Eagles join the Philly sports misery and wilt in the second half vs. the Giants for second straight loss

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Eagles saw the Phillies and the Flyers lose on Thursday and decided they wanted in on the misery.

The New York Giants handed the Eagles their second consecutive loss, 34-17, at MetLife Stadium. Missing Jalen Carter (heel) and Quinyon Mitchell (hamstring), the Eagles defense conceded 366 yards, which was the Giants’ second-highest output of the season.

The Eagles lost the turnover battle in the fourth quarter alone, with Jalen Hurts throwing his first interception of the season and AJ Dillon fumbling the ball away on the following possession.

Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ second loss of the season, the first time they’ve lost back-to-back games since 2023:

The Eagles entered the game without their standout defensive tackle Carter, who popped up on the injury report Wednesday with a heel ailment.

His presence was sorely missed up front. Rookie Jaxson Dart, who was making his third NFL start, was a challenge to contain. The 22-year-old quarterback did considerable damage on the ground in the first half alone, scrambling three times for 36 yards and a touchdown.

Dart’s first scramble of the night resulted in a touchdown. In the first quarter, on third-and-8 from the Eagles’ 20-yard line, Dart juked past Zack Baun, who was spying the rookie. Once he fooled Baun, Dart breezed into the end zone untouched to put the Giants up, 7-3.

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He also used his legs to extend plays on the following Giants possession in the first quarter. On second-and-9 from the Eagles’ 35, Dart danced around the five-man rush, then scrambled to his right in search of an open receiver. He connected with a wide-open Wan’Dale Robinson down the right sideline. The receiver broke Drew Mukuba’s tackle, then dashed into the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown as the Giants went up, 13-3.

The 26th-ranked Giants rushing offense bullied the banged-up Eagles on the ground, and it wasn’t just Dart. Cam Skattebo, the Giants’ fourth-round running back out of Arizona State, rushed for a career-best 98 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries.

His most eye-catching series of plays came about halfway through the third quarter. On second-and-10 from the Eagles’ 13, Skattebo took a pitch and dashed down the right sideline for a gain of 12 yards, with Theo Johnson paving the way by clearing out Mukuba on a block. The rookie running back then punched the ball into the end zone by grinding through a pile of Eagles defenders on a 1-yard touchdown run that added to the Giants’ lead, 27-17.

“We talk about it all the time,” Cooper DeJean said of the Eagles’ emphasis on toughness. “We’ve got to talk about it, but we’ve got to go out there and be about it and do it on the field. They out-physicaled us in moments tonight. That’s just not us. That’s not our brand of football. We’ve got to fix that.”

Dart went down late in the third quarter after he was sacked by Patrick Johnson. Russell Wilson took his place briefly, with the Giants ultimately punting on the drive. Dart was evaluated for a concussion and cleared, so he returned to action for the fourth quarter to finish out his second career win.

The Eagles’ defensive injury woes worsened when Mitchell went down with a hamstring injury late in the first quarter.

Kelee Ringo started the game at outside cornerback opposite Mitchell, but the 2023 fourth-rounder out of Georgia was quickly benched after conceding a few too many catches by the Giants’ third possession of the night. Adoree’ Jackson took his place.

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Ringo reentered the game when Mitchell exited. It was a rough showing for Ringo. He was flagged for illegal contact in the third quarter on a deep pass just outside the end zone intended for Giants wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey. He also was called for pass interference while covering wide receiver Jalin Hyatt in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

“The only thing [the referee] told me was that I grabbed his inside arm,” Ringo said of his defensive pass interference penalty. “I’m not a fan of the call. I just wanted to be able to pick my feet back up after he ran a double move. As soon as I’d seen his eyes go up, I wanted to get connected. Didn’t want to touch him too much, exactly, perfectly cautious of a potential PI. Soon as he sticks his arm out, I knock his arm down and I’m ready to play through the ball and he said I grabbed his inside arm.”

Once again, it was a tale of two halves for the Eagles offense. They acquitted themselves fairly well in the first half, with Hurts going 14 of 18 for 164 yards and a touchdown pitch to Dallas Goedert. The Eagles quarterback also had a Tush Push touchdown. A.J. Brown led the way in the passing game, hauling in five catches for 73 yards before the break.

Saquon Barkley even got going on the ground, rushing for 56 yards on eight carries, including an 18-yarder on the first play of the game.

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But the offense followed a familiar script in the second half as it has the last two weeks. The Eagles punted on three consecutive drives between the third and fourth quarters. They nearly got a boost on their next possession when cornerback Paulson Adebo was flagged for pass interference on a Hurts deep shot for DeVonta Smith down the left sideline, bringing the Eagles offense to the Giants’ 25.

On the same drive, Hurts was picked off for the first time this season by cornerback Cor’Dale Flott on an out-breaking pass intended for Jahan Dotson in the red zone. Flott returned the ball 68 yards to the Eagles’ 23-yard line. The Giants capitalized on the pick, with Skattebo notching his third touchdown of the night on a 1-yard carry to go up, 34-17.

Hurts called the interception a “bad ball.” The Eagles did not score in the fourth quarter for a third straight week.

“I’ve got to be better,” Hurts said of the Eagles’ second-half struggles. “Got to be better. I take ownership for it. A lot of autonomy and a lot of opportunity there with the ball in my hands. And given those situations, I have to be wiser and more detailed with it. Always looking inward first, looking inward on the things that I can control. I see a lot of opportunity in this.”