The Eagles are going to the playoffs, but there aren’t many smiles around the team right now.
A late-season swoon continued with a listless performance at MetLife Stadium against the Giants in Week 18. The Giants jumped out to an early lead and then coasted as the Eagles ruled out injured players and pulled other regulars with an eye on next weekend’s playoff game in Tampa.
The final was a 27-10 Giants win that moved them to 6-11 on the season. That matters for draft positioning, but more short-term attention will be paid to the Eagles’ side of things.
Sunday’s loss is the fifth in six games for a team that started the season 10-1 after going to the Super Bowl last year and the collapse has seen them change defensive play callers in an effort to right the ship ahead of the postseason. That effort has been a flop and Matt Patricia’s unit gave up 415 yards to Tyrod Taylor and the Giants in Sunday’s loss.
It feels like too much is wrong with the defense to fix things in a matter of days and the Eagles also have a slew of injuries on offense to sort out. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith and running back D’Andre Swift didn’t play and wide receiver A.J. Brown left with a knee injury in the first quarter. Safety Reed Blankenship and guard Cam Jurgens also exited while quarterback Jalen Hurts remained in after injuring his right middle finger in the first half.
Hurts departed before halftime with the score 24-0 and the team did not offer the injury as the reason why he exited the game, but that will likely be something else to watch as the Eagles try to find some way to salvage a season that turned about as sharply as any in recent memory.
