Eli Manning Deserves Share of Blame for Giants' Woeful Performance vs. Eagles

The New York Giants dropped a very important road game on Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. While it is probably too early in the year to call the game a season-defining one, the 27-0 loss did allow the Eagles to tie the Dallas Cowboys for the NFC East lead with an NFL-best 5-1 record.

The Giants came into the game with a ton of momentum, three straight wins and a 3-2 record. Much of the team's recent success came thanks to efficient and productive work from quarterback Eli Manning.

On Sunday, however, the efficient and productive Manning was nowhere to be found.

The two-time Super Bowl MVP struggled to find open receivers, command the offense or find the end zone at any point during the divisional contest. He finished the game 13-of-23 passing for just 151 yards and failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season.

A struggling ground game—just 85 net rushing yards—and a potentially serious injury to star wideout Victor Cruz certainly didn't help matters. Larry Hartstein of CBSSports.com reported that Cruz was carted off the field with a knee injury.

However, a lot of the blame must be shouldered by Manning, who couldn't find a way to shine under the prime-time lights.

Credit the Eagles' pass rush for making its mark on the game. Philadelphia finished the game with six sacks and consistently put pressure on Manning. While it would be easy to blame the Giants' offensive line for the applied pressure, the unit had performed extremely well up until this point.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Giants entered Sunday's game with the league's second-best pass-blocking group.

The speedy Eagles defense won the line of scrimmage matchup on Sunday, but Manning is the man who failed to make the proper pre-snap reads or deliver a quick, catchable ball when under pressure.

Instead, Manning consistently appeared tentative behind the line and his accuracy suffered from an apparent concern for the pass rush. He also seemed afraid to step into the teeth of the pass rush in order to deliver the deep ball. His longest completion of the night was a 29-yarder to tight end Adrien Robinson.

In the end, it was a team defeat for the Giants. Philadelphia forced one turnover and racked up 27 points against a New York defense that has played well in recent weeks.

However, the reality remains that elite quarterbacks consistently find ways to keep even struggling teams in tough games.

Week	Opponent	Sacks	Passer Rating	Result	Score
1	@ Lions	2	53.0	Loss	35-14
2	Cardinals	2	83.0	Loss	25-14
3	Texans	1	123.2	Win	30-17
4	@ Redskins	1	117.5	Win	45-14
5	Falcons	1	104.9	Win	30-20
6	@ Eagles	8	76.5	Loss	27-0

Manning may have a pair of Super Bowl rings on his trophy case, but he was far from elite on Sunday.

His performance—and that of New York in general—proved that the Giants aren't quite prepared to challenge in the division when the quarterback can't carry the day. With the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks looming on the Giants' schedule, Philadelphia's Sunday formula should come into play.

Future opponents now know that playing tough at the line of scrimmage and putting the game on Manning's shoulders can make it difficult for the Giants to win football games.