Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Giants game

The Philadelphia Eagles lost to one of the worst franchises in the NFL on Thursday night, and they looked awful in all three phases in the process. As always, win, lose, or tie, we hand out 10 awards.

1) The 'Bully' Award 🐂: The Giants

The Eagles got their asses kicked at the line of scrimmage in this game, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Rookie RB Cam Skattebo rushed 19 times for 98 yards and 3 TDs, while Jaxson Dart slithered out of the grasp of pass rushers and made off-schedule plays for nice gains all night.

On one play, Andrew Mukuba got shoved five yards down the field, and Zack Baun got run over by Skattebo.

This is what the Eagles did to teams all last year. And now they're having it done to them by... the Giants? Oof.

The Eagles were without Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith, arguably their two most hard-nosed players on defense, and it showed.

2) The 'Missed Connection' Award 😖: Jalen Hurts, to DeVonta Smith

On the first drive of the second half, on a 3rd and 6 down by 3 points, Hurts had DeVonta Smith WIDE OPEN deep down the field... and he missed him.

That should have been a touchdown. Instead, the Eagles punted, and the Giants scored on the ensuing possession to go up 10.

In Week 5 against the Broncos, Hurts had a wide open A.J. Brown, but Brown stopped running on his route, and the ball fell harmlessly to the turf.

For whatever reason, Hurts has simply not been able to connect with his elite wide receiver duo this season.

3) The 'Bad Ball' Award 👎: Jalen Hurts

In the fourth quarter, the Eagles were driving and were still in the game. And then Hurts threw his first INT of the season: 

"Bad ball," Hurts said of the play. 

And yep, it was certainly a bad ball, but it was also a crappy rounded-off route by a receiver who likely did not think the ball was coming his way, because, well, it never comes his way.

Also, I don't know what the progression is on the play above, but A.J. Brown is wide open for an easy TD throw from the right slot.

4) The 'Unclutch' Award 😰: The Eagles, on third down

The Giants were 11 for 16 (0.688) on third down.

The Eagles were 1 for 9 (0.100) on third down.

The Giants made plays in key moments; the Eagles did not. You're not going to win games when that happens.

5) The 'Invisible' Award 🫥: The Eagles' second half offense

The Eagles scored zero points in the second half, and they only scored seven points in each of their two prior games against the Buccaneers and Broncos. 

Whether it's opposing defenses adjusting to what the Eagles are doing offensively, or the Eagles' offense failing to adjust to opposing defenses, it's a trend that looks really bad for the coaching staff.

6) The 'Outgained' Award ⚖️: The Eagles, in every game this season

The Eagles have been outgained in every game so far this season: 

The Eagles have a yardage differential of -407 this season. In 2024, they were +1510 in the regular season and +115 in the playoffs.

7) The 'Benched' Award 🪑: Kelee Ringo

Ringo started again at CB2, and yes, he played poorly in coverage, but he also had a play in which Giants WR Wan'Dale Robinson caught a pass and went to the ground; and Ringo didn't touch him down. Robinson got up and gained another 7 or so yards.

Ringo was benched for Adoree' Jackson, and only entered the game again after Quinyon Mitchell got hurt.

8) The 'WTF Was That Trade?' Award 😵: Tank Bigsby

When the Eagles traded a couple of 2026 draft picks (in the fifth and sixth rounds), the team's messaging was that Bigsby was acquired to return kicks.

I ignored that messaging, because why would a team trade two draft picks for a kick returner? My assumption was that Bigsby would have some kind of role on offense.

But, nope. It appears that the Eagles did indeed trade two picks for a guy whose only role is as a kick returner, and he's not even good in that role. 

At the end of the first half, Bigsby muffed an easily fieldable ball at the 3 yard line. The ball trickled into the end zone, where Bigsby retrieved it, before returning it back to the 7 yard line, where he was gang tackled. That was not how Nick Sirianni wanted to start an end of half drive:

Sure enough, that drive stalled short of field goal range, and the Eagles squandered an opportunity to steal some points before halftime.

After his muff, Bigsby was replaced by A.J. Dillon, who also muffed a kickoff that went out of bounds at the Eagles' 5 yard line, lol.

The Eagles didn't just suck on offense and defense in this game. They also sucked on special teams.

In chart form:

Hope that's helpful.

9) The "Found Their Guy?' Award 👀: Jaxson Dart

Dart was impressive in this game. He wasn't perfect as a passer, but he seems ultra competitive, and he has some pretty obvious mobility. If the Giants have found a long-term answer in Dart at quarterback, the Giants won't be the pushover the Eagles have been used to for the last 15 years.

10) The 'Rescue Me?' Award ⛑️: The Eagles' mini-bye

Last year, the Eagles' season could be broken up into three parts:

1. Pre-BYE: They were kind of a mess, looking downright bad in three of their four games before their bye.
2. Post-BYE: They figured out their identity, and began to play a lot better.
3. Playoffs: They just destroyed.

After getting stomped by the Giants, the Eagles will now have a mini-bye before their next game against the Minnesota Vikings Week 7.

Maybe they will figure some things out... or maybe they have way bigger problems this year than they did this time last year.

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