Grades: 'F' for defense and for coaching
Head coach Pat Shurmur of the New York Giants reacts after there is no penalty call against Cre'von LeBlanc #34 of the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on November 25, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
OFFENSE: D
Had the game ended 10 seconds before halftime, it would have been another great performance by Eli Manning, Saquon Barkley and the resurgent group. Instead, there were another 30:10 to play, with which the Giants managed just three points and could not stay on the field long enough to avoid collapse. We could give you some overall stats to make the effort look impressive, but the lack of production and the increase in negative plays in the second half overwhelmed any positives. Corey Coleman’s drop on a slant for a first down was an underappreciated back-breaker. OK, just one positive: Barkley’s 51-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was a gem. The player on the field who came closest to tackling him was Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard.
DEFENSE: F
For the second week in a row, the defense tried to give away a win that was firmly within the grasp of the Giants. Last week they were able to withstand the Bucs, this week they could not do it against the Eagles. They allowed 88 rushing yards in the second half and couldn’t make a 19-3 lead stick. “I don’t know what changed,” safety Landon Collins said of going from shutting the Eagles down to being run over by them. “They kind of figured something out and rolled with it.” Still, the 'D' had a chance to come up big on fourtha-and-1 from their own 42 with 2:39 left in the game. The Eagles gained 12 yards on a pass to a wide-open receiver in the middle of the field.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D
The Giants didn’t punt until the third quarter, but when they did, it was awful. Riley Dixon’s kick went just 38 yards and set the Eagles up with a short field. They drove 47 yards for their first touchdown. Quadree Henderson fielded two first-half punts inside the 10 rather than let them bounce and hope for a touchback. Corey Coleman continues to have some decent kickoff returns, averaging 33.7 yards on three opportunities. Aldrick Rosas was 3-for-3 on field goals, with a long of 51.
COACHING: F
Pat Shurmur pushed no right buttons, from the play call on the two-point conversion after the opening touchdown (a pass in traffic to fullback Eli Penny) to giving Saquon Barkley a break at a critical time in the third quarter to using a timeout to try to salvage an already dire third-and-18 and then calling a short pass anyway. Practically ignoring Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. in the second half is illogical in any circumstance, never mind one in which you are trying to close out a win that could vault the team into playoff contention. Defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s unit got trumped in the second half for the second straight week. The Giants need to learn how to close out games like these if they want to take the next step. The Eagles made all the adjustments in the game, and that’s why they were able to erase a 19-3 deficit.
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.
