EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Jalen Hurts overthrew DeVonta Smith when the receiver was wide open with the chance for an easy touchdown. That was one lowlight of the Philadelphia Eagles’ second consecutive loss, but Hurts also had another Thursday night.
Hurts’ pass was picked off early in the fourth quarter by Cor’Dale Flott, who returned it 68 yards to set up the New York Giants’ fifth touchdown in a 34-17 rout. It was Hurts’ first interception of the season and just the second — counting the Super Bowl he won as MVP — in 15 games over the past 11 months.
“Bad ball. Bad ball,” Hurts said. “I didn’t execute well enough situationally, and I obviously can’t turn the ball over in the red zone. I’ll look into the tape, and I know our team will as a group and we’ll get critical of ourselves on that and learn from it.”
Plenty else went wrong. The Eagles’ defense did them no favors, allowing New York to convert on 11 of 16 third-down chances, and Saquon Barkley’s fumble with 6:50 left sent many fans to the exits.
Still, Hurts was a big part of going 1 of 9 for third down. And the elite quarterback being off his game shows what’s wrong with the defending champions after blowing a 17-3 lead and losing at home to Denver on Sunday and falling completely flat as a 7 1/2-point favorite at the Meadowlands.
“We have a lot of things to get fixed,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “We just had an off night. Everybody did.”
It was easy to point to where it unraveled this time.
The Eagles trailed by three early in the second half and had third-and-6 on their own 11. Smith beat Flott and was running uncovered down the field, but Hurts’ throw sailed a few yards over his head and set up the second of four Philadelphia punts.
“Another opportunity to keep attacking them and capitalizing,” Hurts said. “I didn’t give him a good ball. It’s something that I own and something that I’m going to work on.”
Jaxson Dart led the Giants on a nine-play, 56-yard drive, culminating in one of fellow rookie Cam Skattebo’s three touchdown runs. The Eagles gained just 8 yards apiece on their next two drives.
The Eagles got into the red zone with the game still in reach when Flott stepped in front of Hurts’ throw intended for Jahan Dotson and almost took it to the house. Hurts’ interception was his first in the regular season since Nov. 10 at Dallas, a blowout win.
“Flott made an amazing play,” Dart said. “I thought that was a huge swing for our team.”
The Eagles did not lose back-to-back games all last season. The last time they did was three in a row from Dec. 31, 2023-Jan. 15, 2024, including a defeat at the Meadowlands to the Giants and a playoff elimination at Tampa Bay.
“You play the game to win,” Hurts said. “Obviously, we’re competitive in that and trying to figure that out. We’ve got some work to do, and that’s all that matters.”
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