The Eagles lost to the Giants 13-7 in what was the most excruciating game of football that fans have had to endure all season, the team came undone at the seams offensively. Despite a dominant defensive outing, the tables flipped and this time it was the group on the other side of the ball who struggled to do anything…like literally anything. Here are some quick takeaways.
Credit where it’s due
If we don’t start with the positives, we’ll all be listening to Adele’s new album within the next two minutes. The Eagles actually played some pretty stout defense today.
Sure, the Giants were without a few of their big-name weapons, but limiting Saquon Barkley to 40 yards is a huge achievement considering how porous the defense once was against the run. Gannon dialled up the blitz more frequently and found creative ways to use his pass-rushers, stunting his interior linemen and even adopting a cover-1 scheme at times that saw his corners play in press-man coverage (I know, shocking!)
Talking of corners, Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox were both outstanding today, with the latter making plays all over the field and oh so nearly coming away with an interception. Having just signed a new deal, Maddox is in high spirits and his production is even higher.
Unfortunately, as is always the case in Philadelphia, you can’t have something good without something bad.
Exhibit A: The offense
A complete mess
I don’t even know where to start with this. Nick Sirianni had built a rushing juggernaut in recent weeks and with a matchup against the 23rd ranked run defense, many assumed that we’d see much of the same in week 12. Oh, how we were mistaken.
It wasn’t that the Eagles didn’t run the ball. They did. But Sirianni would deviate away from it at the worst possible times, such as at the goal-line. The team somehow still found a way to amass 208 yards on the ground, largely due to some third quarter stat-padding from Jalen Hurts, but the fact that the team had over 200 rushing yards and 7 total points is abysmal.
A huge catalyst for this sudden change in production could’ve easily been the minor injury suffered by Jason Kelce. He did return to the game, but Nate Herbig was called for holding twice on two game-changing plays. A Boston Scott touchdown was called back along with a huge breakaway rush from Hurts. Those plays alone would’ve been enough to seal a win.
Dropped touchdowns, dropped passes, batted catches, miscommunications between receiver and QB, a fumble in crunch time, you name it, the Eagles had it.
From top to bottom this was an absolute mess offensively without much in the way of explanation or justification.
Jalen Hurts is still Jalen Hurts
This was the weakest performance we’ve seen from Jalen Hurts since he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles and it isn’t even close. Going 14/31 for 129 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT, Hurts struggled to read defenses, made consistently worrying decisions as to where to throw the ball, and those flaws were only further highlighted by all of the other woes mentioned above.
It was a bad day to be Hurts, who still razzled and dazzled on the ground, but without much support from anyone not named DeVonta Smith, it’s clear that consistency remains the name of the game if he is to eventually secure the long-term QB1 role.
Jalen Reagor needs the Aggy treatment
Jalen Reagor was woeful today. A pair of dropped passes at the very end of the game that would’ve been touchdowns surmise what was an appalling day at the office. From sloppy routes (and a couple of good ones where he went untargeted, granted) to dismal drops and a lack of any kind of burst in the return game, Reagor looked out of sync from the second he stepped on the field.
The fact that J.J Arcega-Whiteside of all people is becoming a more viable WR2 says all you need to know.
There are some striking similarities between Reagor and former Eagles first-round pick Nelson Agholor. Both experienced early struggles with both character and on-field consistency, and Doug Pederson made a decision to bench Agholor for a short window while he got his head right, pulling him out of the spotlight. Sirianni would be wise to explore a similar avenue here because this is spiralling fast.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire)
