Questionable Decisions of Pat Shurmur Condemn Giants vs. Eagles | The 5 observations of Politi

PHILADELPHIA – It has always been unthinkable to think that the Giants were going to erase this 1-7 beginner and make at least the second half of the season interesting. And yet, watching their team in the first half at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, it was difficult for fans not to dream a little.

Hey, maybe Odell Beckham Jr. was right to run the table …

Saquon Barkley was running on the suspicious defense of the Eagles. Eli Manning was on target with most of his throws. The Eagles played as a team that not only had the hangover of the Super Bowl, but that also blew a bottle the next morning.

It looked like a third straight win for the Giants, and who knows? Strange things happened in the NFL.

Instead, the Giants collapsed in the second half and head coach Pat Shurmur is responsible for this defeat. He made two decisions that made him lose his head – taking up a theme of his first season at the helm of the Giants – which ultimately condemned this team.

A brief overview:

# After scoring for the first goal, Shurmur decided to convert the two points after an Eagles penalty that put the ball on the 1-meter line. The conversion failed – more information on what happened below – the Giants throwing a pass to their third string that was incomplete.

"I just felt it," said Shurmur about the decision. So, does he base his decisions on analyzes or something in his womb?

# Despite Saquon Barkley's latest heroic performances during an impressive first half, the Giants have moved away from their best offensive player after the intermission. He had 101 rushing yards in the first half but only twice in the third quarter, resulting in professional misconduct given his dominance.

# The Giants managed two time-outs – including in a third and 18th match that went nowhere – which left them no way to stop the clock while the Eagles went directed toward the goal. This is in part to quarterback Eli Manning, but clock management issues continue to haunt this team under Shurmur.

To be clear: not everything falls on Shurmur. Manning had only 54 yards in the second half after the Giants appeared to be racing fast to the Eagles and his inexcusable interception at the end of the first half cost an attempted effort.

The defense, meanwhile, did not have the necessary stop against the quarterback Eagles, Carson Wentz, struggling in the second half. The nonexistent pass again sentenced this team to 3-8.

Still, this 25-22 loss was a match that the Giants could have won, and Shurmur's questionable decisions proved costly. The head coach will face another week of tough questions about the future of this team – and his quarterback – with five games to play.

Here are five observations of the last giants' trip to Philadelphia: