Giants Head Coach Pat Shurmur
Opening statement:
"The tale of two halves. I think early on we jumped out to a lead, which was good. In the third quarter, I think just talking it offensively, so we moved the ball fine. In the third quarter, we knocked ourselves off with penalties and sacks and got behind the chains, so you didn't get a chance to do some of the things you wanted to do. We got back to it a little bit at the end. We moved the ball. We had 11 penalties for 91 yards, unacceptable. Can't do that. There's reasons for it. So, and then at the end there, we have to find a way to make a play there. We're down to a field goal game, it's tied, and we have to get them stopped. So ultimately, we played a good football team, and we just didn't make enough plays in the end to win the game, and that's the reality of it. So, we're back to the drawing board. We have some injuries – [Giants TE] Evan Engram hurt himself in warm-ups. He pulled his hamstring. [Giants WR Quadree Henderson] fractures his shoulder. [Giants WR] Odell [Beckham, Jr.] missed the first series of the third quarter – he had to get an IV. It was an unexpected cramp there. [Giants LB B.J. Goodson] has a neck [injury]. We'll see how that plays out as we go. Get a shower, get back up north, and get ready to play the [Chicago] Bears."
On Giants RB Saquon Barkley's presence in the second half:
"I think what happened was, we had one series there and we gave it to [Giants RB] Wayne Gallman Jr. He did a good job running the ball; spell him a little bit. I think [Barkley] had 13 rushes and seven catches; touched the ball 20 times. And when we knock ourselves off with penalties, and then sacks, and then all that bad stuff, then you get off schedule trying to get the ball to Saquon and Odell, and the guys that need to touch it."
On the second drive with RB Saquon Barkley in the second half of the game:
"I mean, we're going to spell him a little bit as we go. That doesn't matter – had nothing to do with the outcome of the game. We're playing to get him off a couple of reps here and there."
On the momentum shifting with RB Saquon Barkley sitting out in the second half:
"Yeah, but I thought that [RB Wayne Gallman Jr.] went in there and ran the ball well. But we also had penalties that had nothing to do with the running back."
On the interception at the end of the first half:
"I'll take that. We were attacking too deep and that's not on any of them. That's on me."
On the unsuccessful two-point conversion on the first drive:
"We got a penalty that put us on the 1-yard line. That's why I liked our chances of getting it there. I think we had a guy running wide open. So, we just didn't convert it. I think at that point, it makes sense from the one [yard line]. I was just feeling it. I felt like we had a good play that we were going to use, and so we did it. It would've been really nice if it was 8-0 but it ended up being 6-0."
On why he thinks he is to blame for the interception at the end of the first half:
"What? Because I think that's what should've happened, he just checked it down. They just played way, way softer than I thought they would play. That's all."
On three straight pass plays at the end of the third quarter:
"One of them was in our PO. Yeah, I get it, I called three straight passes. A couple other series I called a couple runs. We have to execute the plays, certainly, and move the ball. We can't knock ourselves off by not completing the ball or when we run the ball, not getting yards. That's all."
On whether he thought WR Odell Beckham Jr. was being held in the end zone:
"Yeah, I did. But didn't get the call."
On motivating the team now that the path to the playoffs is very slim:
"I'm not worried about that. I appreciate the fact that you have to ask those questions. But we're going to get cleaned up. We're going to get on the bus. We're going north and we're going to get up in the morning and get ready to play the Bears. We're right in the moment. We're not worried about slim paths. We're not worried about where we need to go. I'm worried about getting this team ready. We have some injuries now we have to overcome. And getting this team ready to play the Bears."
On WR Odell Beckham Jr. experiencing dehydration today and whether his game preparation has anything to do with it:
"Yeah I think it happens once in a while. We've seen it happen a couple of times this year. He does fine getting himself prepared. I can't tell you why it happens. So your question would be, 'What do you want me to do about it?'"
On Beckham Jr. being a key player missing at that point in the game:
"Well, he had to do something medically to get ready to play. So he did."
On whether he came back onto the field and then had to go back into the locker room again:
"No, he was fine. He was in there. He went back out."
On when he went back into the locker room:
"He was out ready to go and then it happened once he was on the field."
On whether he was frustrated that the team couldn't exploit the Eagles secondary more:
"I'm not frustrated. We could have. I just mentioned it. It was the story of the second half, especially early. We weren't making the yards that we need to on the plays that we called. And we had penalties that knocked us off. So then you get away from the stuff that you certainly would like to do. And that's the deal. Forget the depleted secondary and all, these are NFL football players that you are playing. We took advantage of some things, but it doesn't make sense to throw every down when you have a running back like Saquon [Barkley]. And we didn't convert. I mentioned the reason that the drives got knocked off were the issues that I talked about – we didn't make the yards that we needed, we had penalties that set us back. So when you're in third-and-long situations, second-and-long situations, the selection of plays and the things that you try to do are different. So we hurt ourselves. It knocks you off schedule."
