The New York Giants fell 22-21 to the Philadelphia Eagles in a heart-crushing defeat on Thursday Night Football.
It was a painful night for Giants fans as the team blew an 11 point fourth-quarter lead to their divisional rivals. The Giants are now 1-6, last in the NFC East. While it is a longshot, the Giants are still in playoff contention as they are only 1.5 games out of first. However, a lot must change if this team wishes to make these aspirations a reality.
Here’s how this defeat affected the stock of various people in the Giants organization.
Stock up
Daniel Jones, QB
The sophomore QB is featured here for the second straight week as his play continues to improve. While he did throw one interception, to the fault of Evan Engram, and fumble once, Jones played one of his better games of the year in primetime. He was extremely accurate with several of his throws, including one where he threw an accurate deep ball to Golden Tate, who had no separation, but Daniel Jones was able to fit the ball in for a score.
Jones likely would have had another touchdown if Evan Engram did not drop his fourth-quarter deep ball. Nevertheless, the Duke alum finished with 187 yards, two touchdowns, and a 91.9 passer rating.
However, passing was not the only thing Jones contributed to the team. He was also an elite runner as he rushed for 92 yards on four carries, including one 80 yard burst.
Sterling Shepard, WR
Shepard’s return helped lessen the huge burden on Daniel Jones as he quickly became his number one receiver once again. Shepard, clearly hobbled, was able to put up 59 yards and a touchdown on six catches despite not being 100-percent. His return should help bolster offensive improvement.
Markus Golden, EDGE
Golden was able to get two QB hits and his first sack of the season against the Eagles. This performance helped his stock so much so that the Giants were able to trade him for a sixth-round pick from Arizona. This was a solid deal on both sides as it was unlikely Golden was going to resign, and Arizona received an extra pass rusher.
Jabrill Peppers, S
The swiss-army knife had arguably his best game of the season in Philly. The former Brown recorded six tackles (four solo), one tackle for loss, and a sack in week seven. The Giants have been expecting this play from Peppers all year, and due to his plethora of injuries, it has been hard for him. However, he seems back and decently healthy now, which should help New York going forward.
Dexter Lawrence, DT
Dexter Lawrence was the highest-graded Giant in week seven with a PFF grade of 86.6. This was mostly due to his elite ability to get after the quarterback on Thursday—pass-rush grade of 90.4—as he recorded five QB pressures and one sack on the night. He, along with the rest of the defensive line, has been the brightest spot of this Giants team so far.
Stock Down
Evan Engram, TE
While football is obviously a team effort and no one player can truly be the sole recipient of the blame for a loss, Evan Engram came quite close. He was an awful blocker and a horrible pass-catcher against the Eagles. He dropped two passes on the night, one for an interception and the other that would have won the game. This was definitely a night he would like to forget.
Andrew Thomas/Cameron Fleming, OT
The pair of tackles for the Giants played abysmally against the Eagles. Individually Andrew Thomas allowed six pressures and two sacks, and Fleming allowed two pressures and one sack. Both featured a pass-blocking grade of below 35, which is almost as low as it can get from PFF.
This is tough signs for Big Blue as the line is something that the team has tried to invest heavily in over the past few years, but it has not worked. Andrew Thomas has been the worst out of all the first-round tackles taken in 2020, and the rest of the front has not been much better.
Dion Lewis, RB
The major reason that Lewis’s stock plummeted on Thursday night is that he fumbled and almost allowed the Eagles to score before the end of the first half. He was already buried in the depth chart, and now his placement may even dig deeper for the former Titan.
Ryan Lewis, CB
Ryan Lewis was the worst-graded Giant in the week seven loss with a PFF grade of 29.0. He was awful in coverage and missed several tackles. This was an unfortunate game for the defensive back as he was just starting to emerge as the second cornerback for New York, but this game proves as a serious setback for the young player.