If a normally patient New York Giants ownership group hoped to unearth a reason to keep hanging with Pat Shurmur, their task became tougher.
The Giants blew a 14-point halftime lead with a dreary second-half performance in a rain-soaked 23-17 overtime loss to the Eagles in Philadelphia. The defeat marked a ninth straight loss, tying a franchise record.
Asked if he thought he'd get a chance to coach for the record, Shurmur replied:
"Yeah, I do. But I just have to wait and see," he said, per the team's official transcript.
The Giants host the 3-10 Dolphins in Week 15. The matchup will be fascinating, as the two franchises sit in stark contrast. Miami's front office actively tanked, shedding all the sellable parts, but the coaching staff has done a splendid job piecing together the players given and have gelled into a watchable squad. The Giants entered the season believing they could compete, but the pervasive incompetence has overflowed out of New York, sinking them to a 2-11 record.
Shurmur brushed aside questions about the ninth straight loss.
"Ties a franchise record? Yeah, it's not something that you want to be a part of. That's what I think," he said. He added: "I have no thoughts on that. We lost a game tonight and I think that's what we're talking about. Unfortunately, that's our reality right now and I have no thoughts on that other than the fact that we lost the game tonight."
In the first half, it looked like the return of Eli Manning might have sparked something, as the Giants splashed their way to a 17-3 lead in the rain with big plays from the QB and a defense that seemed to put it together.
Then, as it has time and time again during the streak of futility, the bottom predictably came out, with Big Blue morphing into a sieve on defense and the offense reverting back to its catatonic state. After halftime, the Giants gained just two first downs, 29 total net yards and zero drives of more than four plays in seven possessions.
"But our guys fought really, really hard and [the Eagles] did a good job of beating us here at the end," Shurmur said. "Those of us that are here won a lot of games before we got [to New York] and we just have to fight through it and do the very best we can to keep going. Even though the results aren't where we want [them] -- we don't have an opportunity to go beyond the next three games -- we have to do everything in our power to make those games as meaningful as possible, and that means getting wins."
For an offensive coach, the Giants' inability to move the ball with any regularity this season is damning. Getting pantsed by Doug Pederson repeatedly on national television might be worse. It's one thing for a team with lesser talent to go on losing binges. It's quite another to get heavily out-coached on a week-to-week basis.
The pitchforks are out for Shurmur in New York. No attempt to distract the hometown fans with a Manning return will help. Whether he survives even the week now seems to be in question. If he makes it into January, the locals might revolt.