On what happened on the third-and-18 play when the Giants were forced to call timeout: "
"It was just that the play got in, but it was loud and there was one little thing about the play that didn't get communicated properly."
On whether he should have taken the delay of game penalty in that situation instead of using the timeout:
"I don't know. We're going to try and get it right. Obviously I'd love to have all my timeouts at the end if that's what you are asking."
On whether after the timeout he ran the play that he initially called:
"No. I flipped it because they saw the formation. I did something else. For the record, you never want to take a timeout when you don't have to. That's the reality."
On whether he would have rather taken a penalty in that situation:
"No, because you're still trying to get the first down, and so you don't want to take the penalty and throw your hands up."
On why the Eagles had more success offensively in the second half:
"I think that what they did in the second half is they took advantage of the fact that we had penalties and we got knocked off schedule. That's what they did."
On the Giants being in control through the first half and whether the Giants were playing with a little trepidation in the second half:
"No. We were winning by eight. You go out and play the second half. Keep playing. Trepidation – I don't even know what that means. We weren't worried about it. We were going out to play."
Giants QB Eli Manning
On how tough of a loss this is considering how well things went for them in the first half:
"It started off fast. We had some good drives in the first half, close on a couple other ones. The second half, obviously, we didn't execute well enough. We had some penalties, had some plays that were close that we just didn't quite make. Unfortunately, it just kept us from extending some drives and moving the ball and scoring enough points."
On what happened on his interception at the end of the first half:
"Just a bad decision. One hundred percent bad decision on me. They were playing soft and I just have to throw that away and try for a long field goal."
On whether it throws him off when he comes back from halftime and a player of WR Odell Beckham Jr.'s caliber isn't available:
"No, it doesn't throw us off. Obviously, we're looking at the guys that are out there. That first drive didn't get a whole lot going, had the sack right there. I have to do a better job. They covered it up well, just throwing it away. We just didn't execute. We had some sacks, had some penalties, had some drops and a couple plays that were close. We just didn't execute well in the second half."
On how he feels about their remaining schedule after a loss in their division:
"You just keep playing. That's the goal. Guys are playing hard, guys are fighting and competing and practicing hard and doing everything close. We're just doing everything well, just not quite – just very close. We're a play or two away from winning that game and possibly getting a touchdown there at the end to Odell instead of settling for a field goal. We're close on those things and just didn't make them. But we just keep competing, keep fighting, and stay together."
On Giants head coach Pat Shurmur taking the blame on the interception for the play call:
"No, I have to protect that. We had a good call, good play. They were playing so soft I just have to make a better decision and check it down and shorten the field goal right there, which I could have. So that's on me."
On whether he saw RB Saquon Barkley in the left flat before he threw the interception:
"Yes, I should have gone to him."
On what he saw on the two-point conversion attempt on the first drive:
"I could have hit the fullback. [S] Malcolm [Jenkins] played it pretty well. He kind of fooled me. He had his back turned where I thought he was going to run with the tight end on the corner route, and he kind of just did a little speed turn and covered the fullback right as I was throwing it. He played it well and unfortunately we didn't get the conversion there."
On what happened with the timeout before third-and-18 at the 5:15 mark of the third quarter:
"I just kind of screwed up the call a little bit there. In hindsight, maybe just run it and I could have gotten a completion. We're trying to take a shot, just had some guys lined up in the wrong spot. So it's on me."
On whether Jenkins played possum on the interception:
"No, he was back there just playing soft, not trying to give up the touchdown. I saw him back there. Bad decision."
On whether he's more disappointed after this loss than usual:
"No, I think disappointment is always about the same. When you don't win – and I felt like we had a good plan and had an opportunity to. We got off to a good start, just weren't able to finish it. Again, I thought we were close on a number of things, and just didn't finish it."
On whether this loss hurts more because it appears that playoffs are out of the question now:
"We wanted to win this game and keep things going and stay in the hunt and keep fighting. The goal is to win every game you play and I'm disappointed we didn't take advantage of this one."
On whether it becomes psychological, even when they're winning, that the Eagles have won eight out of the last nine games:
"No, I wouldn't know it if you didn't say that. So it's not a thought."
On Giants head coach Pat Shurmur's comments that Odell got tugged on his pass to him in the end zone:
"I didn't see a good look. There was some contact. I don't know if it was worthy of a call or not. I haven't seen it close up yet."
Giants RB Saquon Barkley
On how disappointing the loss is after having a good first half:
"It's definitely a disappointing ending. You have to give credit where credit is due. The Eagles came out and did really well, especially in the second half, they got the win and we didn't find a way to finish. That's where we have to continue getting better."
On whether he felt disappointed at the lack of touches in the second half:
"No. I mean, the Offensive Coordinator and the Head Coach are coaches for a reason. I know everyone wants to be a coach and think what we should call, but they know what they are doing, and they're putting us in the position to win. Like I've said multiple times, if I carry the ball 20 times or carry the ball three times, no matter how many times it takes to win the game I'm willing to do. But we just didn't finish this game and that's the difference."
