G-Men get punished on ‘D’ ground

PHILADELPHIA — Jason Pierre-Paul had already explained the Giants defense needed to do a better job of tackling and that they gave up too many yards after the catch or carry, but when he heard the final tally the Eagles gained on the ground, his head shot up.

“[Shoot], they ran for 200? Goddamn,” Pierre-Paul said.

It was actually 193 rushing yards, not 200, but precision hardly mattered on a day when the Giants fell to 0-3 with a crushing 27-24 loss to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles, who entered the game with 165 rushing yards through two games, gashed the Giants’ run defense for 4.9 yards per carry. Even after losing the dynamic Darren Sproles to a wrist injury early in the second quarter, they found daylight on the ground behind LeGarrette Blount’s rough-and-tumble 67 yards on 12 carries and Wendell Smallwood’s 71 yards on 12 carries.

“Can’t give up that many rushing yards, in no way, shape, form or fashion,” defensive tackle Jay Bromley said. “Credit them, man. They did a hell of a job scheming it up. They got really talented backs. … It definitely is [a challenge] when they can change it up like that with different kinds of runners and them being so downhill.”

Even second-year quarterback Carson Wentz hurt the Giants with his legs, including an 11-yard scamper on a third-and-9 that made multiple tacklers miss to keep a 90-yard scoring drive alive early in the second quarter.

The Eagles’ ground game took its toll as they dominated time of possession, controlling the ball for 37 minutes and 32 seconds.

“I know they were doing a good job getting on our side,” linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. “They had some pullers and they had some good schemes against our defense. Our guys played hard, no matter what the conditions. It’s always a factor when you think about number of plays, time of possession, stuff like that. It’s a cumulative effect, especially later on in the game.”

It didn’t help when defensive end Olivier Vernon sustained an ankle injury on a Blount rush early in the fourth quarter. Vernon limped off the field, and while he did briefly reenter, he was later declared out.

Vernon said X-rays on his ankle were negative and he would find out Monday what was wrong.

“We got guys that are out there, when somebody goes down, they come in there and they’re gonna do their job,” Vernon said. “From what I was watching out there, guys were fighting and didn’t quit. It was just unfortunate. That’s what it is.”