Giants Q & A: Wasn’t anyone upset?

The Giants must have been devastated after that soul-crushing loss to the Eagles, right?

Not really. Not as much as you would think. Maybe it was the separation of the media from the players on the Zoom sessions that muted many of the emotions, but mostly everyone who spoke afterward was fairly calm and poised and matter-of-fact about the 22-21 defeat on Thursday night.

Joe Judge took his usual stance of having to watch the film before breaking down plays, but showed very little of the anguish that had to be welling up inside him after losing like that in his hometown.

"I thought our players played hard, I thought we showed a lot of flashes throughout the game," he said. "And then there were some things we did that held us back… The focus isn’t on frustration, the focus is on correcting mistakes and moving forward."

Wasn’t anyone upset?

Safety Jabril Peppers came the closest, but mostly at himself for allowing the game-winning touchdown pass to running back Boston Scott in man coverage. Even he, though, was able to eventually turn his dismay toward Judge’s way of more stoic thinking.

"It is what it is," he said. "It hurts. But we'll see those guys again. We have to get back to the drawing board, correct the mistakes and come back out (next) Monday night with a better performance than we did tonight."

Shouldn’t they have been more emotional?

"I don’t think you should mistake the calmness for us not being disappointed or that we’re not frustrated with how things are going," Daniel Jones said. "We certainly are. When you put in as much work as we do and you don’t get the results, we’re certainly frustrated and disappointed. But when you ask about the mood, we’re in a position where we need to be able to bounce back, to control our mood, and make sure that’s productive toward what we’re trying to accomplish and do as a team."

And the fans that did not share the Giants’ well-balanced take on things? What would the Giants say to them?

"Look, we’re going to work hard for you guys, I can promise you that," Judge said when asked that very question. "I have nothing I can say right now that is going to make you feel better about how the game turned out. We’re not going to make any excuses to the fans. We want to put a product on the field our fans can be proud of… We’re putting together a foundation for a team that we hope lasts, that will play the right type of football for a long time. We have a culture being built right now that is moving in the right direction."

Judge added: "To the fans, I’m not going to ask you to be patient. That’s not your job to be patient. Your job is to be entertained by us and what we put on the field. It’s our job to go out there and work and improve and give you something to cheer about. We’re going to keep working hard for the fans."

What happened on that fateful dropped pass to tight end Evan Engram?

Depends on who you ask. Engram said he should have caught it "100 percent." Jones? Despite putting the ball in a catchable spot, he blamed himself. "I have to do a better job," the quarterback said. "We’ve all got to do a better job of executing in those situations. The ball is in my hand and I have to do a better job." While it is admirable that Jones would put the blame on himself, and part of the job for a franchise quarterback, that may have been one of the most inaccurate statements publicly spoken on Thursday night… and there was a Presidential debate going on at the same time as the game!

Shouldn’t the Giants have been able to get a first down on their first punt?

Yes. Judge created some chaos as he rushed the punt team on the field, which left the Eagles in disarray and without anyone over gunner Corey Ballentine. Punter Riley Dixon, who threw a beauty of a touchdown pass to Engram two weeks ago but had it negated by a penalty, was trying to get Ballentine’s attention so he could have thrown him the ball. Instead, Ballentine never looked back, sprinted down the field, and covered the fair catch after Riley was forced to kick it. A lost opportunity early in a game that was eventually decided by a single point.

How did Sterling Shepard do in his return?

Not bad. The wide receiver, taken off injured reserve on Thursday afternoon and added to the active roster following a pregame workout to prove his health, caught six passes for 59 yards, including a 29-yarder in the third quarter and a three-yarder for a touchdown that gave the Giants their 21-10 lead in the fourth. It was the first touchdown reception for him this season. Golden Tate also caught his first touchdown of the season in the first half when he wrestled a pass away from Cre’Von LeBlanc at the 10 and cruised into the end zone for a 39-yard score. It was Tate’s only catch of the game.

Anyone get hurt?

Devonta Freeman, who had stepped into the starting running back job, left with an ankle injury. That allowed Wayne Gallman to become the main back for most of the second half. Gallman responded with 34 yards on 10 carries and five catches for another 20 yards.

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.