Category: Giants Wire Features

Giants vs. Eagles Player of the Game: Darius Slayton

The New York Giants fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-17, in Week 14, but rookie WR Darius Slayton had a huge game.

It was the return of Eli Manning for the New York Giants on Monday night, but even he wasn’t enough to help stop the losing streak from growing.

The Giants, who led 17-3 at halftime, lost by a score of 23-17 to the Philadelphia Eagles in overtime at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday night, sending them to their ninth straight loss of the season and dropping them to 2-11 on the season.

While the Giants were defeated again, one player who benefited from the return of Manning was Darius Slayton, who had a tremendous game.

Slayton got the Giants on the board first with a 35-yard touchdown catch from Manning to put the Giants up 7-0 in the second quarter.

With 27 seconds to go until halftime, Slayton caught his second touchdown of the game, a 55-yard pass from Manning and the Giants were up 17-3 before the half.

Slayton caught five passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Surprisingly though, Slayton didn’t catch a single ball in the second half and the Giants never took the field in overtime.

Slayton continues to shine for the Giants in his rookie season and has really become one of the big-time targets for the Giants offense. While Slayton has caught most of his passes from Daniel Jones this season, Manning utilized him well in the game.

But even with the great game, it still wasn’t enough for the Giants to get the win.

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Giants dropped by Eagles, 23-17: Instant analysis

Instant analysis of the latest New York Giants loss in which they fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-17, in overtime..

For awhile it looked as if the New York Giants would get their first win since Week 4 against a stumbling Philadelphia Eagles team, but it turned out to be too much of an ask.

The Giants came into Philadelphia this week 9.5-point underdogs to the struggling Eagles, who had lost their last three games. New York had nothing to lose and took a 17-3 halftime lead. Then, they stopped scoring and Eagles put together enough offense with the players they had remaining to tie the score and take the Giants into overtime.

From there, Philadelphia won the toss in overtime and knifed right through the Giants’ defense to win, 23-17, and crush the Giants’ dream of another Eli Manning comeback.

Big Blue was looking to snap a five-game losing streak against their hated rivals who they had dropped nine of the last 10 games.

They hadn’t won in Philadelphia since 2013. They still haven’t.

The Giants also hadn’t had a lot of success against the Eagles in Monday night games, winning only once in eight tries and that was back in 1972. They’ll have to wait for that one, too.

At 2-10 and losers of their last eight, the Giants needed some type of spark if they were going to win on this soggy night in Philly.

They got it early in the form of the 38-year old Manning and a defense that suddenly came alive after three months of ineptitude.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Giants drew first blood with this Eli to Darius Slayton 35-yard touchdown hookup to start the third quarter.

Eli hooked up with Slayton again for a 55-yard scoring play right before halftime.

But this is a Giants team that hadn’t put together a complete game in quite some time. They wouldn’t do that on this night, either. They crumbled on offense down the stretch and the defense tried like hell to put up a fight but they just couldn’t make that last stop.

The loss was their ninth in a row and ties a franchise record for consecutive losses.

Notes

  • Tight ends Evan Engram (foot) and Rhett Ellison (concussion) were inactive again. Rookie cornerback Corey Ballentine (concussion) also say out. Running back Wayne Gallman was a healthy scratch. Javorius Allen served as Saquon Barkley’s primary backup.
  • Right guard Kevin Zeitler was leg-whipped by Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry midway through the fourth quarter and was taken to the locker room as he could not put any weight on his leg. He was replaced by Nick Gates.
  • Eli Manning avoided going .500 for his career with the victory. He’s now 117-116 lifetime. Manning threw for 203 yards in the game, passing 2004 draft mate Ben Roethlisberger (56,545) for seventh place on the all-time list. His two touchdown passes also shot him past Big Ben on the all-time list with 364 TDs and is now fourth among active passers behind Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers.

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Giants fall to Eagles: Winners, losers and those in between

The New York Giants fell to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, and here’s a look at the winners, losers and those in between.

The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles squared off in a Monday Night Football game that was very legitimately a sidebar to the return of veteran quarterback Eli Manning, who was replacing the injured Daniel Jones.

Manning’s performance will be picked apart from every angle in the coming day, so for now, we’ll stick to the basics and provide our usual hot takes.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers who contributed to Monday’s loss.

