Daboll’s Giants still well behind high-flying Eagles
EAST RUTHERFORD » The scene was so ridiculous and unbelievable, yet still felt miraculous that the Giants managed to dodge one of the biggest miracles in NFL history.
With the Eagles out to a three-score lead Sunday at MetLife Stadium, Arryn Siposs lined up to punt from the back of the end zone. What happened next was typical for the last decade of this rivalry: Elerson Smith blocked Siposs’ punt, but the Australian scooped the ball and gained 13 yards before going out of bounds just short of the first down.
It would have been fitting insult to injury on the Giants’ worst performance of the season, a 48-22 loss as the Eagles (12-1) continued to cruise toward Super Bowl contention while New York (7-5-1) suffered another setback in the playoff race.
For all the talk of how feisty the Giants have been under coach Brian Daboll, they simply did not belong on the same field as the Eagles’ masterclass. Not even close.
The Eagles cleanly won both lines of scrimmage, quarterback Jalen Hurts dropped dimes and ran through holes all over the field, and the Giants were left dazed and confused while committing a boatload of mistakes.
“Philly definitely set the standard as the top team in the league right now, but we don’t feel like we played to our level of competition,” offensive tackle Andrew Thomas said. “Kudos to them, they beat us in all facets. We’ve got to do a better job going forward.”
This is not to say, however, that Giants fans should panic. There figured to be regression after an overachieving 6-1 start, and injuries on defense catch up to you against elite opponents. These
Eagles very well may go down as even better than the franchise’s 2017 Super Bowl champions.
“Any time you lose in this league, you have to be resilient,” Daboll said. “The last few weeks we’ve lost some games, haven’t had the results we want. So again, you don’t make any excuses. You own it, and everything starts with me, and then we get ready to get to work for the next week. There’s really no secret thing to just flip it right away. Guys are doing what we’re asking them to do, we’ve just got to do it a little bit better — all of us.”
Sunday illuminated just how much work lies ahead for Giants general manager Joe Schoen, who should take a page or two out of Eagles GM Howie Roseman’s book as he rebuilds the Giants’ roster. Hurts (MVP candidate with 32 total touchdowns) as a second-round draft pick? Haason Reddick (team-high 10 sacks) as a free-agent signing? A.J. Brown (1,020 receiving yards) as a trade with the Titans? And four starting linemen who have been with the team since at least 2013?
That is all thanks to supreme decision-making and salary-cap manipulation that have allowed the
Eagles to assemble talent across the board — talent the Giants simply lack.
Kayvon Thibodeaux, the team’s No. 5 overall pick this year, had another silent game at outside linebacker. Dexter Lawrence, an AllPro candidate, made only one tackle on the interior. Leonard Williams missed the game with a neck injury.
Offensively, the Giants’ only scores came after the blocked punt on a 2-yard reception by Isaiah Hodgins, a quarterback sneak by Daniel Jones in the third quarter and a garbage-time 19-yard reception by Richie Jones from backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor.