The New York Giants were thoroughly dominated in all three phases of the game Thursday night as they were defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-13.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY—With the New York Giants in desperate need of a win coming into Thursday night, head coach Pat Shurmur was hoping his team would put on their best performance of the year.
What he received, instead, was the Giants worst and lackluster effort for the season as they were embarrassed by the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-13.
The tone of the game was set on the Giants second offensive play of the game when Eli Manning’s pass that was intended for Scott Simonson was intercepted by Kam Grugier-Hill. Three plays later, the Eagles scored on a Carson Wentz 13-yard touchdown to Alshon Jeffery and never looked back.
KGH with the INT.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/TvIHn9Dr7U
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 12, 2018
The Giants offensive line was overmatched against the Eagles defensive front seven. They sacked Manning four times but pressured him constantly. As a result, the Giants offense was relegated to throwing short passes—keeping with the 2018 theme.
Manning finished the game completing 24-of-43 passes for 281 yards no touchdowns and the one interception.
Nate Solder had his worst game as a Giant and was beaten constantly by Michael Bennett who finished the game with six tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
The Giants defense didn’t fare any better as they gave up a season-high 34 points and allowed the Eagles to convert nine out of 16 on 3rd-down.
Carson Wentz had all day to throw as he connected on 26 out of 36 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns.
The secondary did not have any answers for Nelson Agholor, Zach Ertz or Jeffery who combined to catch 18 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns.
The Eagles sat on their lead in the 4th-quarter or else their margin of victory would have been larger
The lone bright spot for the Giants was Saquon Barkley, who tied an NFL record for having six straight games to start an NFL career with at least 100 all-purpose yards.
He ran the ball 13 times for 130 yards and scored the lone Giants touchdown on a 50 yard run in the fourth quarter. He also led the Giants in receiving catching nine passes for 99 yards. If not for Barkley, the Giants may have been shutout.
.@Saquon takes off for a 50-YARD TOUCHDOWN. #PHIvsNYG pic.twitter.com/yvzssLoion
— New York Giants (@Giants) October 12, 2018
Odell Beckham Jr. was ineffective on Thursday as he was once again held to catching short-intermediate passes. He finished the game with just six catches for 44 yards and left the field early before halftime. Pat Shurmur said that Beckham left the field early due to dehydration, but he was visibly frustrated on the sideline throughout the game.
After the game, Shurmur said his team didn’t do anything well enough to win tonight, and unfortunately, that has become the norm for the Giants as they are 4-18 over their last 22 games.
Pat Shurmur's opening postgame comments. @EliteSportsNY #GiantsPride #NYG pic.twitter.com/URBcIR1Iuz
— Jason Leach (@JasonKLeach) October 12, 2018
For the Giants to get embarrassed at home against a division rival that had been struggling on a short week to prepare, speaks volumes of the disarray the Giants are in right now.
If you’re a Giants fan 35-years-old or younger, this is unfamiliar territory. This franchise had been one of the model franchises until recent years.
The Giants now have a long 10 days off until they play the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football on Oct. 22. The team is in a downward spiral and there’s tension building within the team.
Pat Shurmur will have to somehow rally his troops before things get really ugly and ownership is forced to once again make wholesale changes.
