Giants’ lifeless effort vs. Eagles calls everything into question — QB, coach, all of it

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — There have been plenty of times the New York Giants offense has needed a spark since Brian Daboll took over as coach in 2022. But he had never benched quarterback Daniel Jones based on performance.

That changed Sunday. With the Giants’ listless offense managing just 104 yards and 3 points in the first three quarters, Daboll pulled Jones. It made no difference, as backup quarterback Drew Lock failed to provide the “spark” Daboll was seeking in a demoralizing 28-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Daboll immediately committed to Jones as the starter “going forward” in the opening statement of his morose postgame news conference. But nothing the coach said in the succeeding eight minutes suggested he believes Jones can turn around an offense that is averaging a pathetic 14.1 points per game.

“I was trying to create some type of juice and maybe make a few plays and swing the momentum a little bit,” Daboll said. “But that didn’t happen.”

Benching Jones on Sunday feels like the beginning of the end of his six-year run as the team’s quarterback.

“I’m just going to prepare, go about my week doing what I need to do to prepare to play good football,” Jones said. “How (Daboll) sees that, the decisions he wants to make, that’s on him. That’s a better question for him. I’m just going to focus on myself.”

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Jones mostly stood by himself on the sideline, staring expressionless at the field after he was benched.

“It was frustrating,” Jones said. “You want to be out there playing with your teammates and fighting to score points and move the ball. So, I was frustrated, but not my decision.”

Daniel Jones talks Daboll’s move to pull QB to “create a spark.”

DJ: “It’s his team. Up to him to make those decisions. Obviously I believe in myself and believe in this offense. I’m just going to focus on myself.”

Jones says “wasn’t much of a conversation” on decision #giants pic.twitter.com/apM1VOh7s1

— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) October 20, 2024

There was always a two-year expiration date looming on this partnership after Jones signed a four-year, $160 million contract during the 2023 offseason. The Giants had an escape hatch built into the deal after this season, and it seemed obvious they intended to use it as they pursued quarterbacks in this year’s draft.

But once the Giants failed to land any of the top three quarterbacks and took wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth pick, Jones got a stay of execution. Similar to 2022, he would have an opportunity to convince Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen that he could be a franchise quarterback worth building around.

Jones needed to play even better than in 2022, however, because the taste of last season’s injury-plagued disaster lingered. Jones hasn’t come close to clearing the bar that would give Schoen and Daboll any second thoughts about moving on after this season — assuming the duo will be making that decision.

Sunday’s lifeless effort calls everything into question. Even with Jones’ limitations, Daboll has failed to conduct a functional offense despite taking over play calling in his third season.

The Giants have scored one touchdown in four home games this season. They’ve averaged 7.8 points in their four losses at MetLife Stadium.

Compounding matters, the Giants were torched by Saquon Barkley for 176 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in his first game at MetLife Stadium as a member of the Eagles. That’s the same Barkley whose departure caused so much consternation for co-owner John Mara this offseason.

Mara told Schoen he’d have “a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia” before the start of free agency. Sunday was the nightmare scenario for Mara.

The day began with Giants fans booing Barkley. But as the game progressed, the scorn from the home fans was redirected at Jones and the Giants.

The Giants are 2-5 and 0-3 against NFC East opponents. Schoen and Daboll are 1-10 in games against the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys during their three seasons, and that lone win came with the Eagles eventually resting their starters. The Giants are 10-21-1 since their 7-2 start to the 2022 season.

It’s hard to find hope after Sunday’s defeat.

“There’s a lot of ups and downs,” Daboll said. “Unfortunately, we’ve had more downs.”

Here are more takeaways from the loss:

Banks account

Eventually, cracks would start to show in the Giants defense with how much of the burden has been placed on that side of the ball. So giving up some explosive plays to an Eagles team loaded with playmakers was understandable.

But a lack of effort can never be excused. Especially not from second-year cornerback Deonte Banks, who already was called out by defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson for not hustling after giving up a 55-yard touchdown catch to Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb in Week 4.

Yet, there was Banks, jogging as Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambled 16 yards for a first down on third-and-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter. This wasn’t the type of loafing that is only revealed after watching film. It was obvious immediately, as evidenced by Henderson’s outburst on the sideline in real time.

But there was no obvious punishment, such as a message-sending benching. Banks remained in the game as the Eagles finished the drive with a fourth-and-goal Hurts sneak to open up a 28-3 lead.

Make that ✌️ for QB1 @jalenhurts | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/9260OSdRL6

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 20, 2024

“I think I could have made it, but sometimes when you’re in that moment, you just think like, ‘Nah,’” Banks said. “But I think I could’ve made a tackle.”

These are the moments that can start to push a season off the rails. Banks is a young player who is full of talent but hasn’t accomplished anything in the NFL. Public criticism from his position coach didn’t get through, so Daboll needs to figure out how to curtail Banks’ lack of effort before it spreads to other players.

