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New York Giants: Reaction to Monday night mistake-fest

By Ryan Disdier

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Earlier in the week, I said the New York Giants’ offensive line would be tested by the Eagles’ defensive line. Well, the Giants showed up for the test, sharpened their handy-dandy No. 2 pencils and then proceeded to fail miserably.

My nightmares of Marshall Newhouse getting abused by the Eagles’ pass rush came to fruition in the worst way, and Eli Manning was thrown around like a sack of potatoes.

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This game was lopsided as soon as the Giants took the field after opening up with an ultra-promising drive that featured Manning completing all 10 of his passes.

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And then suddenly it was as if the Giants forgot how to play football. After forcing a Philadelphia three-and-out, DeMeco Ryans out-muscled Larry Donnell and nabbed an interception.

From that point on, the game was over. If you don’t want to read the rest of this article, here’s a synopsis: nothing went right.

It’s not like the Eagles played a great game, either. They really didn’t, especially on offense. Sam Bradford threw three ugly interceptions, but it didn’t really hinder the team. The defense was able to bail out the offense, and that’s certainly a positive sign for the Eagles.

Dumb, dumb penalties plagued the Giants and helped keep Philly drives alive. Damontre Moore, who I’ve been high on ever since he was drafted, committed a nonsensical roughing-the-passer penalty.

That penalty would be a harbinger of things to come, as the Giants continued to commit dumb penalty, after dumb penalty after dumb penalty.

To be quite frank, this was the worst football game I’ve watched in a very long time. It was worse than last year’s walloping in Philly, and here’s why: The Giants were never, and I mean never, in a position to win that game. On Monday Night, the Giants had so many opportunities to recover, but they kept shooting themselves in the foot.

Look, all this is coming from a guy who was expecting a loss! I just didn’t expect it to be so horrendously one-sided. There were very few bright spots. One of the lone ones would be that the defensive backs can catch easy interceptions, I guess. Actually, rookie Landon Collins played exceptionally well tonight, and he hauled in his first career interception.

The offense couldn’t muster anything. Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle — who definitely weren’t 100 percent healthy — struggled the entire game. Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen were held in check. Eli threw a pick-six to Nolan Carroll that dashed any momentum the Giants were trying to establish.

And the offensive line … sigh.

It’s a good thing Will Beatty is scheduled to return from his pectoral injury sooner rather than later, because the team needs him now more than ever.

Speaking of that, this team was without its best cover linebacker (Devon Kennard) and its best cover cornerback (Prince Amukamara), so this team simply needs to get healthy.

It’s honestly tough to gauge the loss. Last week the team displayed a type of resiliency fans hadn’t seen since the 2012 season. But then they followed it up by playing like the ’13 team that started the season 0-5. There’s no consistency here.

Do you want to hear something really scary?

Last year the team started 0-2, won three straight, lost to Philly in Week 6 and then didn’t win again until December. Oh, and last year they played Dallas the following week, too.

In regard to the Eagles; congrats. If they didn’t win against the Giants their win against New Orleans wouldn’t have meant much. They got DeMarco Murray to look like the DeMarco Murray of ’14, and the offense found rhythm and explosion.

However, the Eagles aren’t exactly prepared to run away with the division. It’s a long season, and the NFC East is shaping up to be the worst its been in a very long time. Winning a divisional game is going to help the Eagles, though. Don’t look now, but they’re starting to look like the Philadelphia Eagles team I predicted would soar this year. I fully expect them to go into Carolina and upset the Panthers next week.

So what’s the silver lining if you’re a Giants fan? Well, one can only hope this is the worst game this team plays all year. If that’s how you want to look at it, then there’s no reason the Giants shouldn’t beat the Matt Cassel-led Cowboys next week.

If you’re not as much of an optimist, then it could be a long season for you.

Side notes:

* With Larry Donnell’s play as erratic as ever, the Giants could be in play to make a move for a tight end. St. Louis’ Jared Cook is reportedly

* The Cowboys must have loved the outcome of the game. Honestly, the NFC East is turning into the NFC South. And that’s not a good thing

Next: Cam Newton continues to prove naysayers wrong

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