The Philadelphia Eagles were on fire after two consecutive wins.
Were.
Then they lost Sunday’s game to the New York Giants. A game they needed for playoff contention and a game that they could have easily won. After a terrible performance, are the Eagles reverting to their old ways?
A DISAPPOINTING LOSS FOR THE BIRDS
After dominating the past two weeks, the Eagles lost their spark today. Despite more total plays (65) and yardage (332), Philadelphia had no sense of rhythm or accuracy.
While quarterback Jalen Hurts was victorious on the ground, he fell right back into his old habits through the air. With careless throws and three interceptions, Hurts gave the Giants every opportunity to win today.
Head coach Nick Sirianni commented on Hurts’ performance stating, “He didn’t play good enough, and we didn’t coach good enough. It’s not a winning performance.”
But Hurts wasn’t the only issue. Penalties diminished the drives that Philadelphia did well in, and the number of offensive mistakes were abundant.
In the first quarter of the game, center Jason Kelce injured his knee, leaving Nate Herbig to take this place. Not even in the game for a full quarter, Herbig had a holding penalty, wiping out a touchdown by running back Boston Scott. As the Eagles attempted to score again (and this time make it count), wide receiver Greg Ward dropped the ball, followed by a poor throw by Hurts, leaving Philadelphia shut out in the half for the first time all season.
Then on the Eagles’ first drive in the third quarter, Philadelphia went for it on fourth down, resulting in an incompletion by wide receiver Jalen Reagor.
The ball went back to the Giants. In a move that would have ended in a field goal, Eagles’ Steven Nelson was called for pass interference, giving New York a fresh start at 1st down on the 1-yard line. The Giants scored the game’s first touchdown (and I’m still not sure how that even counted).
Philadelphia began the fourth quarter with a 65-yard drive ending in a touchdown by Boston Scott. Trailing six points, the Eagles tried to redeem themselves but failed. On first-down, Scott fumbled for a Giants’ recovery with less than two minutes in the game. Hurts and the team were able to recover the ball back 1:11 remaining. Hurts threw deep to Reagor for another missed catch, Goedert missed the following catch, and on 4th-and-10, Reagor missed yet another. The ball went right through the wide receiver’s hands near the goal line, ending the game.
HOW??? pic.twitter.com/xGkJjChgnD
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 28, 2021
The Giants are now sending the Birds back to Philadelphia 5-7. It is the first time in 13 years that the Eagles have lost back-to-back games against New York. According to ESPN Football Power Index, Philadelphia only has a 26% of making the playoffs now.
Next week, the Eagles make their way back to MetLife Stadium to battle the Jets, who are now 3-8.
