That was ugly.
Four turnovers. Missed opportunity after missed opportunity. Leaving what should have been a win on the field in a season in which every victory will be necessary to make the postseason.
The Eagles have no one but themselves to blame after a 13-7 loss to the Giants, so let's point the finger at the right people to take the brunt of the criticism for this one.
Here's who deserves the most blame, in order, for Sunday's debacle in the Meadowlands.
1. Jalen Hurts: It starts here, and no revisionist history of what could have (or should have) been in the final minute changes that. Hurts' progression to unquestioned 2022 Eagles starter hit a wall yesterday. He was bad. Three turnovers are unacceptable, including two in the red zone. Completing less than 50 percent of passes in the modern NFL game is hard to do, yet Hurts accomplished it. Indecisive. Inaccurate. Inefficient. The passer rating of 17.5 almost feels fake, but our eyes told us it was real.
Hurts' fatal flaw in the NFL ultimately won't be inaccuracy or a lack of arm strength. He can make the passes necessary to score points. We've seen that. What will doom Hurts is slower decision making. If he gets the ball out on the broken play to Miles Sanders vs. New Orleans, perhaps Saints safety Marcus Williams doesn't make a great play on a tipped ball. If he sees DeVonta Smith breaking open on the final play on Sunday, we're not likely not talking about a heart-breaking drop.
Hurts ran for 77 yards, was harassed by the Giants defense all day and saw his receivers get bullied by New York's defensive backs. It wasn't *all* on the second-year quarterback. But let's not excuse the biggest reason for this loss.
2. Howie Roseman: We'll get to the other on-field culprits, but let's take a second to remember why the Eagles are what they are right now: Roseman's roster management. It's why about $50M in cap room is tied up on players no longer on the team. It's why so many top picks have been spent (and wasted) on wide receivers in recent years. When the Eagles are winning and Hurts' play-making ability is covering up the other issues, we can pretend this franchise isn't in rebuilding mode. But when there's not a single veteran on offense to step up and save the day, it points back to the person responsible for the state of the roster.
3. Jalen Reagor: He has to catch that ball. I'm talking about the game-sealing drop, not the fade route that hit him in the hands. A good NFL wide receiver would catch either, but let's not pretend we expect Reagor to be something he isn't at this point of his career. It's the second drop on fourth down that was excruciating to watch because anyone that's watched Reagor's NFL career couldn't have had faith in him making the play. It's the kind of moment that is almost impossible to recover from, for both a team and a player that has never felt comfortable in Philadelphia.
4. Nick Sirianni: Unlike early-season losses, this one can't be squarely thrown at the feet of the head coach. But one sequence can, and it made even less sense after re-watching. What in the world was Sirianni's play calling on the goal line before halftime? How could this head coach not line up and hand the ball to a running back even once? Granted, sprint-right option on first down worked (Greg Ward needs to catch that well-thrown ball from Hurts). But a quarterback draw into the teeth of the defense on second down? Anyone within 200 miles of East Rutherford, New Jersey could have diagnosed that before the snap. And then another throw on third down, leading to the Hurts pick? The Eagles had a timeout in their pocket, didn't use it and called the sequence as if it was September all over again. Ugly coaching.
5. Boston Scott: Was Scott's fumble any more costly than Hurts' red zone interceptions? Probably not. It didn't necessarily take points off the board. But it did feel like a gut punch. Credit to the Eagles defense for getting the ball back one more time, but Scott's "Giant killer" moniker might have to be put away for a few weeks. With a chance to drive for the winning score, Scott coughed the ball up. It summed up a day that wasn't meant to be for a team that got pushed around by what was supposed to be an inferior opponent.
6. Nate Herbig's penalties: Now here's a section I didn't expect to write. If we needed any more proof of how indispensable Jason Kelce is to this franchise, just circle back to two Herbig penalties that took a 24-yard Hurts run and 21-yard Boston Scott touchdown off the board. It's truly amazing how many touchdowns have been taken off the board this year due to penalties, and this time we can point to Herbig as the culprit.
