October 9, 2025 is a day that will live in Philadelphia sports infamy. As a city, we require an exorcism, or a lobotomy, or that flashing stick they use in Men in Black to make you forget things, whatever’s quick and dirty. We sit in shock and awe at what we witnessed. The familiar veil of disappointment washes over us once again. On this night, we have unfortunately reached the “nightmare” portion of “dreams and nightmares.” As my homie Dwight says, we are officially in “Dead October.”
The night presented three key matchups: the Philadelphia Phillies against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the 1-4 New York Giants, and my brain against my usual 9:30 bedtime. Unfortunately, none of those matchups went according to plan.
As the Phillies lost the fight for their playoff lives against the reigning World Series Champions in dramatic fashion, the Eagles were hoping to bounce back from an embarrassing 4th-quarter meltdown against the Broncos this past Sunday to beat one of the worst teams in the league.
Coming into the game, the New York Giants were 1-4 and coming off a loss to the other worst team in the league, the 1-4 New Orleans Saints. The Giants have the 2nd-worst record in the NFL in the past 8 years (second only to the Jets), and they’ve lost 8 straight division games.
And yet, they handed the Philadelphia Eagles their worst ass whooping since 2023 when the Eagles lost 27-10 in Week 18 to…The New York Giants. It was like David vs. Goliath, except ironically the Giants were David. They absolutely bullied the Eagles. Roger Klotz would be proud. Bulk and Skull would applaud. Deebo from Friday would shed a tear.
Rookie quarterback and CW teen-drama star look-alike Jaxson Dart went full Cam Newton. He got whatever yards he wanted with his legs and threw for chunk plays to his “land of misfit toys” group of wide receivers. He peeled apart the Eagles’ secondary like an orange. The Giants’ offensive line demolished the Eagles’ defensive front, paving the way for rookie running back and full-blown maniac Cam Skattebo (which sounds like a name of a drink you whisper to the bartender in an Oklahoma dive bar while “Life is a Highway” plays on the juke box).
It was the same old song; the Eagles’ offense had success early and once again collapsed in the second half. The Giants got to Jalen Hurts early and often, crushing the pocket like a trash compactor. Saquon Barkley had no room to run. Kevin Patullo and Nick Sirianni couldn’t decipher the defense of one of the worst teams in the league.
This brings the Birds to a crossroads. An inflection point. We are in Super Bowl hangover territory, literally, because the defense played like they were drunk. This isn’t the Philadelphia Eagles that dismantled the Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty in New Orleans. This team is something different.
They look exhausted. Like the weight of the world has settled on their shoulders. The team seems tense and undisciplined. This offense can best be described as a complete and utter mess. There’s a lack of identity, consistency, and purpose. They float between drives, hoping for something, anything good to happen.
This is a team that owes its early-season victories to talent, luck, and momentum. Three unreliable differentiators. The Eagles have yet to put together a complete game in the 2025 season. Thus far, they’ve been outcoached and overmatched schematically, but their talent has always elevated them.
But that’s not the case anymore. The 2025 Eagles are failing to evolve. As Kirk Herbstreit mentioned on the broadcast, sustained excellence is difficult. As fans, we thought the most talented roster in the league would be equipped to sustain a championship level of excellence. At the moment, they are not.
This is about as disappointing a performance as you’ll see from the Eagles. They have mistaken their early-season success for dominance. Their luck for invulnerability. Their 2024 victories for a blueprint. For the Birds to succeed, they need to let go of the past and redefine themselves before the league does it for them.
Let’s recap this slop.
Game Recap
The Eagles went into this without star contributors Jalen Carter and Landon Dickerson. At first, it looked like it was going to be the Eagles’ night. Saquon Barkley kicked things off with a 19-yard run (his longest of the season so far), followed by a 12-yard run on the very next play. Their drive ended with a 42-yard field goal by Jake Elliot (the only man who did something good this game).
