Giants Come Up Short in Quest to Upset Eagles, 33-25
The New York Giants made a valiant effort against the Philadelphia Eagles but ultimately fell 33-25 in a Christmas day duel at Lincoln Financial Field. This is the Giants’ 11th straight road loss to their hated rival, and they have been officially eliminated from playoff contention as they fall to 5-10.
Despite falling behind 20-3 at halftime, the Giants scored 22 second-half points thanks to a pair of Philadelphia turnovers, both of which came in the third quarter. Unfortunately, they couldn’t overcome two unsuccessful fourth down attempts, a pair of questionable penalties, and 465 total yards of offense from the Eagles, who racked up 170 yards on the ground.
Neither of the Giants’ quarterbacks were particularly effective. Tommy DeVito started the game, but his magic had completely run out, as he had only 55 passing yards and a 63.3 passer rating while leading his team to only three points. Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor would enter in the second half. Still, he completed just seven of his 16 passes with a 68.0 passer rating, albeit with 133 yards and a touchdown, alongside an interception on the game’s final play.
Running back Saquon Barkley had 80 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Wide receiver Darius Slayton had only three catches but had 90 receiving yards and a 69-yard bomb for a touchdown.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 24 of 38 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, while rushing for 34 yards and another score. Receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith had six receptions for 80 yards and four catches for 79 yards, respectively, while Smith hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass. Tight end Dallas Goedert caught seven passes for 71 yards.
Running backs D’Andre Swift and Kenneth Gainwell were major contributors to Philadelphia’s victory. Swift was the game’s leading rusher with 92 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, while Gainwell rushed for 41 yards on six carries and caught three passes for 38 yards.
The first half was a disaster for the G-Men. After the offense went three-and-out to begin the game, New York’s special teams faltered as Britain Covey returned Jamie Gillian’s punt 54 yards to the Giants 13-yard line. After a 12-yard run by Swift, the Eagles scored on a 1-yard “Brotherly Shove” touchdown run by Hurts, putting them up 7-0 just two and a half minutes in.
The Giants looked to shake off the bad start by mustering a drive into Philadelphia territory, featuring a 14-yard reception by tight end Daniel Bellinger and a 9-yard reception by Slayton to convert a 3rd and 6. However, a pair of Giants mistakes halted the drive at the Philadelphia 34, as the offense was penalized for having too many men in the huddle, and tight end Darren Waller dropped a pass that would have been an easy first down on 3rd-and-7.
Nonetheless, New York got on the board as 39-year-old kicker Mason Crosby drilled a 52-yard field goal to make it 7-3; this was Crosby’s first game and first field goal in a Giants uniform.
But the Eagles retaliated with a massive 18-play, 72-yard drive that consumed a whopping 8:11 of the clock and lasted the remainder of the first quarter. The drive featured several key plays, including a pair of fourth down conversions, while the Giant's defense embarrassingly allowed Hurts to complete a 9-yard pass to tight end Grant Calcaterra (his first catch of the season) on a third down play that started with a botched snap.
The Giants were able to catch a break, though, when a 3-yard touchdown run by Swift was overturned by replay and instead became a 2-yard loss. After an ensuing pass by Hurts fell incomplete, the Eagles settled for a 28-yard field goal by Jake Elliott to increase their lead to seven.
Unfortunately, the Eagles would double their lead shortly after New York’s offense went three-and-out again. With great field position at their 48-yard line, Hurts ran for 16 yards before Smith caught a short pass and zipped away for a 36-yard touchdown reception.
After both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, the Giants got another good drive going by advancing as far as the Philadelphia 21. The drive was sparked by a defensive offsides penalty on the Eagles when New York was preparing to punt; this created a much more manageable 4th-and-1 that Barkley easily converted with a 10-yard run. Barkley later converted another 4th and 1 with a 5-yard run, but he could not convert a third; Hassan Reddick tackled him for a 4-yard loss to turn the ball over on downs.
The Eagles responded with an 11-play, 72-yard drive in just 2:47 to tack on three more points, sparked by 19- and 13-yard receptions by Gainwell, alongside a 19-yard catch by Smith.
However, the Eagles were also assisted by a questionable call on the Giants defense; with 18 seconds left and no timeouts, Hurts scrambled for nine yards but stayed in bounds, and was bailed out for his mistake by a delay of game penalty on Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke. This stopped the clock before it could have run out, and the Eagles sent out Elliott to kick a 21-yard field goal that put them ahead 20-3 at halftime.
The third quarter was an entirely different story, as the Giants capitalized on a pair of Eagles mistakes to get back in the game.
Longtime Giants nemesis Boston Scott received the opening kickoff but ran into teammate Olamide Zaccheaus and fumbled the ball; Isaiah Simmons recovered for New York at the Philadelphia 14-yard line for an instant red-zone opportunity. With Taylor replacing DeVito under center, he simply handed the ball off to Barkley three times, the last a 7-yard touchdown run to reduce the deficit to 10 points.
After forcing the Eagles to punt, the Giants could drive near midfield before being forced to punt; they previously lined up to go for it on 4th-and-4 and seemingly got the first down when defensive tackle Jalen Carter jumped offside. Unfortunately, the referees instead called a false start on center John Michael Schmitz (despite Schmitz not moving at all) for a 5-yard penalty, forcing the punt.
Philadelphia threatened for more points with a 14-play drive to the Giants’ 18-yard line that took 7:26. But on 2nd and 20 (due to an Eagles penalty), Hurts threw a pass to Goedert that was intercepted by New York cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who returned it 76 yards for a touchdown in a stunning reversal of fortune.
Even better for the Giants was that Hurts was penalized for a horse collar tackle on Jackson at the end of the return; this resulted in a successful two-point conversion run by Barkley to cut the Giants’ deficit to 20-18.
Unfortunately for the Giants, the Eagles asserted themselves and pulled away in the fourth quarter.
They atoned for the pick-six with an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that featured a back-breaking 32-yard catch by Brown on 3rd and 20, followed by a 22-yard run by Gainwell. Swift finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to put his team back by nine.
New York’s offense looked to counter by moving to the Philadelphia 42, but they missed a huge opportunity when Taylor underthrew a ball to a wide-open Waller in the middle of the field; his ensuing pass to Wan’Dale Robinson on 4th and 1 fell incomplete for another turnover on downs. Philadelphia then capitalized on good field position at their own 42, as Goedert’s 21-yard reception set up a 44-yard field goal from Elliott to make it 30-18.
The Giants suddenly made it a one-possession game on their next possession, as Taylor launched a 69-yard touchdown strike to Slayton just two plays after the field goal. This put New York down by five with 5:22 left in regulation, but Philadelphia capitalized on an exhausted Giants defense by driving 50 yards in nine plays to set up Elliott’s fourth field goal.
Trailing by eight points, the Giants could drive to the Philadelphia 26-yard line thanks to a 20-yard catch by Waller, giving them one final chance to tie the game. Unfortunately, Taylor’s desperation pass to the end zone was intercepted by cornerback Kelee Ringo, sealing the Eagles’ victory.
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