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Winners

Markus Golden – From the jump, Golden was playing at a different level on Monday night. Maybe it was the bright lights of prime-time, but he was a ball of energy and simply dominated the Eagles offensive line early on, tallying four QB hurries and one sack over his first nine pass rushing attempts. He fell off a bit later on, but that really speaks more about his hot start.

Leonard Williams – After making waves earlier in the week by saying he wanted to be paid at a tier below Aaron Donald, Williams had his best game as a Giant and perhaps his best game of the season. He collapsed the pocket, rushed the passer, stopped the run and snuffed out screens (the only one) with remarkable precision. He did have one awful roughing the passer penalty, but we’ll forgive him this one time.

Darius Slayton – Entering Week 14, Slayton had never caught a pass from Eli Manning. Ha! The rookie dominated the first half, hauling in five receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns.  However, Slayton faded completely in the second half (not entirely his fault).

Oshane Ximines – It was a big night for the rookie edge rusher, who came up with two sacks of Carson Wentz and added a quality stop in the second half for good measure. A game to build upon.

Others: Janoris Jenkins, DeAndre Baker, Dalvin Tomlinson

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Giants vs. Eagles: 3 keys to victory in Week 14

Here are three things the New York Giants can do to ensure a victory over the Eagles on Monday night and get their third win this season

The New York Giants (2-10) face the Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday night in a matchup the schedule makers would surely like to have back.

The Giants are on the verge of losing their franchise-tying ninth consecutive game while the Eagles are riding a three-game skid.

Can the Giants win this game? Sure. It will require the coaches to tear up their useless play books and schemes and become a completely different team. The Eagles have not been playing well for number of reasons and need a win to stay in the NFC East race with Dallas. They could come out tight and make mistakes. Can the Giants capitalize on those mistakes, though?

Here’s three keys to a possible victory:

Elsa/Getty Images

Outscore the Eagles

Sounds silly, right? It really isn’t since the Giants have been outscored 10 of 12 times this season and in 21 of their 28 games under the guidance of this crackerjack coaching staff.

With Eli Manning under center the last thing they should do is circle the wagons. What is he going to get hurt and ruin his career? They should go for broke every play. Open things up. But they won’t. This organization has a severe case of tunnel vision. At this point they have nothing to lose and when it comes to developing players and gaining experience, we’re done relying on this coach staff to teach anyone anything.

Save it for the new coaching staff that will be here next month. Just go out and try to score. Forget about all of this cutesy dinking and dunking. And if they run one play up the middle and get stopped, please do not call that play again. The Eagles have only allowed opponents to gain over 100 yards on the ground in the three of their 12 games this season. At least make this team watchable the rest of the way.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Week 14 Q&A with Eagles Wire

With a Week 14 matchup between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Eagles Wire.

The New York Giants (2-10) and Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) will square off on Monday Night Football in Week 14.

The Giants opened the week as 8.5-point road underdogs, and the spread has changed only slightly as of Sunday morning with Big Blue now at +9.5

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Eagles Wire managing editor Glenn Erby.

Al Bello/Getty Images

Giants Wire: The Eagles are a bit of an enigma this season — up for a couple weeks, down for a couple weeks and repeat. What do you feel has led to the inconsistency and do you believe they will be able to turn things around over the final month of the season and give the fading Dallas Cowboys a run for their money?

Glenn Erby: The inconsistency started with DeSean Jackson’s injury and spiraled from there. The loss of Jackson’s ability to take the top off a defense reduced the Eagles offense to a dink and dump operation. Injuries in the secondary, along the offensive and defensive lines as well has presented the Eagles with the challenge of trying to live up to those Super Bowl aspirations while utilizing a makeshift lineup.

This is a confident team, a team that unfortunately relies on being the underdog and clicking the switch on. Now that they’ve been counted out, I think you’ll see that sense of urgency and consistency that’s been missing.

Continue …

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Giants vs. Eagles: Week 14 staff picks and predictions

The Giants Wire staff offers their picks and predictions ahead of a Week 14 game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.

The New York Giants (2-10) will take on the Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday night in a game featuring veteran quarterback Eli Manning for what could be the final time.

Expert have completely sided with the Eagles — 9:1 — with most of those expecting a blowout.

