If the Philadelphia Eagles(5-7) miss the playoffs this season, they will most definitely look at their loss against the New York Giants(4-7) on Sunday. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw three interceptions, and Philadelphia had four turnovers as they fell to the Giants 13-7 at MetLife Stadium.
Philadelphia rushed for 208 yards on Sunday, which is the third consecutive time they ran for over 200 yards. The Eagles have also produced 175-plus rushing yards in five straight games for the first time since 1950.
However, Hurts, who had a game-high 77 yards on the ground, struggled to throw the ball. He was 14/31 for only 129 yards with zero touchdowns, and again, three picks.
Giants safety Julian Love, who almost got a pick on Philly’s final drive, said the team wanted Hurts to beat them with his arm.
“Obviously, he’s pretty dangerous running the ball, and they’re finding that in their offense,” Love, who had a fumble recovery, said after the game. “With us, we just tried to play physical, just play straight up and kind of make him throw the ball, so to speak. He got some runs, obviously, but when it comes down to crucial passing situations, I thought we handled him well. So that was part of the plan, and guys executed.”
Clearly, that game plan worked as the Giants’ defense stepped up on the day the team retired legendary DE Michael Strahan’s number 92 jersey.
However, despite Hurts’ struggles, the Eagles had two opportunities to put themselves in a position to win the game. With 31 seconds left, Hurts threw a nice pass to Jalen Reagor in the end zone, but he dropped it, and on 4th and 10, Reagor had another drop that would have put the Eagles around the Giants’ goal line.
“That was a heart-stopping play, that last one. Different than the previous one,” Love said. “That was a heart-stopping play, and I think he just played through it, and he was applying pressure all game, and sometimes that accumulates. So yeah, Reagor didn’t come down with that one at the end, thankfully.”
Reagor, who has only 25 receptions for 201 yards this season, has been a disappointment for the Eagles since being selected by Philadelphia in the first round(21st pick) of the 2020 NFL Draft, but to his credit, he did take ownership for what happened.
“You have bad days; you have good days; you’ve just got to move forward,” Reagor said. “Because tomorrow’s still gotta be here, I still have to go practice; I still have to play next week. You can’t too much dwell on it. Just me taking ownership and moving forward.”
It’s not all on Reagor. Hurts was terrible on Sunday, and Boston Scott had a critical fumble on the previous drive, but Reagor has to make those plays, and he didn’t. Now, the Giants, who fired OC Jason Garrett this week but still struggled on offensive against Philadelphia, has life in terms of the playoffs, and the Eagles, who still have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs, missed out on a valuable opportunity to move up the standings.
Notes:
-The 20 total points and the 13 points in a victory were the fewest in a Giants game since a 10-7 triumph against Dallas on Dec. 11, 2016. Before Sunday, the Giants lowest points total in a victory under Judge was their 17-12 triumph in Seattle last season.
-Darnay Holmes, Xavier McKinney, and Tae Crowder had the Giants interceptions off Jalen Hurts. It was the Giants’ first three-interception game since Blake Martinez, Jabrill Peppers, and Logan Ryan all had interceptions in Washington in 2020.
-Daniel Jones completed 19 of 30 passes for 202 yards, including a one-yard touchdown to tight end Chris Myarick. He did not throw an interception for the seventh time in 11 games. Jones was not sacked until the Giants’ final non-kneel down play in the fourth quarter. Jones also rushed for 30 yards on nine carries.
