Two years ago, on the backs of a dominant defense, the Giants shocked the world by holding the New England Patriots to just 14 points. Today, I doubt the Giants could hold a peewee team, to two scores.

The most consistent identify of the team is a shadow of its former self, getting torched in a 45-38 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last night. The offense did its best to keep the team in the game, erasing an early 14-0 deficit to taking a 31-30 lead. But the lead lasted for all of 15 seconds before the defense allowed a one-play, 60-yard touchdown drive by the Eagles.

Tom Coughlin and the players are defending defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, laying the blame on themselves and giving Sherdan a free pass. But when the real only change from last season to this is the defensive coordinator, it’s impossible not to look to him as the source of your problems.

I would be extremely surprised to see Sheridan on the sidelines next season, and I think if he does return, it will signal another disastrous defense.

On offense, there has been a lot of talk about Eli Manning’s fumble. Manning ran for the first down after a Goff interception, but dove headfirst into the ground instead of going feet first. The impact jarred the ball free, and since Eli went down on his own, it was a live ball. But it really was a non-issue. The Giants’ offense quickly got the ball back, and proceeded to take the lead on a 61-yard catch and run by Dominick Hixon.

While the offensive playcalling was solid throughout, there was one play that was very troublesome. Facing a third and five at the Eagles’ 43-yard line and trailing 37-31, the Giants tried a shotgun draw. Apparently with the Eagles’ linebackers stacked to the right, offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride thought a counter left was ingenious. Eli Manning thought it was the perfect call. There was only one problem with this… it didn’t work. Ahmad Bradshaw got pulled down by an ankle for no gain, and the Giants had to punt. The defense then proceeded to allow a 91-yard touchdown drive that essentially ended the game.

Listen, I don’t care that it was the perfect call. You have a $100 million quarterback who was on fire, and an Eagles’ secondary that couldn’t tackle. Go with what works. Instead, the Giants tried to get fancy, and now their hopes for a second-consecutive NFC East title are dead. With three games to play, the Giants are two games behind Philadelphia, who owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The focus now has to turn to the wild card. The Packers appear to be running away with the fifth spot, leaving the Giants and Cowboys to battle for the sixth spot. The Cowboys are going down to New Orleans for a Saturday night game, and they’re gonna get smoked. The Giants have three very winnable games remaining against the Redskins, the Panthers, and a Vikings team that will probably have nothing left to play for in Week 17.