How does the Giants Wire staff see this Week 14 battle shaking out? Here’s a look at our picks and score predictions:

Dan Benton: Giants 27, Eagles 24

Some may call me crazy or insist I’m an Eli Manning homer, but I maintain that the two-time Super Bowl champion is not done and still has some magic in him. We’ll see it on Monday night.

I fully expect Manning’s presence to help the struggling offensive line as he’ll be under center calling out protections and getting things cleaned up at the line of scrimmage. That should help unleash Saquon Barkley, who will benefit from some proper blocking schemes in front of him.

Moreover, Manning’s ability to adjust at the LOS (not a knock on rookie Daniel Jones) will substantially help the offense. Not to mention, Manning gets Barkley, Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard on the field for the first time.

Defensively, I envision the Giants defense doing just enough against an inconsistent Eagles offense that could be without several key players. Expect Janoris Jenkins to come up with a game-changing play.

John Fennelly: Giants 24, Eagles 20

The Giants have to win sometime, so why not this week? The Eagles are almost as bad as the Giants at the moment and will be under enormous pressure to to win this game. The Giants will be loose with Eli Manning back under center.

A win will do this franchise just as much harm as it will good. Any win over Philly would be welcomed, but it would be a hollow victory over a team that has dominated them for the past decade and will rekindle the Eli lovers’ quest for him to continue his career here. It will also knock the Giants out of the second draft slot and make it more difficult for them to gain the top overall pick in next year’s draft.

Doug Rush: Eagles 30, Giants 22

The Eli Manning farewell tour has officially begun.

With Daniel Jones dealing with an ankle injury, Manning has been given back the starting job and if Jones has to miss the rest of the year, then it really is the farewell tour for the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

Manning is well-rested, as he hasn’t seen the field since Week 2. Will his return matter though for a team that hasn’t won a game since Week 4 of the season back in September?

Tough to say, as the Eagles are still clearly in the hunt for the NFC East divisional crown, especially since the Dallas Cowboys keep losing games and now find themselves under .500, too (6-7 after Thursday night’s loss).

The Eagles, at 5-7, have all the reason in the world to try and play for the division and steal it from the Cowboys. A win against the Giants at home would be the start of that. They’ve lost three straight games, but their last four games are all against NFC East opponents. Plus a win puts them in a tie with Dallas for the division lead.

Even with Eli back at the helm, the Giants have had their recent struggles against their rivals. The last time the Giants came into Philadelphia and won: 2013. The last time the Giants won a game against the Eagles: 2016.

The Giants will probably be leaving with two losing streaks still in tact: a nine-game losing streak on the season and a six-game losing streak to the Eagles.

Tyler Henry: Eagles 31, Giants 27

The division rival Philadelphia Eagles are coming off an embarrassing loss against the Miami Dolphins. Even with the loss to Miami, the Eagles are the far superior team in this match up and they have dominated Big Blue in recent memory.

The Giants may get some added motivation following the return of the two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning. It would be pretty cool to see Manning knock off the Eagles one more time. The Giants are currently on a five-game losing streak against Philadelphia and have lost nine of 10 since the start of the 2014 season.

Big Blue’s struggling offensive line will also certainly have trouble against the Eagles pass rush. Saquon Barkley had some of his best games in his rookie year against Philly, but the Penn State product doesn’t seem himself as of late.

I think it’s close just because it is a division game, but I can’t see the Giants pulling this one out.

Pat Ragazzo: Eagles 34, Giants 23

The Giants offense will have some new found juice with Eli Manning coming off the bench for the first time in 10 weeks. Eli will be taking his shots down field and will eliminate some of the rookie growing pains we have endured with Daniel Jones at the helm.

Unfortunately, the Eagles’ struggling offense will get back on track against the Giants secondary and will once again post over 30-points for the second straight week.

The Giants haven’t won in Philadelphia since 2013 and this team is not the one to break the streak despite the Eagles recent struggles. However, they will hang close for the majority of the game until the Eagles breakaway late in the second half, putting the Giants ever so closer to obtaining the second overall pick to select Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young.

Kevin Hickey: Eagles 25, Giants 20

The two-time Super Bowl champion will be under center again for the first time since Week 2 when the Giants visit the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The primetime game will feature Eli Manning subbing in for the injured rookie Daniel Jones, but the woes will continue for Big Blue.

