The New York Giants were defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles, 48-22, on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium. The game wasn’t even as close as that lopsided score indicates as Big Blue had it taken to them for four full quarters.
The loss drops the Giants to 7-5-1 on the season, last place in the NFC East, and on the fringe of the playoff picture.
Whose stock is up and whose is down after the Week 14 loss? Let’s take a look.
Stock up: Azeez Ojulari
For the second week in a row, linebacker Azeez Ojulari outshined his defensive teammates.
Named our Player of the Game, Ojulari recorded four tackles (three solo, two for a loss), two QB hits and 2.0 sacks against the Eagles on Sunday. The exact amount of pressures haven’t been tabulated yet but that’s likely to be in the 4-6 range.
Ojulari is a force and one of the team’s true foundational pieces.
Stock down: Jamie Gillan
In addition to their many other needs, the Giants may be looking for a new punter this offseason. Jamie Gillan simply isn’t getting the job done and for every one good game, he has several bad games.
On Sunday against the Eagles, it was another bad one.
Gillan dropped a snap and then kicked the ball off the ground, drawing a penalty that included a loss of down. It left the Eagles with outstanding field position and it took just one play for them to punch it into the endzone.
Gillan did have three of his six punts land inside the 20 but in addition to the illegal kick, he also out-kicked his coverage on one punt, leading to a 16-yard return.
Stock up: Richie James Jr.
After a rough game against Washington, Richie James Jr. bounced back with a solid performance in Week 14. And while some of it came during garbage time, he still did everything he was asked to do.
James hauled in seven of his nine targets for 61 yards and a touchdown. All of that either led the team or was tied for the team lead.
James now has three touchdown receptions over the last four games and has reestablished himself as a trustworthy option for quarterback Daniel Jones.
Stock down: Saquon Barkley
Despite suffering a stinger earlier in the week, Saquon Barkley felt healthy enough to play and head coach Brian Daboll was confident in starting him.
The result? 48 total yards (28 rushing) and a 3.1 yards per carry average.
We already know some fans are screaming that he was hurt and others are screaming that the offensive line is lacking and both of those things are true. However, Barkley’s slide in recent weeks has been pronounced and it came well before his injury. And while the O-line has taken a nose dive, other backs are still finding ways to be more productive than he is.
There’s no other way around it: Barkley has hit a wall and fallen off.
Stock up: Isaiah Hodgins
Once again, Isaiah Hodgins filled his role admirably. And he did so against one of the league’s best and most talented secondaries.
While he fell well short of a game-changing 100-yard performance, Hodgins did secure four of his six targets for 38 yards and one touchdown. Neither of the two targeted incompletions were his fault.
Comparatively, Kenny Golladay, the highest-paid wide receiver in football, didn’t draw a single target.
Hodgins now has 17 receptions (on 21 targets) for 183 yards and two touchdowns in five games with the Giants. Those two scores have come in back-to-back weeks.
Stock down: Coaching staff
This last spot could have very easily gone to the entire offensive line, Andrew Thomas included, or Julian Love, or just about anyone else. Instead, it’s time to place some blame on the coaches.
The Giants came into Week 14 completely unprepared, the play calling on both sides of the ball left much to be desired and the in-game adjustments were nearly nonexistent.
Yes, there is a lack of depth on the roster and injuries haven’t helped that situation, but you can’t credit Brian Daboll & Co. for overcoming that early on and then excuse them from blame now. That’s not how it works.