On how this loss affects the reality of what the team wanted to do:
"I'm not really focused on that. I'm just really focusing on watching this film, learning from the film, getting better at it, and moving onto the next week."
On what happened on the 51-yard touchdown run:
"Yeah, on the long touchdown run, it was a great call first and foremost. The offensive line blocked it up tremendously. I was able to get a one-on-one, the wide receiver did a great job blocking down field, and I was able to use my speed to find a way to get into the end zone."
On if this season has been disappointing as a rookie going 3-8 so far:
"Yeah it's definitely a disappointment because we're all competitors in this league, we're all competitors on this team, and when you're 3-8 that's not something to be happy about. We work our butts off every single week whether it's in practice or the off-season, your mindset is to go out there and win every single game. Obviously you're probably not going to win every single game, but you want to win more. More than what we have right now and we're not on that side. So it's definitely disappointing being 3-8 but, you can't cry about it, you can't complain about it, we have five more games to get better, get back in ready to work tomorrow and keep believing in each other."
Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.
On the Philadelphia Eagles always having something happen and coming out ahead, is this another case of the Giants being snake bitten again:
"I do not really know what to say about that. They just came out there and won."
On whether or not the offense leaving points on the board causes trepidation:
"I just have to go back and look at the film and really analyze and see what happened. Really, I do not know what to tell you, to be honest."
On any thoughts as to why the offense played different in the first half versus the second half:
"Honestly, I do not know. They came out and made their adjustments and they just made better adjustments than we did. They ran better plays, they made the plays."
On there being a particular adjustment that gave the Giants the most trouble:
"I could not tell you."
On being surprised about the play calling in the second half that involved Giants RB Saquon Barkley and yourself:
"I could not tell you the answer to that. At this point in my career, I have been through a lot so nothing really surprises me. I just really do not know the answer to that."
On the non-call involving yourself in the end zone:
"It is all good. It is football. Stuff happens. I play receiver not referee. So, all you can do is go out there and control what you can control. I do not control the calls. Whether it was pass interference or not, it does not really matter, I have to try and make a play."
On being frustrated with several non-calls by the officials during the game:
"It is not really about being upset. When you are in a game and you know it is going to be a long game and you come out and want to let the ref know or you want to inform him of what is going on and you let them do their job. That is it. I do not try to make any calls. Whether it is right or wrong. I just try to inform him he is doing 'this' on 'this' play call, just watch him."
Giants WR Sterling Shepard
On the offense having 236 passing yards in the first half and having only 61 passing yards in the second half:
"Yeah, they made good adjustments at halftime. We just were not able to get some of the stuff we were getting in the first half."
On the vibe in the locker room during halftime after Eagles S Malcom Jenkins' interception:
"We had so much momentum. Things were going our way in the first half. It just did not come out the same. They made good adjustments. You have to take your hats off to them. This is the NFL. You have to be able to fix things and they were able to fix it."
On if he felt the momentum shift during the end of the first half:
"Yeah, but this offense does a good job when things are not going our way, we still pound it and we still keep fighting. We just came up short on this one."
Giants S Landon Collins
On whether it was the Eagles running scheme that allowed a touchdown by running the ball five times from the 38-yard line into the end zone or the Giants not defending the gap:
"It was us not fitting in our gaps, that's about it. You see a running back cut back and somebody wasn't there that was supposed to be there. Just fit in our gaps, that's about it."
On what was being said on the sideline to try and pump the defense up given the offense's second half struggles:
"Honestly, we were just trying to get the ball back. We were just talking to each other and said that whatever we could do if we got the opportunity to make a play on the ball, then make a play on the ball. But just do our job which is the biggest part getting off the field on third downs and getting the offense back the ball as much as possible."
On what changed for the Eagles offense from the end of the first half and into the second:
"I don't know what changed honestly, I don't know what changed. They kind of figured something out and kind of rolled with it from that point on. But, I don't know, I can't give you an answer, I have to go and look at it."
On what the general feeling is like within the locker room:
"I don't know, we're trying to kind of let it sink in. It's a lot of these guys that have different aspects on it. So we'll just go from there."
On whether this loss feels different than some of the earlier losses when the team was playing poorly:
"It's not even that. It's a loss that it was so close because, we had the game in the beginning and we just didn't pull it out and finish the game. That was the biggest part."
On how much it hurts knowing that they were in a position to do something within the division:
"It's hard. Especially when you have the game and you feel the momentum change. You can feel it in your back pocket. But you just have to keep on going. It hurts a lot."
On whether there's a sense of 'Here we again' against the Eagles given they've had the teams number the last couple of years:
"No, I never think like that. I never think like here it goes again, or they got us beat, or they figured us out, or they just know calls. No it never goes like that. Because any given Sunday, anybody can be beat. We had our opportunity today and we just didn't finish it."
