The Philadelphia Eagles entered Sunday's tilt versus the New York Giants without four of its top five cornerbacks available. The banged-up unit that had been torched on the regular this season was prime to be picked on.
The Giants came out firing, scoring on their first four possessions to jump out to a 19-3 lead. Then Big Blue's offense went into a shell, generating just 61 passing yards in the second half, as the Giants watched the lead slip away in a 25-22 loss.
After the game, Odell Beckham Jr. questioned the team's strategy on offense.
"Coming in, knowing that they've struggled in the secondary, personally, I would've loved to attack them. But it wasn't in our game plan," Beckham said, via ESPN.
Beckham wouldn't directly address coach Pat Shurmur's play-calling, which included getting dynamic rookie running back Saquon Barkley only five second-half touches.
"Honestly, that is a question for Coach [Giants coach Pat Shurmur]," Beckham said of the play calls. "That is not really my kind of question. I don't call the plays. I just do what I'm told to do and go out there and execute. Whenever I get an opportunity to do something, I try to make the most of it. If I don't have that many opportunities all I can do is do what I can when I do have an opportunity. That is more a question for coach."
The coach will be drilled over the loss by the New York media.
The Giants' second-half egg-lay included two three-and-outs and just one drive in which New York held the ball for more than five plays. In the final two quarters, the Giants generated just 56 total yards as Eli Manning's numbers plummeted.
Manning 1st half: 19 of 25 passes, 236 yards, 9.4 yards per attempt, 101.4 passer rating
Manning 2nd half: 7 of 12 passes, 61 yards, 5.1 yards per attempt, 71.9
"Forget the depleted secondary and all, these are NFL football players that you are playing," Shurmur said. "We took advantage of some things, but it doesn't make sense to throw every down when you have a running back like Saquon. And we didn't convert."
With the Giants unable to control play, Barkley and Beckham managed just seven touches combined in the final two quarters. The lack of touches left OBJ bewildered.
"I couldn't tell you the answer to that," Beckham said. "At this point of my career, I've been through a lot so nothing really surprises me. Just don't really know the answer to that."
