Big Blue View
The New York Giants lost 38-20 in Philadelphia in an emotionally frustrating matchup on Sunday. Firstly, Cam Skattebo’s ankle injury was devastating for the team and the young man himself. I hope for nothing but the best for Skattebo in his recovery.
The officiating was atrocious in this game, but it wasn’t the reason for the loss; the Giants lost by 18 points, and Philadelphia’s previous inability to run the ball was nowhere to be found. The Eagles gained 277 yards on the ground with an impressive 8.4 yards per carry. This seemed obvious after the second play for the Eagles’ offense when Saquon Barkley broke off a 65-yard touchdown. He finished with 150 yards rushing on 14 carries, 10.7 per attempt. Backup Tank Bigsby averaged 11.6 yards per carry on nine carries for a total of 104 yards.
The Giants’ inability to fit the run has been a problem all season and was compounded by a secondary without Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland. Philadelphia stretched the Giants’ defense horizontally and ran all over defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s unit. Philadelphia had more yards on the ground than the Giants’ offense had total; the Eagles totaled 427 yards, while the Giants totaled 246.
Below is the report card:
Quarterback
Jaxson Dart had several high-level throws in this game. He finished 14 of 24 for 194 yards and a touchdown. Dart also had a rushing touchdown. He suffered five sacks as well. The statistics don’t represent how well the rookie played on the road in a hostile environment. The dropped third down to Theo Johnson on an out-and-up, as well as the negated 68-yard Darius Slayton touchdown deflated Dart’s box score.
Grade: B+
Running Back
It’s truly gut-wrenching what happened to Skattebo. Prior to his ankle injury, Skattebo rushed three times for 12 yards with one catch for 18 yards and a score.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. filled in admirably for Skattebo, as the Giants leaned on the second-year running back and veteran Devin Singletary. The Giants successfully attacked the Eagles second-level defenders with their backs in the passing game. Skattebo’s touchdown and Devin Singletary’s 28-yard catch set up Graham Gano’s second field goal.
New York finished with just 68 yards on the ground (average of 3.2 YPC). Tracy Jr. had 39 yards on 10 carries (3.9 YPC), and Singletary had no yards on two carries.
Grade: C+
Wide Receiver
The Giants’ wide receivers did little after carving through Philadelphia just two weeks ago. Slayton had a 68-yard touchdown negated by his own offensive pass interference penalty – a questionable penalty against Quinyon Mitchell. Wan’Dale Robinson was MIA, but was called on a phantom block in the back penalty – more on the terrible officiating later.
Atrocious zebras aside, the Giants lost this football game and the receivers were nowhere to be found. Slayton had one impactful catch in the first quarter and had a bad drop on a slant. Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Beaux Collins, and Robinson were not featured much until the Giants...
