Recapping this rollercoaster is near impossible, but I am going to try. There was a heavy dose of seemingly everything in this game, but let’s make one thing clear: THE GIANTS LEFT SO MUCH ON THE FIELD.
It is 3rd & 1 with 9 mins left in Q4, and the Giants are down 27-18. The Giants run a brilliant play, Taylor slides out while Waller releases from a late block. Taylor has a wide open Waller who will walk in for a TD. But he misses Waller, as the ball comes up short. FRUSTRATING.
The following play, 4th & 1, Reddick gets a free release on Taylor and the Giants QB is rushed into a bad throw in the flat, turnover on downs.
Reddick would get another free release on another 4th &1 earlier in the game, stopping Barkley for another TFL/turnover on downs. So much left on the field.
The Giants started this game very slow. How does Free Safety (Xavier McKinney) give so much cushion to a TE (Dallas Goedert) on 4th and 5? How does a busted snap over the head of Hurts go from an Eagle 6 yd loss on 3rd down in the red zone to a converted 9 yard play to keep the drive going? How does Darren Waller drop a ball right in his hands on 3rd & 7 at the PHI 34? How does a contained punt go for a 54 yard runback?
… and that was all in the first Quarter.
The end of Q2 saw another boneheaded play. Jalen Hurts makes the mistake of turning back into the field of play at the ~4 yard line with 9 seconds remaining and no timeouts. Except Okereke (who is otherwise having a very good year) goes fighting for the ball and is called for Delay of Game, enabling a FG instead of time running out in the half. Terrible.
With the Giants down 20-3, I am not quite sure why I was even watching the game, but it was apparent that the Giants could do more if they were not their own worst enemy. First, Simmons creates a fumble/turnover on the kickoff to start the second half. With a very short field, the Giants score, to make it 20-10.
The Giants tried to run a screen in Q3. Awful. Loss of 2 yards. On Defense, the Giants blew too many tackles. There was a 3rd & 20 conversion by the Eagles that was a backbreaker. It was an up and down game with too many good and bad plays to recount.
Yet the Giants were in this game DESPITE all of the mistakes. With the Eagles driving, Adoree Jackson picks off a Hurts pass, and runs it back 76 yards. Horse collar, so the Giants go for 2 from the 1 yd line, convert, it is 20-18. Now, this game became a dogfight. Yet the Gmen could not cash in. The Waller play where Taylor misses him for a TD sticks out. Taylor hits Darius Slayton for a bomb 69 yd TD. That was the biggest play all year for the Giants. Those two plays are a microcosm of what this teams has and does not have. We know for a fact that the Giants receivers have been able to get separation this year. They have weapons. They need an OL to give the Offense the rhythm/protection and they need a special QB who can take this team to the next level. Any good QB, let alone a franchise QB, makes that throw to Waller and he scores. Yet Taylor misses. That is the difference between winning and losing.
Let’s talk about CJ Stroud for a moment or two. I live in Houston, and the impact of this rookie QB on a completely dysfunctional Texans franchise has been remarkable. CJ Stroud is the real deal. Remember– QB, protect QB, rush the QB. It is QB league above all else. A dynamic QB changes everything. Daniel Jones was resurrected last season. Yet we must confront the brutal facts; things need to be nearly perfect for Jones to succeed. If his ability is easily imperfect, his availability is worse. CJ Stroud sees the field better as a rookie than Jones sees the field in year 5. If the Giants end up at ~1.05, I would trade up to 1.03 for one of the 3 elite QBs (assuming Schoen and Daboll like what they see).
Daboll is a QB whisperer. He groomed Josh Allen in Buffalo. He resurrected Jones in 2022. His impact on DeVito, a UDFA, has been evident as well. If the Giants are able to draft talent, I have confidence in Daboll to turn that into an elite franchise QB. Let me just say it this way- CJ Stroud wins this game today vs PHL. No doubt about it. And that is what I want. Get a transformational QB. Transform this franchise.