lead to 21-0.

Fortunately, the Giants finally forced the Eagles to punt on their next drive, and Elerson Smith blocked Arryn Siposs’ kick to give New York fantastic field position at the Philadelphia 15. Three plays later, Jones threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Hodgins, cutting the deficit to 21-7 and giving the Giants some much-needed momentum.

The good feelings were short-lived, though. Boston Scott, who has been a thorn in the Giants’ side in recent meetings, returned the ensuing kickoff 66 yards to the New York 35. This time, the Giants’ defense kept the Eagles out of the end zone, and Philadelphia settled for Jake Elliott’s 29-yard field goal to make it 24-7 at halftime.

It took the Eagles just two plays into the second half to move into Giants territory, and they advanced as far as the New York 20 thanks to 37 rushing yards from Hurts. But once again, the Eagles settled for a field goal, with Elliott kicking a 39-yards to make it 27-7.

The Giants’ offense responded with an encouraging 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Jones rushed for 23 yards on the first two plays and then completed a pair of 15-yard passes to Hodgins and Richie James that moved the ball into the red zone. After converting a third down with a 6-yard pass to Gary Brightwell, Jones finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run three plays later, cutting New York’s deficit to 27-14.

But the Eagles halted the Giants’ momentum with an 8-play, 63-yard touchdown drive. Sanders converted a 3rd and 1 with a 15-yard run, and Hurts picked up the last 21 yards, scoring on a 10-yard run to extend Philadelphia’s lead back to 20 points.

Facing 4th-and-4 at their own 31, the Giants picked up the first down when Jones threw a 7-yard pass to Slayton; however, the conversion was negated by a highly questionable offensive pass interference penalty, and the Giants were effectively forced to punt.

After forcing the Eagles to punt, coach Brian Daboll elected to attempt another 4th down conversion, and Jones picked it up with a 6-yard scramble. A 37-yard pass to Darius Slayton sparked a deep drive into Eagles territory, but the Giants came away with nothing when Jones was hit during a pass attempt on 4th and 8.

It was clear that the game was over, but Philadelphia would increase their lead even further. A 40-yard touchdown run by Sanders finished a 7-play, 76-yard drive, and Giants fans headed toward the exit gates.

Tyrod Taylor replaced Jones at QB for the Giants, but he fumbled when sacked, and the Eagles recovered. Four players later, Giants nemesis Boston Scott finished the Eagles’ onslaught with a 3-yard touchdown run.

The Giants finished the scoring when Taylor threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to James.

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Joe Najarian
JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian, a Rutgers University graduate, covered Rutgers Football and Rutgers Baseball during an eight-month stint with Jersey Sporting News (JSN).

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