The New York Giants suffered their most embarrassing loss of the Brian Daboll era, getting crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles 48-22 on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
New York went into its bye week at the start of November with a 6-2 record, with many confident this team could be a playoff contender. The Coach of the Year buzz for Daboll gained steamed after a Week 10 victory, pushing the Giants to 7-2.
It’s been downhill ever since. After escaping with a tie in Week 13 against the Washington Commanders, the panic meter is now blaring following the result in Week 14.
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Here are four takeaways from the New York Giants’ loss on Sunday.
The honeymoon stage is over for Brian Daboll
Daboll received a ton of credit for the Giants 6-1 start and was the earlier front-runner to be named Coach of the Year. But now he has to bear the brunt of the Giants second half downward spiral, especially after being outplayed in all three phases of the game by Philadelphia.
He has made his fair of mistakes during this four-game stretch. The biggest mistake that Daboll made was having his best cornerback Adoree’ Jackson return punts. Jackson would get injured returning a punt in the second quarter of the Giants Week 11 31-18 loss to the Detroit Lions. Since the moment of Jackson’s injury, the team has gone 0-3-1 and have been outscored 124-74.
Of course, there have been other factors and other injuries that have contributed to New York’s downward spiral. But it was an unnecessary risk having your best corner return punts and has proven to be one of the biggest missteps by the rookie head coach.
New York isn’t ready to compete with the top contenders
Humbling losses to the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys in recent weeks made one thing clear. Daboll’s team isn’t anywhere close to being viewed as a serious contender, it can’t even put up a fight like we’ve seen from others in the NFC.
Without having an explosive game-breaking wide receiver and a subpar offensive line, and a secondary that’s been ravaged by injuries, the Giants do not pose a serious to any of the elite teams in the league.
Early on in the season, they were able to pull off some upsets such as beating the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 21-20. But it’s become apparent that New York overachieved in the first half of the season, and has been hit with reality in the second half of the season. Perhaps next year when they’re projected to have around $54 million in cap space can the team take it to the next level and become a serious threat in the NFC.
New York can’t stop the run and it’s getting worse
Thanks to Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders, the Eagles gashed the Giants’ defense for 253 yards on the ground. While the absence of Leonard Williams undeniably played a role, surrendering that many rushing yards is inexcusable no matter the circumstances.
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It’s an alarming problem that isn’t getting any better. Over the last five games, New York is allowing 169.6 rushing yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry with 10 rushing touchdowns. It’s a big problem considering the final four opponents either rank top-11 in rush play rate or have a Pro Bowl running back and a willingness to pound the rock.
New York Giants enter must-win territory
While the Giants and Washington Commanders have the same record entering Week 15, Washington holds the tiebreaker in the NFL playoff race. However, it’s not the only reason New York enters the must-win territory.
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The Seattle Seahawks are hot on the Giants’ trail in the NFL standings for the No. 7 seed in the NFC. If Seattle defeats the (9-4) San Francisco 49ers at home on Thursday night and the Giants lose to Washington, New York would be out of the playoff picture entering Week 16..
While New York would have three games left to make up the deficit, but you never want to be on the outside looking in this late in the season.