Giants' Ugly Loss Proves They're Not Ready to Compete in the NFC

The New York Giants entered Monday night with a chance to take control of the division and become a legitimate contender in the NFC. They failed.

With the rest of the NFC East in shambles, the Giants were looking for their fourth win in a row to take a two-game advantage in the win column. Eli Manning had played well over the past few weeks while the defense more than held its own, creating plenty of excitement for fans heading into the Week 6 divisional showdown.

Unfortunately all the team could produce was a 27-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in an embarrassing effort on national television.

Things started off well for the Giants, scoring a touchdown on an opening eight-play, 80-yard drive. After forcing the Eagles into a three-and-out on their first possession, Manning appeared ready to take command with a 14-0 lead. The momentum was then halted when linebacker DeMeco Ryans stole an interception just outside the red zone.

The wheels seemed to fall off after that.

Philadelphia awoke offensively and drove down the field for an easy touchdown. A few minutes later, Eagles cornerback Nolan Carroll picked off Manning and returned it 17 yards for a score. The home team took a 14-7 lead and never looked back.

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News broke down Manning's change of play:

After eight more punts throughout the game and little happening offensively, Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated noted the lingering struggles:

The offense produced just 251 yards on an embarrassing 3.9 yards per play. A 4-of-13 conversion rate on third downs stalled drives, while three turnovers ensured the team wouldn't score for the rest of the game.

One of the biggest issues from start to finish was the ineffective play of the offensive line. Manning was sacked four times, and the Eagles totaled seven tackles for loss in the game. The quarterback was hit seven times overall in the loss.

Bob Glauber of Newsday noted the struggles from the big men up front:

Philadelphia came in allowing 280 passing yards per game. Manning managed just 200 passing yards and a 62.9 passer rating.

The poor all-around performance would be tolerable if the Eagles came in and dominated in all phases. This was not the case. In fact it seemed like both teams were trying to lose in a sloppy back-and-forth battle.

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford threw three interceptions, all of them seemingly tosses up to no one. Jordan Matthews fumbled deep in Giants territory. There were 21 accepted penalties combined between the two teams.

New York had chances to win or at least come back in the game but simply couldn't do anything positive after the opening drive. Although the team is still currently tied for first place in the NFC East, it's hard to be encouraged about what happened Monday.

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Head coach Tom Coughlin discussed the need to bounce back after a poor effort:

The upcoming game is against the Dallas Cowboys, who have also struggled since losing Tony Romo to injury. With the Eagles going on the road against the 5-0 Carolina Panthers, the Giants once again have a good chance to take control of the division with a 4-3 record.

On the other hand, this latest loss proved that no matter what happens within the NFC east, the Giants are nowhere near the rest of the conference. The Panthers and Green Bay Packers have been more consistent this season, while the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals have showcased a lot more upside and ability on both sides of the ball.

All we have seen from the Giants is wins over mediocre opponents and blown games. Bad mistakes against the Falcons and Cowboys proved costly in close losses, while the errors in this latest defeat led to a blowout.

Adding the poor mistakes to the major step back from the offensive line this week, it's difficult to trust this team going forward. The talent is there to compete with the best in the NFL, but this team will stay a notch below the elite until it can clean up its play.

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