Giants still very much a work in progress, evident by Eagles drubbing

By Ralph Vacchiano
Published

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.— The Giants have had a heck of a run in their first season under Brian Daboll. No one expected a 7-2 start. No one expected them to be in the thick of the playoff race in mid-December. And it's obviously not over yet.

They should celebrate all that and build off it this offseason, no matter what happens next weekend in Washington, and even if they don't make the playoffs. But the 48-22 beating they took from the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday should serve as a harsh reminder not to be fooled by their unexpected success, either.

"We could see today," said Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, "we aren't where we need to be yet."

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Jalen Hurts helps the Philadelphia Eagles soar to the blow out victory against the New York Giants.

No, they are not. Far from it, in fact, even if most of them weren't willing to concede that point even after the thrashing they took from the NFL's best team. This was a reality check for a franchise that is ascending, but far from a finished product. They may be a playoff contender, but they have huge flaws that must be fixed and some incredibly tough decisions that GM Joe Schoen needs to make.

That was obvious by the way the Giants (7-5-1) were thoroughly out-classed by the Eagles (12-1) in every conceivable way. The Eagles are obviously the NFL's gold standard this season. But for the Giants, this was about much more than just a very bad day.

"They whupped our ass," said Giants running back Saquon Barkley. "We're going through a rough patch right now. We're not playing well. We've got to play better.

"But we've shown what we can do. We played against some really good teams early in the season, and we beat some really good teams. That's the reason why we're in this position to be able to put ourselves in the tournament, to play meaningful games in December. If we weren't talented, and we weren't a good team then we wouldn't be in the situation we are."

That point is certainly debatable after the Giants' recent 0-3-1 stretch that has left them just on the outside of the NFC wild-card chase. Yes, they had some remarkable wins early in the season, and showed an impressive toughness pulling out a bunch of games late. But there was always a feeling that they were doing it with mirrors, that the narrow victories were hiding all their flaws.

Now those flaws are exposed — never more than they were on Sunday. The Giants can't run much anymore, as Barkley — playing through a stinger suffered early in the week — continued his late-season slide with just 28 yards on nine carries. They still can't throw much, as Jones threw for just 169 yards — his eighth game under 200 and his 12th under 230 in 13 starts.

And their defense, which coordinator Wink Martindale has worked wonders with all season, is starting to come apart too, especially without defensive lineman Leonard Williams and cornerback Adoree' Jackson. They were gashed for a season-worst 253 yards on the ground. And Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts picked their secondary apart for 217 yards and two touchdowns, too.

The Eagles are the best team in the NFL right now, so the bar is high, and the comparison is unfair. But try and find one thing the Giants do well right now, as they head into their must-win game in Washington. Just one. Even their special teams play was a mess on Sunday afternoon.

"They did pretty much everything better than we did," said Giants coach Brian Daboll. "Look, losing sucks. You put a lot into it. We got beat. There's no other way to talk about it. We got beat in every area."

Maybe they can fix all their problems in seven days, and maybe they'll look like a different team against the Commanders (7-5-1) in a game that is almost winner-take-all. Whoever wins that game will be up one game, plus they'll have the tie-breaker with three games to play. In other words, the winner will be all but in the postseason.

But even if the Giants do sneak into the NFC playoffs, their performance against the Eagles should be played in a loop in their building when Schoen and Daboll do their offseason assessment, and decide which of their current players to keep, and how much help they need to really build a winner. They clearly need help on the offensive line, at receiver, and in their secondary. They probably need more at tight end, linebacker and along the defensive line, too.

And with all that, they have to decide if they really think they can win with Jones, who is a year ahead of Hurts but looked light years behind most of this season. And they have the same decision about Barkley, who will command the kind of money that might be better spent on a new offensive line.

It would be easy for the Giants' brain trust to look at their record and their meaningful December games and feel like they're close to being a true contender.

But no matter what the players were saying in the locker room, their performance on the field proved they are not.

"We have talent," Barkley insisted. "We have talent in this locker room. We put ourselves in a really good position to play meaningful football in December. Everything we want is still in front of us."

Yes, but that still doesn't change their mediocre reality. A postseason trip to Minnesota or San Francisco is nothing but a nice-looking blanket thrown over their ugly holes.

They are still what they are — what they were when the Eagles ran over them on Sunday. They are a team that needs a lot of work. Their situation is better than it was during the unfortunate reign of former general manager Dave Gettleman. Schoen has added talent and cleared cap space. The coaching is better than it's been in years.

But that only gets them so far, and that doesn't get them very close to being a Super Bowl contender. That's the harsh lesson from this drubbing. They need a ton of work. And the Eagles gladly showed them how much farther they really have to go.

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Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.