The loud thud you heard recently? That was the Giants crashing back to earth after their earlier high. The 38-20 defeat to the Eagles in Philadelphia felt much more like the norm in the NFC East rivalry than the Giants’ 34-17 victory on October 9. Order seems to have returned, as the Eagles secured their 13th consecutive win against the Giants at Lincoln Financial Field.
Here are some observations regarding the game:
— Wan’Dale Robinson had six receptions in Denver last week, but no other Giants wide receiver caught a pass—Darius Slayton was sidelined with a hamstring issue. Fast forward to a loss against the Eagles, and Robinson had three catches, Slayton managed two, and Beau Collins had one. No other wideouts made any impact. Lil’ Jordan Humphrey was on the field for 33 of 52 offensive snaps but wasn’t targeted by Jackson Dart. Collins played 12 snaps and was targeted twice. Head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka knew they needed to adjust after Malik Nabors suffered a torn ACL in Week 4, planning to integrate more two-tight-end sets and engage the tight ends more in the passing scheme. This led to an increase in activity for Daniel Bellinger, who responded positively, while Theo Johnson continues to show potential but struggles with consistency to be a primary target. The lack of depth at wide receiver is clearly a significant issue. The Giants can’t just trade for game-changers. Sure, you might find someone who can help, but major reinforcements aren’t on the horizon.
— The run defense was even worse than I’d anticipated, if you can believe that. Statistically, the Eagles ran the ball 33 times for 276 yards, averaging an alarming 8.4 yards per attempt against the Giants. These are official stats. However, the Eagles were comfortably ahead, so backup quarterback Tanner McKee just kneeled the ball to wrap up the game. It’s odd that the NFL still counts these kneel-downs in rushing stats. He had three kneel-downs totaling a loss of two yards, which means the Eagles effectively ran 30 times for 274 yards, averaging 9.1 yards per attempt. If you thought the Giants’ defense couldn’t sink any lower, you’d be mistaken—it got even worse.
