Eagles waste strong finish by defense
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Eagles defense produced a pair of interceptions Sunday in the fourth quarter of a 28-23 loss to the Giants. And twice they could only watch as the offense failed to parlay those turnovers into points.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Eagles defense produced a pair of interceptions Sunday in the fourth quarter of a 28-23 loss to the Giants. And twice they could only watch as the offense failed to parlay those turnovers into points.
Nolan Carroll ripped an interception from the grasp of Odell Beckham Jr. and Jordan Hicks intercepted a tipped pass to help the defense finish strong after a rocky start. The Eagles held the Giants to just seven second-half points and none in the fourth quarter. But it was not enough.
"We gave them the ball back and we trusted them to score," Carroll said. "We had confidence in them. They were moving the ball down the field. We just have to continue to trust in the process. Believe and not divide the locker room. No one is going to point fingers. We just have to be stronger as a unit."
The 28 points allowed is the most the Eagles have yielded this season in a regulation game. But 14 of those points - a pair of first-quarter touchdowns - came after the Giants began consecutive drives deep in Eagles territory after Carson Wentz threw two interceptions.
The Eagles limited Beckham to just four catches, two of which were touchdowns, and held the Giants to just 54 rushing yards. The Giants' rushing attack - which is ranked last in the NFL - proved to be the perfect remedy for a defensive unit that was gashed for 180 rushing yards or more in their last two losses.
As they limited Beckham and the rush, the Eagles were battered by big plays. Three of Eli Manning's four touchdown passes were 25 yards or longer.
Beckham's first touchdown came off a 26-yard catch-and-run after he ran a slant over the middle of the field and broke a tackle. Malcolm Jenkins said the defense gave up on the play after that. Manning's second score occurred after safety Jaylen Watkins collided with cornerback Leodis McKelvin, allowing Roger Lewis Jr. to be wide open in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown. It was a fluke, Jenkins said. And the third big-play score, Jenkins said, was the perfect route to allow Sterling Shepherd to grab an easy 32-yard touchdown.
"It really was just big plays," Jenkins said. "Everything else, we felt really good about. The big plays hurt us. . . . Those are the things that defensively we'd like to have back."
The Eagles needed a stop late in the fourth quarter to give Wentz a chance at a winning drive. It was third and 4 for the Giants and Jordan Hicks assumed a run was coming. The Giants would want the Eagles to use their final timeout, the linebacker figured.
It instead was a pass and Manning's throw was tipped by Connor Barwin at the line of scrimmage. Hicks dove and corralled the ball before it could touch the turf. The Eagles had the ball and the chance to score. Another Miracle in the Meadowlands seemed to be brewing. The offense instead stalled, the game was over and a defense's last stand was wasted.
"It is what it is," Hicks said. "It's frustrating, obviously. You can point at a lot of different areas to why we didn't win the game. It's not one play. We had an opportunity to win, but we came up short."
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