But Jaxson Dart and the Giants came out dealing. After a big punt return brought the ball to the Giants’ 46, Dart hit Lil’Jordan Humphrey for a 34-yard gain against Kelee Ringo. Dart finished the drive off with a rushing touchdown to bring the Giants up 7-3.
After forcing the Eagles to punt on their second drive, Dart drove the Giants down the field again thanks to a big pass to Wan’Dale Robinson. The Giants scored a touchdown on a pass to Wan’Dale Robinson but missed the extra point, going up 13-3.
The Eagles responded with a strong drive. Jalen Hurts hit A.J. Brown for 30 yards on a go-route, and Barkley kept the chains moving with some nice runs. The Eagles finished the drive with a nice fake QB sneak toss to Dallas Goedert to close the gap to 13-10. Dallas Goedert had a big first half with 6 catches for 50 yards and a score.
Hurts drove the Eagles down the field again by hitting chunk plays to each of his star pass catchers. After running 4 straight tush pushes in the redzone, the Eagles scored to go up 17-13. Hurts was on a tear, going 11/12 for 136 yards and a touchdown. This would be the last time the Birds would score in this game.
The Giants took over. Quinyon Mitchell went out of the game due to a hamstring injury and never returned. Adoree Jackson and Kelee Ringo (unaffectionately known in this household as the “Terrible Two”) were in at cornerback. That paid dividends, as the Eagles struggled to contain Jaxson Dart’s scrambling ability. The Giants ended up scoring on a Cam Skattebo run to go up 19-17.
Going into halftime, Jaxson Dart was 10-for-13 for 127 yards and a touchdown, plus 4 carries for 38 yards. This was Vic Fangio’s worst nightmare. His defense was unable to contain a rookie quarterback, and his Phillies were locked in a tight matchup with the LA Dodg….oh my god, the Phillies just threw away their season with a huge error on a game-winning hit by Orion Kerkering! This night could not get any worse.
After half-time, the Eagles had three straight drives that ended in punts. On their first drive of the half, Hurts overthrew a wide-open Devonta Smith on a go route that would’ve gone for a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Giants drove down the field on their second drive of the half (thanks in part to penalties by the Eagles’ Byron Young and Kelee Ringo). Cam Skattebo ran through the entire Eagles defense to score a touchdown and bring the Giants up 27-17.
The Eagles’ offense couldn’t get anything going. Jalen Hurts was sacked by Brian Burns a couple of times, and on the first drive of the fourth quarter, Hurts threw his first interception of the season, which was returned 51 yards and led to a Giants score (Cam Skattebo’s 3rd touchdown of the game). The Eagles’ final drive of the night ended with an AJ Dillon fumble, and the Giants ran out the clock. Ball game.
Trending Up
The Need for Change: The Philadelphia Eagles need to adapt. They have no idea who they are, like the guy from the movie Memento or a recent college grad living in his parents’ basement. Their defining quality used to be their grit and fight. Their ability to win by whatever means possible. But that grit evaporated last night in East Rutherford. They need to shake things up or be left in the dust.
Vic Fangio’s Blood Pressure: Vic loves football, but what Vic loves even more than his job is the Phils. Unfortunately, the Fightins’ weren’t fightin’. Seeing the Phillies lose in heartbreaking fashion while having Adoree Jackson and Kelee Ringo as your starting cornerbacks is pure nightmare fuel.
Trending Down
The Offensive Coaching Staff: We’ve talked a lot about Kevin Patullo. As a play caller, he has his moments. As an offensive coordinator, he lacks a feel for the game and seems incapable of designing a cohesive scheme. However, this is not just about Patullo; it’s about Nick Sirianni. Sirianni has earned the benefit of the doubt by bringing Philadelphia its second-ever Lombardi Trophy. But in 2023 and early 2024, we talked about Sirianni’s inability to evolve his offense.
