At 2-4, it's hard to say, but given the disappointing NFC East, today's game against the Philadelphia Eagles was an important game for the New York Giants, who were still in a position to make the playoffs. after being competitive in every game since Week 2.

However, the Giants didn't understand that football games are 60 minutes long. They (barely) kept up with the Eagles in the first half, but a few minutes into the third quarter they were thwarted on both sides of the ball. What have we learned (that we didn't already at least suspect)?

NFL defenses know they can blatantly disregard the Giants' passing game

For a time this season, it looked like the Giants' offense might finally become a force with improvements on offense and a new weapon in Malik Nabers. It wasn't exactly explosive in Washington and Cleveland, but the Giants passed and ran the ball well enough to imagine better things coming their way. Then, after a strange Dallas game in which the Giants moved the ball but couldn't get into the end zone, the offense erupted against a good Seattle defense and it seemed like the Giants were at a turning point in the season.

Well, that was true, but not in the direction I had hoped. Last week, a weak Cincinnati defense pushed their safeties way down and dared the Giants to beat them over the top…which they couldn't. Daniel Jones attempted just eight throws (of 34) beyond 10 yards and completed only two, including one interception. On Sunday, the Eagles played their safeties less lightly, but the result was similar: Jones attempted just five passes of 10 yards and just one of 20 yards (that one was a free play after a flag was thrown at the Eagles). By comparison, in two games against the Eagles last season, Tyrod Taylor attempted 19 passes beyond 10 yards (the first of which came in the second half) and completed 10 of them.

Daniel Jones didn't seem to have done anything particularly wrong today. He was under pressure on nearly half of his dropbacks and often barely had time to recognize his first read, let alone a second read. It wasn't the offensive line's best game, to say the least. Still, it's clear that opposing defenses don't expect him to even throw to mid-range, let alone go deep, and so the offense was largely non-existent for the second week in a row, even with Malik Nabers returning.

Brian Daboll must find a balance between passing and rushing on offense

Daboll loves the passing game. He had a quarterback in Buffalo who could make a coach love the passing game. But a few things speak against him doing that with the Giants:

• Daniel Jones is not Josh Allen.
• The league's defenses have adapted to pass-happy over the last decade by making it harder for teams to beat teams with the pass (thanks, Vic Fangio), and so you have to establish the run.

This isn't easy with the Giants because their offense isn't as good at run blocking as it is at pass blocking. Still, you have to try. The Giants rushed just 13 times today (excluding Jones keepers or scrambles) while dropping back to pass 40 times (30 times while Jones was in the game, and many of them while the outcome was still in doubt). So far this season, according to Pro Football Reference, the Giants are sixth in the league with 220 passing attempts while only having 164 rushing attempts. The breakdown of the four most common NFL offenses is as follows: Baltimore, 177 passing attempts vs. 209 rushing attempts; San Francisco, 185 vs. 188; Green Bay, 180 vs. 198; Washington, 169 vs. 186. All four of these teams have respected quarterbacks, yet they run more than they pass.

Drips, drips and more drips

It's been a problem all season. On Sunday, Wan'Dale Robinson dropped a key third-down pass that Jones played right into his breadbox. Robinson caught six of the other eight passes that came his way, but he made drops in crucial moments all season, and the guy moving the chains just can't do that. Darius Slayton dropped a potential first-down pass that was admittedly a little behind him, but still, it's the kind of thing a great receiver should hang on to. Towards the end of the game we even saw a long throw to Jalin Hyatt, and of course Hyatt couldn't follow through with it.

Essentially, Malik Nabers is the only Giant who seems capable of making difficult catches, and of course he too had a key loss that helped Washington win in Week 2. Whatever Daniel Jones' deficiencies may be, he's not getting any help from his receiver.

Pro Football Focus has the Giants receivers with 17 drops in seven games. Compare that to the Eagles' four drops in six games, the Commanders' four drops in seven games and the Cowboys' seven drops in six games.

Aside from Daniel Jones, the Giants only rushed three times in the first half when the game was still competitive. The Eagles, who have an impressive pass rush, might just be able to hold off against Jones, who normally operates from the shotgun. The result wasn't pretty, as the Eagles got seven sacks and Jones did well to avoid a few more. Running the ball to counteract the opponent's aggressiveness is a way to cool them down.

The Giants' run defense failed in crucial moments

The Giants' pass rush continues to be fierce, with Jalen Hurts being sacked five times today and pressured 11 more times. Hurts managed just 114 yards on the day, much of it on the 41-yard TD pass to AJ Brown right after Cor'Dale Flott left with a groin injury. (What about these players' groins?) Overall, the secondary played well. Hurts didn't look much better than Jones.

The run defense was a different story. Praise Saquon Barkley. You knew he wanted to shine today, and you knew the Eagles would rely on him to win the game. The GIants have some good run defenders: Dexter Lawrence, Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden, Dru Phillips and, increasingly, Tyler Nubin. Unfortunately, they also have some holes in the run defense that Barkley was able to exploit. Barkley's first big run of the game, 55 yards around left end on the Eagles' first TD drive, was made possible because Azeez Ojulari, a notoriously poor run defender, failed to set the edge. In the third quarter, Barkley ran 38 yards from right guard to give the Eagles a 21-3 lead. Dexter Lawrence was off the field for a breather, and opponents know the D is vulnerable in this case.