Where the 2-5 Giants go from here says a lot about what Brian Daboll, Joe Schoen have built

EAST RUTHERFORD - This was the play that defines what's left of the season for the New York Giants .

Daniel Jones sidestepped pressure, moving subtly away from a pocket that had been collapsing all game long.

Darius Slayton went streaking into a wide open void in the defense beyond the first-down sticks.

Jones fired behind Slayton, who reached back and attempted to make what would have been a difficult catch, to no avail.

The Giants had a chance to do something there that may have altered their fate, but came up empty.

It's quickly become the story of their 2024 season with concern that, absent of drastic on-field changes, it'll only get worse from here following Sunday's 28-3 loss to Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles.

"You can't circumstances within a game define who you are, no matter how much is going against you," Giants rookie nickel corner Dru Phillips told NorthJersey.com. "How you respond - that comes down to who you are, what you want out of this game, so we're gonna keep fighting. This is a league where things can turn around real quick."

The Giants are a great example of that, but the sentiment does not always reveal things in a good way.

The rousing upset of the Seattle Seahawks in the Pacific Northwest set the Giants up for a potential run at the NFC East, which at the time appeared to be in play for all four teams in the division. Two weeks later, in the aftermath of back-to-back defeats in which they scored a combined 10 points, the Giants are again reeling.

And everything about who they are and where they are going is going to draw scrutiny.

Suddenly, this becomes a pivotal juncture in the season for head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, and where this season goes from here is a destination clouded by uncertainty.

This isn't about job security or firings.

This has about finding answers to lingering issues that must be fixed in order for the Giants to again stabilize at 2-5.

Where the Giants go from here will say a lot about what Daboll and Schoen have built - and they need that foundation will hold up in this sudden storm in order to prove their worth.

Barkley and the Eagles turned his homecoming to MetLife Stadium into a laugher by the fourth quarter, as the Giants' offense led by Jones - despite the return of dynamic rookie receiver Malik Nabers - spent much of the game failing to get out of its own way.

Jones appeared again hesitant to pull the trigger on passes throughout. For the second straight week, the Giants produced zero explosive plays. Their biggest play went for 14 yards, and this after Daboll wisely declared that you can't win in this league by scoring seven points, which they did last Sunday night in a 17-7 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals.

That may have had something to do with the complete implosion of an offensive line playing for the first time this season without star left tackle Andrew Thomas, out for the season after surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury.

How miserable were the Giants offensively? Daboll pulled Jones with 11:26 left in the game, going to backup Drew Lock, who jogged off the sideline to cheers from the MetLife faithful, at least those who remained in the stands surrounded by invading Eagles fans.

Lock promptly fumbled the first snap before recovering and throwing wide to Wan'Dale Robinson, who was decked for a loss of two yards.

"We had 100 yards. Just trying to create a spark," Daboll said. "Daniel will be the quarterback going forward."

Barkley's much-publicized exit and subsequent trip down the Turnpike took center stage after a much-publicized divorce thanks in part to the "Hard Knocks" cameras this spring. That included Giants co-owner John Mara telling Schoen that he'd lose sleep if Barkley signed with the Eagles, which he did.

And Mara's nightmare played out Sunday, as if it were according to script, even if the Giants tried to keep the emotion out of their ultimate decision to not re-sign Barkley. Schoen promised he was strictly making the call based on positional value, his age and the analytics that indicated running backs' production drops off after age 27.

None of that mattered Sunday. Well, none of it served as any consolation to what transpired, and could not have helped in Mara's hope to get any rest for the foreseeable future.

Because Barkley took the boos early and often, hearing it from the home crowd every time he touched the ball.

His resounding answer, by the time he headed to the sideline late in the third quarter, spoke volumes if this was indeed supposed to be as promoted: a back-and-forth between team brass and a scorned one-time face of the franchise.

Barkley finished with 176 yards rushing and a second quarter touchdown on 17 carries, throwing a pair of vintage Barkley haymakers with runs of 55 and 38 yards.

"Got outcoached, got outplayed," Daboll said, and there is no argument on that front.

Jones finished 14-of-21 passing for 99 yards, and that only raises questions about whether Daboll should consider making a change at quarterback for next Monday night's game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

It's not like Lock offered up anything special, but the offense under Jones has been stuck in neutral, if not going sideways and backwards, for the past two weeks. The Giants have 10 touchdowns this season, third fewest in the NFL.

The Giants are averaging just 14.14 points per game this season and Daboll took over playcalling duties from offensive coordinator Mike Kafka this offseason with the goal of changing the perspective, the narrative and - most importantly - the results. That happened in spurts over the first month, but since that performance in Seattle, the Giants have failed to push the envelope and execute offensively in losses to the Bengals and the Eagles.

The Giants have not won at home this year, they've scored just one touchdown in MetLife and the fourth quarter performance against the Eagles was a sluggish, uninspired finish that brings into focus things that dog losing teams such as effort and a lack of emotion.

"No, I'm going to go back and watch it all. These guys have been busting it," Daboll said, answering a question as to whether he took issue with the effort of his players. "Again, when the score is what it is, make no excuses. None of it was where it needs to be."

Jones is not rising about the X's and O's to make plays most quarterbacks in this league are able to make.

The Giants did not get the ball to Nabers in the second half. Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns are clearly banged up. Thomas is out for the season. Kayvon Thibodeaux is on injured reserve following wrist surgery and not eligible to return until next month at the earliest.

And Barkley flashed that talent the Giants fell in love with back when they took him No. 2 overall at their expense, with all eyes on him as if this were a referendum on a decision that had little to do with how Sunday's game went down.

"We have nowhere to go from here but up," quipped Giants cornerback Tae Banks, who had his effort on a late Hurts scramble questioned after the game, and rightfully so.

Two weeks ago, the Giants were flying high on a trip back from Seattle. Now they're searching for answers and picking up the pieces of a season that is again on the brink.

That's how fast circumstances can change in the NFL once the snowball starts rolling down that proverbial hill.

Now we're going to find out just how strong the foundation we believe Daboll and Schoen have built actually is.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Where the 2-5 Giants go from here says a lot about what Brian Daboll, Joe Schoen have built