He’s a coach who’s at his best with a talented, experienced offensive coordinator by his side. One who can check his worst impulses and bring in their influences and experience to help the team take the next step. It allows Sirianni to settle into the CEO role and manage the other aspects of the team. This offseason, the Eagles had a chance to interview outside candidates when Kellen Moore left to become the head coach in New Orleans. Instead, they kept things in-house and promoted Patullo.
Overall, I don’t see an issue with wanting to promote internally, but there needs to be an emphasis on new ideas. You need to self-scout to determine the best course of action for this football team. Learn from the 2023 collapse. Sirianni did not do that. This offense has not evolved in a meaningful way. The running game, which fueled last year’s attack, is MIA. It feels difficult to get the ball into the hands of their star players. They have no answers for zone defenses that they struggled with last year. They are stuck and rudderless. It’s too late in the season for significant schematic changes offensively, but there is still time to pivot in some way. But only if Sirianni can save himself from…himself.
Jalen Hurts Accuracy: According to ESPN’s Ben Solak, Jalen Hurts is 6 for 28 on 3rd downs in the last three games. Hurts has missed several key deep passes in the past few weeks. He’s had inconsistent games, from not completing a single pass in the second half of the Bucs game to sputtering in the second half of the Broncos game. Hurts has been frustratingly inconsistent as of late. A step back from the Super Bowl MVP we saw in February.
The Broken Eagles Defense: You could feel the absences of Jalen Carter and Quinyon Mitchell in this one. The Giants’ offense completely had its way with the Eagles’ defensive unit. According to The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia, this was the single worst defensive performance by the Eagles since Fangio became coordinator. They gave up 5 touchdowns and let a rookie quarterback and a rookie running back tap dance their way to the endzone. A normally strong unit that gave the Eagles a ton of room for error provided little resistance today.
Fielding Kick Returns: No one can field a kick, and it’s crazy!
Hot Takes
Ctrl+Z on the Tank Bigsby Trade: Trading two draft picks for the Jaguars’ talented yet “very backup” running back was questionable at the time. But we trusted Howie had a plan. Turns out, maybe he didn’t? Tank Bigbsy joined a team that already had 3 running backs entrenched in their roles to seemingly be the team’s primary kick returner. The only downside is, he’s really bad at returning kicks. Bigsby has made mistake after mistake over the past few games to leave the Eagles’ offense pinned deep in their own territory. Not great!
The Second Cornerback Spot is Still an Issue: I praised Kelee Ringo the past two weeks for his ability to be sticky in coverage and claim the second cornerback spot that was up for grabs. Unfortunately, Kelee has regressed. He’s to the Eagles what Ringo Starr was to the Beatles, kind of replaceable. Kelee got beaten time after time by practice squad wide receiver and committed key penalties that led to the Giants’ touchdowns. Adoree Jackson didn’t look any better earlier in the season in that role. It’s a huge issue that will continue to rear its ugly head unless they can figure something out (fine, I’ll do it!)
Things Only I Care About
For a well-known quarterback and multi-millionaire, Eli Manning dresses surprisingly normally. He wouldn’t look out of place at a TJ Maxx. You wouldn’t look twice at him in the khaki aisle at Target. His style can best be described as “father who’s late to his son’s little league game.” This is the natural progression of a bro who spent his 20s coming of age (and Modelo’s) in Hoboken. He dresses like he says “circle back” in casual conversation.
The Giants have a young group of psychopaths. Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo take joy in hurling their bodies headfirst at defenders. Brian Daboll is deeply in love with Jaxson Dart’s ability to save his job. Cam Skattebo runs as if he says things like “why I oughta” and “hummana hummana.” Jaxson Dart plays quarterback like he’s already concussed. The vibes are chaotic in a frat party kegger way. Whoever replaces Brian Dabol as coach next year is going to love this team.
Your name is Lil’Jordan Humphrey and you play wide receiver for the Giants. Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit have built a comedy routine around how your name is Lil’Jordan when you are actually 6’4”. Why did your parents do this to you? Is there a Big’Jordan? And is Big’Jordan actually little? Is there just a brother named Jordan who’s like 5’9”? I need answers.