Manning’s history against the Eagles on the road is no joke. The 38-year-old has struggled mightily at Lincoln Financial and while it will be nice to see him under center again for what could be the final time, I’m not expecting a huge game from No. 10. The Eagles secondary is exploitable, but their pass rush will have a massive impact on this game.

The Giants will be seeing the return of wide receiver Golden Tate, which should help Manning. However, there will be plenty of problems on the defensive side of the ball in trying to stop Carson Wentz from connecting with Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffrey and Dallas Goedert.

It’s probably going to be one of those ugly primetime games but the Eagles are playing for something and the Giants are working their way toward another top-three pick.

Mike Moraitis: Eagles 24, Giants 13

Eli Manning is back under center for the Giants in Week 14, and while there will be plenty of nostalgia for his return in what could be his final start (or starts if Daniel Jones is out for the season), this could present some major problems for the Giants.

Pass protecting for Manning is much different than it was for Jones, as Manning simply doesn’t have the kind of mobility that Jones has. The Eagles are in the top half of the league in sacks (No. 13) and should be able to generate a lot of pressure against a Giants offensive line that has struggled in pass protection, especially of late (23 sacks allowed in the last seven games).

Philly is also vying for the top spot in the NFC East and a win will tie them with the Dallas Cowboys atop the division (Dallas owns the tiebreaker for now).

With something to play for and coming off three straight losses and a major letdown game in Week 13, the Eagles get up for a Monday Night Football showdown at MetLife Stadium and grab a win.

Serena Burks: Eagles 31, Giants 28

I really want to pick the Giants to win, but I don’t think I can. The Eagles haven’t lost more than three in a row all season, and after an embarrassing loss to the Dolphins last week, they’ll be out for blood. The Giants put up points behind Eli, but the defense just isn’t enough to stop Philly.

5 reasons Giants could upset Eagles in Week 14

The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles square off in Week 14, and here are five reasons Big Blue could come away with the win.

The New York Giants are currently on an eight-game losing streak and are heading to Philadelphia (where they haven’t won a game since 2013) to take on the struggling Eagles on Monday night.

The Eagles are on a three-game losing streak of their own after an embarrassing 37-31 loss to the lowly Miami Dolphins last week. At 5-7, they are watching their divisional championship hopes dwindle away if things continue to trend in the wrong direction.

With the Dallas Cowboys in a rut of their own at 6-6, the Eagles absolutely need to win this game, which arguably makes the Giants even more dangerous in the role as spoiler.

Here are five reasons why the Giants can pull off an improbable victory in a city they haven’t won in since 2013.

Elsa/Getty Images

Eli Manning

Rookie Daniel Jones seemingly unseated Manning from his 16-year starting quarterback throne with the Giants for good in Week 3 when he took over. Unfortunately, Jones suffered what they are calling a high ankle sprain last week against the Green Bay Packers, despite finishing out the contest.

On Monday Pat Shurmur initially stated that Jones did not require any further tests on the ankle Monday expecting him to be fine. However, on Wednesday Shurmur announced that Jones would not practice while also revealing he suffered a high ankle sprain.

Paging doctor Manning, it now looks more than likely that Eli will start on Monday for the first time since being benched in favor of Jones in Week 3.

While Jones has shown promising signs this season, he still has the expected growing pains of a rookie quarterback. With Eli, the Giants get a veteran Hall of Famer, who has been around the block a few times and has battled it out with the Eagles for close to 20 years. He also eliminates the turnover issues that come with Jones in his first year.

It is expected that Eli will return with a chip on his shoulder and make the most of his surprise playing time. But, keep in mind that Manning has struggled against the Eagles in his career with a 10-22 record, and a 59.3% completion percentage. The Eagles have won their last five meetings with the Giants and nine of their last 10 games. Monday could give us a better idea of whether Pat Shurmur pulled the plug on Eli too early this season. We shall find out.

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Michael Strahan: Eli Manning has nothing to prove

Giants legend Michael Strahan doesn’t believe Eli Manning has anything to prove.

The New York Giants are steadily looking toward the future after another dismal season, but quarterback Eli Manning will get another shot at seeing the field Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.

