5 Losers & 5 Winners From Eagles' Week 9 Defeat to Giants

Sean Mannion: There’s no reason that, halfway through the season, his offense is still struggling to find traction with its first-year offensive coordinator. The Eagles went three-and-out on their first three second-half possessions.

Is it any wonder the defense gets gashed late in games? They simply run out of gas.

The defense gave up 27 unanswered points in last week’s loss to the Commanders and didn’t score until 1:56 was left in the game on a 45-yard field goal from Jake Elliott to cut the deficit to 19-11.

Pass protection: Line coach Chris Kuper has to figure this out. Milton was sacked seven times. It was surprising he got back up after another unblocked pressure got home when Arvell Reese raced untouched off the edge and de-cleated the Eagles' QB. Reese should have wrapped up NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors with three sacks and 12 tackles.

Riq Woolen: This is a recording. It was another bad game in a string of them for the cornerback.

Second quarter decision: Faced with fourth-and-1 from the NY 40, the Eagles lined up in a shotgun formation and handed the ball to Barkley. The play went nowhere as the offensive line was overwhelmed at the point of attack. No problem with the decision, but you have a 6-5 quarterback who was already successful on a goal-line tush push. Why not try it again?

Third-down woes: The Eagles converted just 5-of-17 (29 percent). They were also 1-for-2 on fourth down.

WINNERS

Pass rush: The Eagles entered with 10 sacks and got five in the first half. They finished with six. Jonathan Greenard got the sack parade started with his first since arriving in the offseason. Zack Baun had two with Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Nolan Smith adding one each on quarterback J.J. McCarthy. It was the fifth of the season for both Carter and Smith.

Makai Lemon: The rookie was active early and finished with six receptions for 61 yards. It was his third straight game with at least five catches and 50 yards. However, he did drop two passes.

Braden Mann: Sure, the punter had a 27-yard shank, and there was the -2 yard punt when he had a snap sail through his hands, but his boot saved the Eagles from possibly allowing points at the end of the half. He booted an 86-yard punt from his own end zone with 26 seconds left in the half; the Giants had designs on trying to grab points, but Mann ended those hopes, helping the Eagles take an 8-6 halftime lead. It was the longest punt since Rodney Williams had a 90-yard punt on Sept. 10, 2001.

Saquon Barkley: For the third straight game, the banged-up running back scored a rushing touchdown. All three of them came in the first quarter. His three-yard burst on Sunday gave the Eagles an 8-6 lead.

First quarter decision: It’s rarely advisable to take points off the scoreboard once they’ve been added, but Nick Sirianni did just that when the Giants were called for too many players on the field after Jake Elliott made a PAT. Sirianni accepted the penalty, and the ball was placed at the 1. Milton’s tush push was good for two points, so instead of leading 7-6, it was 8-6.