The Eagles feel like they're going in reverse.
After a 4-0 start to the season that made them look like legit contenders to repeat as Super Bowl champs despite their flaws, they've now lost two games in a four-day span, the latest being Thursday's unimaginable 34-17 loss to a New York Giants team that entered the game 1-4, had just lost to a previously winless Saints team on Sunday, and were sorely lacking in offensive firepower.
It's one thing to lose by four to a good Broncos team that made the playoffs last year. It's another to be outclassed and embarrassed by a division rival that had lost 29 of its last 39 games.
The Eagles were without some starters because of injuries, but the Giants were without the only blue-chip player they have on offense. The Eagles featured the far more superior roster, but the Giants played like a determined underdog looking to make a statement.
So much for the meeting between Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley that was supposed to get the Eagles' offensive braintrust back on the same page. After a couple of decent Barkley runs to open the game, the offense went back to being inconsistent and off-kilter. The defense suddenly is allergic to stopping the run and the return units on special teams keep embarrassing themselves with a muff or two each week.
The Eagles spent the entire offseason telling everyone that they put the Super Bowl behind them. Maybe they need to actually remember they won the last Super Bowl, because it appears they've forgotten how much talent is on the roster.
Here are some observations from one of their worst losses in years:
They have more issues than anticipated
It's no longer just one thing, like a spotty pass offense or Saquon Barkley's inability to have a 100-yard game. The Eagles got outmuscled on defense by the Giants' ground game, didn't create a takeaway for the second straight game, botched two kickoffs, turned the ball over, had costly penalties and actually looked unprepared to stop a very one-dimensional Giants offense.
They've got more problems than a nice kumbuya during the mini-bye this weekend can solve. Time for head coach Nick Sirianni to go back to the drawing board, and quickly.
Quinyon Mitchell needs to be a quick healer
The injury hits keep coming as star cornerback Quinyon Mitchell exited in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. He was first deemed questionable to return. You know a cornerback with a hamstring injury, even minor, isn't going to return, and he didn't. His injury forced Adoree' Jackson into the game opposite Kelee Ringo, which sounded like every fan's nightmare scenario coming out of training camp.
The Giants really went after both when they could, especially Ringo, who was called for a defensive holding early in the third that helped set up a Giants touchdown. Ringo's pass interference on a fade from Jaxson Dart to Jalin Hyatt against a blitz in the fourth was the ultimate backbreaker, setting up another Giants TD for a 34-17 lead.
Taste of their own medicine
Now, the Eagles know what everyone else feels like trying to defend Jalen Hurts' running ability. Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart showed how slippery he can be inside the pocket, and how quickly he can maneuver out of the pocket to move the chains. Dart's 20-yard touchdown run in the first was almost Jalenesque, as Dart slithered through a messy pocket, pump-faked a pass to get Zack Baun's momentum going the other way, and then breezed past Baun en route to the end zone.
Like Hurts, Dart isn't an explosive runner as much as he's a slithery scrambler who gets defenders off balance. He was the Giants' second-leading rusher, and he'll be facing the Eagles again in Week 8.
Hot knife through butter
The Eagles should be embarrassed by their effort in run defense, as the Giants' rookie combination of Dart and Cam Skattebo combined for 156 rushing yards against them. The thing is, everyone in the stadium and watching at home knew the Giants' only chance to move the ball was mainly on the ground, and the Eagles still couldn't stop them.
Sure, the Eagles were without Jalen Carter, who couldn't play because of a heel injury. But they have plenty of guys from last year's defense – Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo – who should've been more than prepared to handle the workload. The Giants didn't even do anything fancy, and the Eagles didn't appear to have gap integrity issues; it really just appeared as if the Giants were the more physical, more intimidating team. That's not going to sit well with Vic Fangio.
Jalen Hurts has to hit wide open receivers
Hurts looked pretty good in the first half but not after the break. For the most part, his protection was pretty good outside of a few decent pass rushes from Giants EDGE Brian Burns. But Hurts' overthrow of a wide-open DeVonta Smith in the third quarter was inexcusable, and his fourth-quarter interception – while just his first of the season – couldn't have come at a worse time.
Hurts has to take ownership for some of the pass offense's failures. It's not all on him, but he can not leave points on the board like he did when he sailed one over Smith's head on a busted coverage that left Smith all alone with nobody in his zip code. It should've been a touchdown that would've put the Eagles ahead. Maybe the game is different if the Eagles take the lead there.
Once again, pass rush came up short
After a nice debut against the Broncos, Azeez Ojulari didn't do much against his former team. Other edge rushers Jalyx Hunt and Za'Darius Smith were absentee landlords as well. The three combined for no sacks and one QB hurry. Not surprisingly, Vic Fangio was sending blitzes late in the game again trying to create some disruption for the Giants' offense. The only Eagles edge defender to record a sack was sparely used Patrick Johnson.
The Eagles used to tee off on Giants quarterbacks against an inferior offensive line. What happened?
Why did the Eagles trade two draft picks for Tank Bigsby?
Saquon Barkley's 18-yard run on the final possession of the first half really bailed out his teammate and position-mate, Tank Bigsby, who became the last Eagles special-teamer to botch a kickoff. Bigsby made it worse when he chased down the ball in the end zone and then tried to return it instead of kneeling for a touchback. The Giants dropped him at the Philadelphia 7, which drew Nick Siranni's ire on the sideline.
A.J. Dillon took his turn botching a kickoff return in the fourth, when his muffed return went out of bounds at the 5-yard line and once again staked the Eagles deep in their own territory. The Eagles traded two draft picks for Bigsby, a standout returner, but can barely get him on the field, and when they do, he stinks it up.
At least Dallas Goedert has been productive
Didn't have this on my 2025 Eagles Bingo Card, but Dallas Goedert has been the team's top touchdown scorer through six weeks, and it's not even close. He caught his fifth touchdown of the season late in the first, a nicely drawn-up shovel pass for a 3-yard score, his second touchdown from a shovel this season.
None of the Eagles' other pass catchers have more than one touchdown, which is more of an indictment on the state of their pass offense than anything.
Rookie growing pains showing up
Rookie safety Andrew Mukuba might need a little time on the sideline. He appears to be struggling in both coverage and in tackling. He got trucked by Giants TE Theo Johnson on a run, and later allowed a 22-yard completion on 3rd-and-8 from Dart to Johnson with the Giants already up by 10. Sydney Brown has been relegated to the bench, so maybe Marcus Epps could get some time on defense.
First-round pick Jihaad Campbell has his fingerprints on the breakdowns in run defense, and neither fourth-rounders, CB Mac McWilliams or DT Ty Robinson, are making any impact.
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