blown calls and busted ankles

 If you told me week one that Cam Skattebo would miss a majority of his rookie year, I would have asked you how many concussions it took to do it. In no world would I imagine such a gruesome injury happening to such a strong human being.

(image via Matt Slocum - AP)

But Skatt wouldn’t have even been in that situation if it weren’t for the referees. Now, before I get into the officiating, let me be clear: I don’t believe the refs cost the Giants the win. However, they undoubtedly stripped them of their chance to stay competitive.

There were legitimately four or five blatant missed calls that went in favor of the Eagles, allowing the game to slip away from Big Blue. The most egregious, and the one that’s already going viral on social media, was Jalen Hurts’ non-fumble on the infamous “tush push.” I’m not exaggerating when I say it might be one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen on a football field.

During Philadelphia’s signature “brotherly shove” play, Hurts extended the ball to try and gain the first down, only to have it stripped cleanly by Kayvon Thibodeaux, who also recovered the fumble. Yet, the referees ruled that forward progress had been stopped and claimed the whistle had blown prior to the loss of possession. Despite forward progress being an unreviewable call, a furious Brian Daboll threw the challenge flag anyway, resulting in the Giants losing a timeout.

Watching the replay, not only was Hurts’ forward progress clearly not stopped, but the whistle wasn’t blown until after Thibodeaux had already recovered the ball. The image below shows the moment of the fumble and recovery, but I’d encourage anyone to watch the full clip, listening to when the whistle actually blows, and looking where the ball is at that moment.

That blown call immediately led to an Eagles touchdown, giving them a 14–7 lead. And on the very next possession, Cam Skattebo suffered a hip-drop tackle (another illegal play the refs failed to call) by Zach Baun, resulting in a dislocated ankle and a season-ending injury for Skatt.

(image via @draftkings on Facebook)

Other blown calls from Sunday include:

• An easy false start on Jordan Mailata that somehow went uncalled, and was instead flagged against the Giants’ defense.
• A block in the back on Wan’Dale Robinson, who barely grazed the defender who was already falling
• A blatant missed hold on Abdul Carter
• A questionable pass interference on Cooper after the ball had already been tipped. 
• An offensive push-off on Darius Slayton’s 68-yard touchdown from Jaxson Dart, despite clear replay evidence showing the defender grabbing Slayton’s wrist.

I hate to make it all about the officiating, but the refereeing in this game was genuinely horrid. That said, the Giants didn’t do themselves any favors either. The defense struggled to generate consistent pressure on the quarterback and allowed Saquon and company to run wild all afternoon.

Something I haven’t talked about much lately is the Giants’ offensive line. Since the return of Andrew Thomas, the unit has been rock solid and has been keeping Jaxson Dart upright for the most part. Early on, that trend continued, but as the game wore on, the pocket began to collapse. Philadelphia’s defensive front began to completely take over, bringing constant pressure and forcing Dart to make rushed decisions. 

Which brings me right into my main point. On Domwithablog's birthday, this team was fun again, but here we are two weeks later, looking at another lost season in New York. But this time it's different: We have our QB of the future. 

I have been so impressed with Jaxson Dart so far, each week he continues to escape the pocket, make plays with his feet, and find open receivers even with all the injuries. Dart has already been through hell, and it's not even Halloween yet, but he's done a phenomenal job overcoming all the adversity. Sure, it's gonna suck without Skattebo and Malik Nabers for the rest of the year, but if JD6 can continue to develop, just imagine how easy it's gonna be for him to run the offense with all of his boys healthy again next year.

A man can dream. 

Next up: the 49ers at home next week.