NY Giants squander chance to get back into NFC East race

New York Giants had a chance to be a contender in mediocre NFC East and squandered it in Philadelphia.

Instead of a two-game winning streak and being a half-game behind Dallas in NFL's worst division, Giants (1-6) have been reduced to a young team struggling to learn how to win under new coach Joe Judge.

record makes m a potential seller when NFL trading deadline rolls around on Election Day. y have some talented players about to enter free ncy, such as defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, who might get sent to a contender looking for help.

reality is Giants aren't going anywhere this season. y have one win and a 1-2 record in division where Washington (1-5) is only team y can beat. y are a step below Cowboys (2-4) and Eagles (2-4-1), but seemingly getting closer.

So getting a couple of extra draft picks for a player who might walk makes sense.

Judge said he has t had too many conversations about potential trades. He plans to use extra time between games to refresh his team and go over over some mistakes. His goals have t changed.

“We’re going out re to be competitive and win every game every week,” he said. “We’re t racing for some kind of a draft pick, that’s t our priority right w. We’re trying to go out re, we’re trying to win, that’s our goal as an organization.”

It's a goal that has been hard to attain in 2020.

WHAT’S WORKING

For all his mistakes and turvers, quarterback Daniel Jones is a rising star. Sure, social media is trending his 80-yard run, one that ended when he tripped over his own feet with end zone 10 yards away and one near him. It's getting a lot of laughs. It's t story, though.

sixth pick in 2019 draft has become a multi-dimensional threat with his arm and legs. He makes offense go. New York probably would have won Thursday had t tight end Evan Engram dropped a perfect third-down pass near two-minute warning. It would have given Giants a first down and a chance to run out clock.

WHAT NEEDS HELP

two-minute defense is bad. In last three games, unit has allowed four touchdowns late in halves. n-TD was a game-winning field goal in 37-34 loss to Cowboys. Opponents would have scored on all six possessions, but Eagles placekicker Jake Elliott missed a chip-shot attempt at end of first half.

Carson Wentz made up for it, leading Philadelphia on two long touchdowns drives in final five minutes for an eighth straight win over New York.

STOCK UP

Running back Wayne Gallman . He replaced an injured Devonta Freeman in second half and ran like he had something to prove. He gained 34 yards on 10 carries and scored a 1-yard touchdown to cap drive that featured Jones' long run. He also had five receptions for 20 yards.

STOCK DOWN

A week after being benched for being late for a team meeting night before Washington game, left tackle Andrew Thomas struggled in pass protection. Don't be surprised if fourth draft pick overall gets benched against Bucs or he shares playing time with fellow rookie Matt Peart.

INJURED

Freeman left with an ankle injury. PK Graham Ga tweaked something in his right leg on a fourth-quarter kickoff. Judge had update on ir conditions.

KEY NUMBER

16, 14 and 11 — size of leads Giants lost in ir last three games to Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Giants had a 19-3 lead and lost 25-22 in 2018. y led 17-3 last season and lost 23-17 in overtime. ir advant was 21-10 with 6:17 to play before Eagles rallied Thursday night.

NEXT STEPS

Giants will have to stew on this one until v. 2 when Tom Brady and Tampa Bay visit MetLife Stadium for a Monday night game. If re is a positive, New York has always played well against four-time Super Bowl MVP.

Im credits: AP