Whatever button Daboll plans to push, he declined to share after Sunday’s game.

“We’ll take a look at all that stuff and whatever we need to address, we’ll address,” Daboll said. “But the guys are putting effort into it each and every week. We’re just, unfortunately, not getting the results and it’s a results business.”

‘Outcoached’ and outclassed

Daboll said the Giants got “outcoached.” He won’t find many arguments.

The Giants came out throwing despite the offensive line missing left tackle Andrew Thomas, who suffered a season-ending foot injury last week. The Giants had seven possessions in the first half and only called three handoffs, which produced just 4 yards.

Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni has his flaws, but he has established a DNA as an aggressive coach on fourth downs. The Eagles went 3-for-3 on fourth downs, producing an additional 15 points as a result.

Twice, Sirianni went for it on fourth downs inside the Giants’ 5-yard. The Eagles converted both to put touchdowns on the board instead of field goals. A fourth-and-3 gamble from the Giants’ 41-yard line in the second quarter resulted in a touchdown pass to AJ Brown to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead.

JALEN HURTS TO AJ BROWN ON 4TH DOWN. 41-YARD TD.

📺: #PHIvsNYG on FOX
📱: pic.twitter.com/H2S70NsOda

— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024

Meanwhile, Daboll punted on fourth-and-3 from the Eagles’ 43-yard line on the game’s opening possession. The Giants didn’t advance that deep into Philadelphia territory again until their final possession of the first half.

The Giants drove to the Eagles’ 10-yard line late in the second quarter before a Theo Johnson touchdown catch was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty. Faced with third-and-14 from Philadelphia’s 20 with 14 seconds remaining and no timeouts, Daboll elected to kick a 38-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-3 at the half. The Giants had time to take a shot at the end zone, but Daboll had no faith in his offense to execute.

“Just thought it was the best thing to do,” Daboll said.

Daboll waved the white flag early in the fourth quarter beyond the Jones benching. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and outside linebacker Brian Burns were lifted after the Eagles went up 28-3. That was understandable since both indispensable players missed practice time due to injuries last week.

Inside linebacker Bobby Okereke was also removed during the fourth quarter. Okereke had played 1,489 straight snaps since signing with the Giants, never leaving the field in more lopsided games last season.

Removing the starters led to a particularly lackluster fourth quarter as fans flooded the exits as Lock (3-of-8, 6 yards) failed to provide any hope he’d be a significant upgrade on Jones.

O-line collapse

The offensive futility doesn’t rest solely on Jones’ shoulders. The pass protection was worse than it had been all season. Not surprisingly, that coincided with the first game missed by Thomas.

Josh Ezeudu appeared overmatched at left tackle, allowing sacks on two third downs in the first quarter. But Ezeudu was hardly alone in his struggles for a line that allowed eight sacks to an Eagles defense that had tallied just 11 sacks in its first five games.

It’s hard to calculate how much Thomas’ absence affects the rest of the line, but there is a residual impact. The Giants were forced to use tight ends and running backs to chip frequently on Ezeudu’s side. That keeps them from helping elsewhere on the line or being immediate outlets for Jones like they were when Thomas was left on an island at left tackle.

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Quick hits

• The dominant Giants’ pass rush was limited by the lopsided score. Hurts dropped back to pass 21 times. He completed 10 of 14 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown while being sacked four times and scrambling three times for 21 yards.

The Eagles had no reason to put Hurts and a banged-up offensive line at risk against the Giants’ strength because Barkley and Kenneth Gainwell (13 carries for 56 yards) were running wild. Lawrence had two sacks to boost his league-leading total to nine.

3RD DOWN SACK ‼️

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/BflURJTOag

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 20, 2024

• Nabers averaged 8.8 catches for 96.5 yards in the first four games of the season before suffering a concussion that sidelined him for two weeks. He returned Sunday, managing just four catches for 41 yards on eight targets.

• Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt left after failing to catch his lone target, a deep ball from Lock. Hyatt told NJ Advance Media that he suffered a cracked rib. Even if Hyatt misses time, it will hardly be noticed. He has one catch for 6 yards this season, and he only played three snaps Sunday.

Cornerback Cor’Dale Flott left with a groin injury in the second quarter. On the next play, Hurts hit Brown for the 41-yard touchdown after Nick McCloud was left in one-on-one coverage and missed his jam on the 6-foot-1, 226-pound receiver.

Linebacker Ty Summers, who has been a core special teamer, was carted off with an ankle injury suffered while covering a punt in the second quarter. With Summers likely set to miss time, the door is open for preseason standout Dyontae Johnson to be activated from injured reserve.

(Photo of Daniel Jones: Luke Hales / Getty Images)