Breakdowns? Try five flat tires on offensive line

Offensive linemen cringe whenever their name is mentioned because it usually means something bad. Either they have drawn a penalty or allowed a sack or done something else to cause humiliation in a game.

So how bad is it when one of them is trending worldwide on Twitter?

Now Justin Pugh knows because his was the name being typed and hashtagged while he was getting pummeled by the Eagles.

"Obviously, I played one of the worst games you can play as an offensive lineman," Pugh said after the Giants' 27-0 loss to the Eagles on Sunday night. "I let one play affect the next play and that's something you can't do. That's where it starts . . . It really was the worst game I've ever played, hands down. Not even close."

It was reminiscent of a Sunday night game between these two teams seven years ago when Osi Umenyiora embarrassed Winston Justice for six sacks and the Giants totaled an NFL-record 12 quarterback takedowns. This wasn't as bad. The Eagles had only eight (they ended the game with their second sack of backup quarterback Ryan Nassib). But maybe it represented a little bit of justice for Winston.

"You don't want to see your quarterback getting hit," Pugh said. "We know what he can do when we give him time. We didn't give him time tonight at all. That starts with me. I played poorly, which probably isn't a good enough word to describe how bad I played. I'm going to learn from this. I'm going to work my [butt] off, that's something I can guarantee you."

Pugh wasn't alone. The entire O-line, which had been solid during the Giants' three-game winning streak, played its worst game of the season. They had allowed only seven sacks in the previous five games.

"Our tackles had a tough time," Tom Coughlin said. "I didn't think we played well up front at all, and I really don't know what the answer to that is."

The Giants even had their one chance at a touchdown negated by a holding penalty against Will Beatty, taking away a nice catch in the end zone by Larry Donnell.

"That was just one of many calls," Beatty said. "I mean, they took points off the board. In games like these, you can't give up anything and we left so much out there. We had way too many penalties and way too many hits on the QBs. All you have to do is keep him upright and you know what he can do. And we showed we can do it in previous games . . . Way too much bad stuff out there."

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.