The New York Giants fell to 2-11 on the season after collapsing on Monday night in Philadelphia, squandering a 17-3 lead to the Eagles and eventually losing in overtime, 23-17.
Here are three takeaways from Big Blue’s latest loss.
Even when they play well enough to win, they don’t
There was no reason the Giants couldn’t win this game. The Eagles were set up for another deflating loss, and the Giants were poised to pin one on them. But the Giants’ coaching staff is not up for a 60-minute game.
The Eagles came into the game with just three healthy wide receivers and lost Alshon Jeffery to a foot injury midway through the game, leaving them with ex-college QB Greg Ward and little-used rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. Philly also lost running back Miles Sanders for a good stretch with cramps. The Giants’ defense could not harness someone named Boston Scott, who looked like the reincarnation of Darren Sproles.
The main issue is that Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz was really the only reliable weapon quarterback Carson Wentz had at his disposal. But the Giants did nothing to counter him. Ertz caught nine passes for 91 yards, but most importantly the game-tying and game-winning touchdowns in the game. The winning score in overtime was a result of a blown coverage as Ertz was left unattended in the middle of the end zone.
Eli Manning thrilled, then chilled
The return of No. 10 got off to a rousing start as he led the Giants to a 17-3 lead at halftime. Eli completed 11 of 19 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns for a 124.7 passer rating. He looked the Eli of old, hitting on long passes of 55, 42 and 35 yards to rookie wideout Darius Slayton.
The second half painted a different picture. Manning went only 4-of-11 for 34 yards with no scores as the Giants did nothing to change their plan. As we stated over the weekend in our run-up to this game, the Giants had to throw caution to the wind. Instead, they decided to sit on the lead, which proved (go figure) to be the wrong move.
Saquon busted, Slayton busted out
Second-year running back Saquon Barkley showed some semblance of the player he was last year, but still, the stat sheet tells a different story. Barkley gained 66 yards on 17 carries (3.9 per) and was only was targeted four times in the passing game. He caught three for a total of one yard. At this point he isn’t adding a whole lot of value to this offense.
Slayton, as noted above, made several big plays, catching five passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. The fifth-rounder out of Auburn leads the Giants in receiving yards (659) and is second on the club in receptions behind Evan Engram (42). His seven receiving touchdowns lead the Giants and are also the most of any rookie in the league through 13 games this season.
Slayton is the first NFL rookie to have multiple 100-yard, two-touchdown games since 2014, when Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans (two), Jacksonville’s Allen Hurns (two) and the Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr. (three) all did it.
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