Things have gone south quickly for the Giants after their upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks ago.
A monumental collapse in Denver against the Broncos, fueled by the shoddy coaching of their defensive coordinator, was followed up by a slew of injuries that destroyed any semblance of momentum remaining on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, as the Eagles ran roughshod over Big Blue, 38-20 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Rookie running back Cam Skattebo’s season is likely over after he dislocated his ankle midway through the second quarter. On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants (2-6) were without 75% of their starting secondary. With starting cornerback Paulson Adebo and starting safety Jevon Holland, cornerback Cor’Dale Flott was forced out of the game in the second quarter when he suffered a concussion at the hand, or fist, of his own teammate, linebacker Bobby Okereke, who punched Flott after whiffing on an attempt to knock the ball loose.
Head Coach Brian Daboll’s thoughts after the game were with Skattebo over an injury that may prove catastrophic to Big Blue’s season.
“I feel absolutely terrible for the young man,” Daboll said. “It looked bad. You know you feel for anybody on your team who goes down and has a really bad injury. And I know the players feel the same way about Skat.”
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley went off for his biggest game of the season, accruing 150 rushing yards with one rushing and one receiving touchdown before a groin injury ended his day on the final play of the third quarter.
Backup running back Tank Bigsby went for 104 yards on nine carries, making this the first time since 2013 that they have two backs who rushed for 100-plus yards in the same game.
Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, now down all of his big-time playmakers, was limited to 193 passing yards on 14-of-24 passing with a throwing and rushing touchdown.
“He battled,” Daboll said of Dart. “He tries to give all the players chances to make plays. We have to do that for him… That guy battles. He’s just a good young player.”
Along with the injuries to Skattebo and Flott, the second quarter proved to be game-swinging, and it centered around controversial officiating that loomed over the Giants all afternoon. Barkley’s 65-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was canceled out when Dart hit Skattebo for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles responded with a lengthy drive that wound down to the Giants 11-yard line but appeared to stall on a 4th-&-1.
Philadelphia called upon the tush-push, and quarterback Jalen Hurts appeared to be stripped of the football while diving forward on top of bodies at the line of scrimmage. The Giants recovered the ball, but the officiating crew blew the whistle after the play and claimed that Hurts’ forward progress was stopped, which it clearly wasn’t. Two plays later, Hurts hit Barkley for a nine-yard touchdown pass to go up 14-7.
On the following drive, Skattebo landed awkwardly on his right foot while leaping for a Dart pass, dislocating his ankle, which initially appears to be season-ending.
A 47-yard Graham Gano field goal was quickly overshadowed by tight end Dallas Godert’s first of two touchdown catches, the former from six yards out, to give Philadelphia a 21-10 lead at halftime.
A third quarter featuring only two field goals gave way to a fourth quarter that saw the Eagles pull away in dominant fashion. They scored on each of their first two drives of the final frame, Godert’s second of the day before Jahan Dotson out-leapt rookie cornerback Korie Black — forced into his first career game due to New York’s injuries — for a 40-yard bomb of a score down the left sideline to make it a 38-13 game.
Between Philadelphia touchdowns, a questionable offensive pass interference call on Giants veteran receiver Darius Slayton, which featured nothing more than hand-checking, wiped away what could have been a momentum-shifting 68-yard score that would have brought the Giants within 11 five minutes into the fourth quarter.
