November 08, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Joe Milton had his moments Sunday against the Giants, but none of them were enough to bail the Eagles out from far greater problems.
The "Joe Milton Game" Sunday was not.
The Eagles lost to the Giants, 19-11, at Lincoln Financial Field, to continue a spiral into seven straight losses amid a season that has completely melted down at 2-7.
There was no spark from the Eagles fielding their third starting quarterback of the season. A desperation play away from Tanner McKee didn't work, which at this rate, means there probably isn't anything else that can be done to get this offense going.
This is as good as it gets: one – frankly generous – touchdown drive in the first quarter, and that's it. It's brutal.
Milton hit on a crosser to Dallas Goedert with immediate pressure on him for a gain of 12 yards, tucked it to run for another 19 right after, then, looking for a shot a couple of plays later, got gifted 30 yards into goal-to-go territory when New York cornerback Deonte Banks never bothered to turn his head around covering a loft down the left sideline to receiver Darius Cooper.
Saquon Barkley punched in the six soon after on a third-and-goal run from the Giants' 3, and Milton snuck in the two-point conversion after New York jumped offside on the initial extra-point kick from Jake Elliott to instead bump the Eagles up to the 1 and keep their offense out.
The Eagles jumped out to an 8-6 lead with that early series, which held until late into the third quarter. But as has become the aggravating trend with this Eagles offense, no matter who is under center for them, it stalled out the rest of the way.
Any semblance of cohesion disappeared after that first scoring drive, protection was soft, and like it's been for weeks now, the thinking and the talent weren't anywhere near good enough to adapt to get any more points on the board.
So the rest of the game, once again, came down to the defense. And inevitably, they crumbled late against Jameis Winston, a returning J.J. McCarthy (who briefly missed some snaps due to an injury scare), and a heavily underwhelming ground game that, by the fourth quarter, was able to just push the Eagles' defensive front around anyway.
It's nothing new for the 2026 Philadelphia Eagles, and granted, it was a lot to expect Milton to come in for and potentially will them out of.
It was never fair for a late-round QB who was signed off the Dallas practice squad just three weeks ago.
But then again, this was the desperation play the Eagles were trying to make, looking, on a prayer, for just that.
It didn't work. One lone touchdown drive is as good as it gets for them now, and it's nowhere near good enough. It's just brutal.
The Giants' pass rush had Joe Milton under pressure all day.
Milton finished the day with 169 yards on 18-for-34 passing with no touchdowns, and he rushed for a team-leading 64 yards, even with leading running back Saquon Barkley available.
The Giants sacked Milton seven times for a loss of 41 yards, which included the game-sealing tackle at the end.
The Eagles had three possessions during the third quarter, and all of them ended in three-and-outs. In the fourth, they had the ball on their next turn for four more plays, when Milton was sacked for the fifth time by Giants linebacker Arvell Reese on third down in their own territory to leave them punting again.
By then, the Eagles were effectively buried, despite a late Elliott field goal and push, with the Giants even trying to give the game back for the last several minutes.
This is as good as it gets now, and Milton was never going to bail them out of it.
He was never going to make up for an offensive line made of paper, which the Giants' defense clearly didn't respect with the way they were blitzing, and that left Milton to get punished all day.
He was never going to make up for a lack of pass-catching talent around him either, which really, at this point, only has Goedert and rookie Makai Lemon getting left open in passive zone coverage as their only best bets left.
And he was never going to make up for a long and notoriously predictable offensive game plan, which at this point, could very well mean that he won't be saving Nick Sirianni's, Sean Mannion's, and Chris Kuper's jobs.
The Giants, soon enough, had all that read like a book.
So this is it. The Eagles are 2-7 and in a full tank mode. The Giants are 5-2-1 and leading the NFC East just because they're the least incompetent team in the division right now – as hard as they were trying not to be.
And looking ahead, the Eagles are going with a practice-squad QB, from a decision made on a whim, with no other answers left for another eight remaining games.
This is as good as it gets. It's brutal.
Nick Sirianni may not have anything left to protect him.
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