The boos at the start were loud. Fans were talking, but not welcoming Saquon Barkley back.
The heckling got even louder after that, directed not at the former Giants running back, but at their own team, their shabby and downtrodden offense, and their failing quarterback. The fans were talking. They've seen enough of this nonsense.
Once again, the Giants avoided the worst for their paying customers. Their defense was strong and lively, but they were almost on their own. Daniel Jones was subdued from start to finish in another unproductive, lethargic and incompetent game at MetLife Stadium, ending up on the bench. As an opponent, Barkley came out hot, gaining 176 yards (on just 17 rushing attempts) and one touchdown. As usual, the Giants took a nosedive against the Eagles, losing 28-3 and continuing to fall to the bottom of the NFC East.
Things got so bad that Jones was replaced by backup Drew Lock with 11 minutes, 26 seconds left. Jones completed 14 of 21 passes for 99 yards, but was unstable as Andrew Thomas, who is on injured reserve after undergoing foot surgery, played his first game of the season without left tackle. He was sacked and attacked seven times by the offensive line.
Jones has failed to throw a touchdown pass in six consecutive home games, and the Giants have scored a combined 10 points in the past two games. It's a sad symmetry for the Giants that Barkley was sent to the sideline by head coach Brian Daboll on the same day he returned to command of his former team.
The return of rookie wide receiver Malik Nabors, who missed the past two games in concussion protocol, did nothing to revitalize the offense. Nabors caught four passes for 41 yards. He can't throw it at himself.
Berkeley had the last laugh. He wanted to remain a Giant for the rest of his life, but the team that selected him No. 2 overall in 2018 didn't align with his contract considerations. He said earlier this week that he didn't expect to be booed, but that's either wishful thinking or his belief is false. Either way, he was a remarkable man. The Giants had him contained for 17 yards on his first seven rushing attempts before he exploded, something he often does.
Early in the second quarter, Barkley ran 55 yards down the left side, and Deonte Banks pushed Barkley out of bounds to save the touchdown. Backup Kenneth Gainwell got the ball on the next two plays, but no one other than Barkley was able to get the ball into the end zone. Barkley completed a 3-yard run to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
Barkley added 41 yards in the third quarter, pushing Jalen Hurts into the end zone to make it 28-3 early in the fourth. To enjoy this Jersey Turnpike affair, he needed to trade green for blue.
The Giants' beat continues (2-5) and so does the beatdown. They have lost six of their last seven games in this one-sided rivalry, and the inequality has only gotten worse with 14 losses in the last 17 games and 28 losses in the last 34 games.
The Giants are currently 0-3 in district play and 0-4 at home.
In the second quarter, Hurts hit AJ Brown for a 41-yard score, with Brown stepping off cornerback Nick McLeod to make it 14-0. The closest the Giants came to a touchdown was a 14-yard strike by Jones to Theo Johnson in the end zone. However, the rookie tight end was called for offensive pass interference, and the Giants took Greg Joseph's 38-yard field goal to avoid a first-half shutout.
The decision to replace Thomas with junior Josh Ezeudu as the starting left tackle was not a satisfactory one. Ezeudu allowed two sacks in the first quarter. In the first, Josh Sweat took him down cleanly, and Sweat was unimpeded by tight end Daniel Bellinger's chip block attempt. In the second, Nolan Smith burst in and dropped Jones for an 11-yard loss.
The Giants also had the option of moving Jermaine Elemnor to left tackle and placing 2022 first-round pick Evan Neal at right tackle, but the coaching staff decided to move Ezeudou, who had an unsuccessful left tackle trial last season, to the Giants. I trusted it.
The Eagles entered the game with 11 sacks in their first five games, their worst performance all season on offense, but they dominated the Giants up front.
Defensively, the Giants took advantage of Hurts, sacking him four times in the first half. But gradually Barkley wore out the defenses of the teams he used to play for, and the Eagles did what they were accustomed to doing with extreme ease against the teams they owned.
