Giants play improved ball in second half but lose to Eagles again

PHILADELPHIA — The Giants fell short on Christmas.

They lost to the Eagles, 33-25, at Lincoln Financial Field. The game was competitive but, as has been the case for a decade in Philadelphia, the Giants came out on the losing end.

Coach Brian Daboll changed quarterbacks at halftime, going from undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito to 13-year veteran Tyrod Taylor.

“Just tried to spark the team,’’ Daboll said. “I don’t really have anything else to add to that. I just did it to try to spark the team.”

Did it?

“We started off the second half well,” he said. “We weren’t scoring any points. We were 1-for-8 on third down.”

Taylor, who completed 7 of 16 passes for 133 yards after DeVito was 9-for-16 for 55 yards, said he was ready.

“I’ve said this from day one, ever since 2011 when I was drafted,” he said. “Regardless of my position on the roster, I treat each and every day as if I was starting.”

He nearly led the Giants back in their Philly House of Horrors, where the Giants haven’t won since 2013. That’s eleven straight games, including playoffs.

The Giants have an overall record of 3-16 against the Eagles from Dec. 25, 2013, to Dec. 25, 2023.

“It [stinks],” Saquon Barkley said. “Everyone’s frustrated, no one’s happy. I’m proud of the guys, they fought. We just came up short.

“We knew at halftime about the quarterback change. I’ll let Dabes speak on that, he’s the one who made the decision. We got trust in Tyrod. It definitely created a little spark when Tyrod came in. I believe in both those guys. I tip my hat to both of them. Both of them come out to compete every single time. Tyrod made some plays for us.

“I don’t think it was a negative thing on Tommy. I didn’t see it that way. We didn’t do what we needed to win this game. Hats off to Philly.”

As for his quarterback plan for the final two games of the season, Daboll said those conversations will be had this week.

At halftime, the Giants (5-10) appeared to have taken a knockout punch from the Eagles (11-4), who came into the game looking to end a three-game losing streak. It was 20-3 and the Philly fans were dancing.

But on the second-half kickoff, Isaiah Simmons hit Boston Scott, forced a fumble and recovered it himself to set the Giants up at the Eagles’ 14, and Barkley’s 7-yard touchdown run brought the Giants within 20-10. Adoree’ Jackson’s 76-yard pick-6 and Barkley’s two-point conversion run made it 20-18 with nine seconds left in the third quarter.

That was the kind of big play the Giants hadn’t been getting much of this season, and certainly not in recent history at the Linc.

D’Andre Swift’s 5-yard touchdown run and Jake Elliott’s 44-yard field goal made it 30-18 with 6:04 remaining, but a 69-yard touchdown pass from Taylor to Darius Slayton brought the Giants within 30-25 with 5:22 to play.

The goal was to get Slayton matched up against a safety in one-on-one coverage.

“I like that matchup as much as he does,” Taylor said. “He did a great job of tracking the ball and staying [inbounds] as well. Obviously, it was explosive for us and it put us back in the game. We needed a quick strike there. It was a good play by [Slayton] and a great call by [offensive coordinator Mike Kafka].”

The Eagles then relied heavily on Swift (92 yards, 20 carries), who had seven consecutive touches in the final drive, and Elliott’s 43-yard field goal gave the Eagles a 33-25 lead.

“He’s a really good player. He made some really good plays, some cutback plays, some bounce-out plays,’’ Daboll said of Swift. “Talked about him before the game. He’s a good football player.’’

The Giants still had 70 seconds to work with.

On the eighth play of the drive, on fourth-and-8, Taylor found Darren Waller for a 20-yard completion to the Eagles’ 26.

Taylor spiked the ball to stop the clock, but his final desperation pass, which was intended for Barkley, was intercepted in the end zone by Kelee Ringo as time expired.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 24 of 38 passes for 301 yards, including a 36-yarder to DeVonta Smith for a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 17-3 lead. Elliott’s field goal as time expired in the first half made it 20-3.

Now the Giants will play out the string on another season. They have games remaining against the Rams and Eagles, both at MetLife Stadium.

“We know who we are. We’re a team that’s always going to fight. We’re never going to give up,’’ Barkley said. “Sometimes we don’t get the job done. We have to find ways to win games. That’s the truth. And that’s all of us. I don’t believe in pointing fingers. I’ll watch film and see what I can do better.’’

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.