Seven games into the season, the New York Giants are struggling badly. The Giants’ offense had another poor performance in a 28-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, highlighting how much they miss star running back Saquon Barkley.
Playing against his former team for the first time since signing with the Eagles in March, Barkley had an impressive game, rushing for 176 yards and scoring a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Giants fell to 2-5 and are now at the bottom of the NFC East, behind Washington (5-2), Philadelphia (4-2), and Dallas (3-3).
“No one was happy about the result,” said Giants coach Brian Daboll. “I think we have a strong group. You need to have a strong group in this league. There are a lot of ups and downs. Unfortunately, we’ve had more downs.
But our guys will come back. We’ll regroup and do everything we can to be at our best on Monday night.”
This was a tough loss. Barkley alone had 187 total yards, which was 68 more than the entire Giants offense. While the defense held Jalen Hurts to 114 yards passing, it allowed 269 yards rushing.
That wasn’t the only issue. Daniel Jones was taken out in the fourth quarter after New York fell behind 28-3 due to Hurts’ second rushing touchdown. Backup Drew Lock came in and fumbled the snap on his first play. He managed to recover it, but he didn’t bring the energy that Daboll was hoping for.
Jones, who completed 14 of 21 passes for 99 yards, was frustrated about being taken out, especially since he faced constant pressure throughout the game. The Eagles recorded a season-high eight sacks, taking advantage of Giants left tackle Josh Ezeudu, who was filling in for the injured Andrew Thomas.
“You want to be out there playing with your teammates and fighting to score points and move the ball,” Jones said. “So, I was frustrated, but not my decision. Yeah, frustrating for sure, I want to be out there playing.”
The remaining fans at MetLife Stadium didn’t want him on the field. They cheered when Lock came into the game, but their team fell to 0-4 at home, managing only 31 points in those games.
The Giants’ longest play was a 14-yard pass to Malik Nabers. Barkley had runs of 55, 41, and 38 yards for Philadelphia, and Hurts threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown.
New York’s 119 yards of offense was the lowest under Daboll, with his previous lowest being 150 yards against San Francisco on September 21, 2023. The Giants hadn’t gained fewer yards since September 12, 1999, when they finished with 112 yards at Tampa Bay.
The Giants will have an extra day to prepare for their next game, which is next Monday night against Pittsburgh.
“We just have to do more, do better,” said right tackle Jermaine Eleumunor. What the Giants can’t do is give up, but it seemed some players were going through the motions toward the end. That’s not a good sign.