As rookie quarterback Daniel Jones deals with an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out of the primetime matchup, Manning will be the one leading the offense again for the first time since Week 2.

His former teammate and Giants legend Michael Strahan doesn’t believe the two-time Super Bowl champion has anything to prove in his spot start on Monday night.

“I don’t think Eli has anything to prove to me or you or anybody else. I mean, the Super Bowls speak for themselves,” said Strahan ahead of Thursday Night Football on FOX. “It’s unfortunate the way the season has gone for him, and if this is the way he has to get back in the game, so be it, it’s just what the nature of this game is with injuries. But, yeah, I know what he can do, I just hope he does it well.”

Strahan is correct in his sentiments about Manning. The Giants are headed for a top-three pick in the 2020 NFL draft, and the front office has made it clear they hope Jones is the future of the franchise.

But Manning has accomplished more in his 16-year career than most could even dream about. He led the Giants to two Super Bowl championships in the span of five years—earning the MVP on the biggest stage possible both times.

Manning has been the epitome of what a quarterback should be both on and off the field. Sure, he has had his struggles and bone-headed mistakes. But he led the organization with class and leadership while navigating a market that makes it nearly impossible.

As the organization’s leader in most passing categories, Strahan is simply hoping the team does enough for the 37-year-old to get a win—potentially one final time.

“I know what he can do, I just want him to be at the best he can be,” said Strahan. “I want the guys who are around him to give him the best opportunity to win this game.”

While Manning leads the offense against the division-rival Eagles, the defense will look to show any semblance of improvement in the final four weeks of the season.

Once a perennial leader on that side of the ball, Strahan doesn’t see the unit possessing any indication there are many impact players throughout the defense.

“Right now they don’t have any one player who I’d say, OK, the other team’s got to come in saying, ‘We have to focus on this guy or he’s going to rip us apart.’ They don’t have that,” said Strahan.

With the Giants looking toward the offseason already, Manning will look to lead the offense enough to grab what could be the final win of his career.

Flashback Friday: Eagles end Giants’ dream of repeating in 2008

In the latest Giants Wire Flashback Friday, we look at a 2008 heart-breaker when the Philadelphia Eagles ended the New York Giants’ season.

In 2008, the New York Giants were flying high after knocking off the undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. They were the best team in football and showed it by winning 11 of their first 12 games.

The Giants appeared to be unstoppable, and poised to make a run to repeat as champions. Then, the bizarre happened. They either peaked too early or were derailed by an off-field incident as they lost three of their last four games and the game they won was an overtime win.

On November 28, before their Week 13 win over Washington, star wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg at a New York night club. He was not only lost for the season but was criminally charged. The distraction was too much for the Giants to overcome.

The Giants had played well enough to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs and were pitted against the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round at Giants Stadium. Philly had beaten the Giants at the Meadowlands a few weeks earlier.

The game had an ominous feeling. Although the Giants were favored by four points, the sixth-seeded Eagles got the better of the play. It was a low-scoring affair that saw the Giants go up, 11-10, early in the third quarter, then lose the lead for good and could not muster any type of offense mount a comeback.

The Eagles won, 23-11, the first NFL game to ever end with that final score and the Giants’ season was over just like that. What a waste.

“I am very, very disappointed,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “I am sorry to see the season come to an end. There is remorse for opportunities lost.”

Quarterback Eli Manning also lamented about the missed opportunity.

“It all comes down to what you do in the playoffs. That makes your season a good one or a disappointment,” Manning said. “This is a disappointment. We felt this was a special team that could go far. The defense played outstanding today and gave us opportunities. Offensively, we didn’t do our job. We didn’t score enough points.”

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Giants vs. Eagles: 6 things to know about Week 14

The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles square off on Sunday in Week 14, so here are six things fans should know.

The New York Giants (2-10) travel down the Turnpike to face the Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) on Monday Night Football.

Here are six things to know about the Week 14 game.

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The rivalry

The series has been lopsided as of late with the Eagles winning the past five meetings and nine of the past 10. The Giants have lost seven straight games at Lincoln Financial Field. They last won in Philadelphia on October 27, 2013 by a score of 15-7.

The Eagles’ latest success against the Giants has even the overall regular season series at 84-84-2. The teams have met four times in the postseason, each winning twice.

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