EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Seven games into the season, the New York Giants are fading fast.
The Giants’ offense had its second straight no-show performance in a 28-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday that showed them just how much they miss star running back Saquon Barkley.
Playing against his former teammates for the first time since signing with the Eagles in March, Barkley had his second-best rushing game, gaining 176 yards and scoring a touchdown as the Giants fell to 2-5. They are last in the NFC East, behind Washington (5-2), Philadelphia (4-2) and Dallas (3-3).
“No one was happy about the result,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “I think we have a strong group. You need to have a strong group in this league. There’s a lot of ups and downs. Unfortunately, we’ve had more downs. But our guys will come back. We’ll regroup and we’ll do everything we possibly can do, like we do each week, to be at our best on Monday night.”
This was an ugly loss. Barkley had 187 total yards — 68 more than the Giants’ entire offense. While the defense limited Jalen Hurts to 114 yards passing, it allowed 269 yards rushing.
And that wasn’t the only problem. Daniel Jones was lifted in the fourth quarter after New York fell behind 28-3 on Hurts’ second rushing TD. Backup Drew Lock took over and fumbled the snap on his first play. He recovered the fumble, but he didn’t provide the spark Daboll was hoping for.
Jones, who went 14 of 21 for 99 yards, was frustrated about being removed, even though he was under pressure all game as the Eagles recorded a season-high eight sacks. They entered the game with 11 this season and took advantage of Giants left tackle Josh Ezeudu, who replaced 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 out there. They cheered when Lock entered the game but saw their team fall to 0-4 at home, scoring 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 TD pass to A.J. Brown.
New York’s 119 yards of offense was its fewest under Daboll (his previous worst was 150 at San Francisco on Sept. 21, 2023). The Giants hadn’t gained fewer yards since Sept. 12, 1999, when they finished with 112 at Tampa Bay.
The Giants will have an extra day to prepare for their next game, next Monday night at Pittsburgh.
“We just have to do more, do better,” right tackle Jermaine Eleumunor said.
What the Giants can’t do is give up, and it seemed some players were going through the motions late. Not a good sign.
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