Eagles deliver gut punch to Giants' season with questionable effort against Washington
Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts scratches his head on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Football Team, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Chris Szagola
The Eagles have handed the Giants some of their worst losses in history. It was they and Chuck Bednarik who knocked Frank Gifford cold and helped bring their halcyon days of the 1950s and early 1960s to an end. It was they and Herman Edwards who recovered the infamous fumble by Joe Pisarcik and returned it for a touchdown to beat them in 1978. It was they and DeSean Jackson who returned Matt Dodge's punt for a touchdown as time expired to keep the 2010 Giants out of the playoffs.
On Sunday night, they again delivered a gut punch to the Giants. The only difference was that they weren’t even on the same field.
The Giants needed a victory by the Eagles over Washington on Sunday night to make the playoffs, but Philadelphia lost, 20-14 — and seemed to do just about everything in their power to give Washington that playoff berth and keep it away from the Giants.
The Eagles sat out eight starters with injuries (some legitimate, some less so), but even with that handicap, they hung around in the game. They even seemed poised to tie the score at 17 late in the third quarter when Marcus Epps came up with a key interception.
Instead of kicking a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 4, though, Eagles coach Doug Pederson decided to try for a touchdown. Quez Watkins broke free in the left side of the end zone, but Jalen Hurts' pass hit the ground in front of him.
The next time the Eagles had the ball, Hurts was on the sideline and backup Nate Sudfeld was at quarterback. It was right around that point when the Giants probably realized the Eagles had no intention of trying to win the game.
By the time the Eagles jumped offside to give Washington a first down on fourth-and-1 at the two-minute warning, there undoubtedly were TV remotes and smartphones flying all around the living rooms of Giants players. Some papers, if not furniture, likely were going airborne in Joe Judge’s office, where he had gone to begin preparations for a possible playoff game against the Bucs.
The Giants, of course, could have done much more to control their own destiny and not rely on the Eagles for help. That included a game that they blew in Week 7 against the Eagles, 22-21, which added to the long list of heartbreaks from their division rival.
"We had opportunities for 16 weeks," Judge said after the Giants beat the Cowboys to set up their long night of waiting and seeing.
They will not have a 17th one, mostly because of their own doing. Mostly because they won only six times. Mostly because they lost three straight games after leaving Seattle in first place after an upset win on Dec. 6.
But the way they’ll almost certainly remember it — and recall it twice next season — is because of what happened in Philadelphia on Sunday night.
If the Eagles couldn’t beat Washington, that would have been one thing. But what twisted the knife further was that it appeared they wouldn't beat Washington.
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.
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