The New York Giants closed out their 2024 regular season schedule with a trip down the New Jersey Turnpike to face the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

The Eagles began the week locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC and sat many of their key players, including former Giant running back Saquon Barkley, who was on pace to set a new NFL single-season mark for rushing yards.

The Giants were playing out the string and had most of their healthy starters on the field but played without inside linebacker Micah McFadden, center John Michael Schmitz, and right tackle Evan Neal again.

• The Giants could not muster much offense against an Eagles defense comprised of mainly backups. They had just 238 yards of total offense.
• The Eagles went 2-for-4 in the red zone, scoring two pass plays while the Giants only had one trip into the red zone and ended up kicking a field goal.
• The game was largely even statistically with the exception of penalties. The Giants had six for 40 yards while the Eagles had just one accepted penalty for zero yards.

Drew Lock’s pass deep left intended for Jalin Hyatt was intercepted  by Eagles defensive back Sydney Brown at the Philadelphia 33-yard line and returned to the Giants’ 46 with 36 seconds remaining in regulation.

That killed any hope the Giants had of a comeback victory and sealed the 20-13 win for Philadelphia.

The Buffalo Bills (13-3) embarrassed the New York Jets (4-12) 40-14 behind three defensive turnovers and five sacks.

The Jets were the preseason favorites to win the AFC East. But the real kings of the division swept the Jets for the first time since 2021.

In addition to being sacked four times, once for a safety, Aaron Rodgers completed 12-of-18 passes for 112 yards and two interceptions. In the fourth quarter, Tyrod Taylor eventually replaced him, who finished 6-for-8 for 46 yards and a touchdown.

Garrett Wilson finished with seven catches for 66 yards and a touchdown reception.Bills quarterback Josh Allen continued his MVP campaign with another solid game. He completed 16-of-27 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns before Mitchell Trubisky replaced him with a significant lead.

Sunday’s game against the Bills was a microcosm of the Jets’ season. Penalties, mistakes, and poor decisions plagued the Jets.

Juan Soto was introduced at Citi Field after his record $765 million, 15-year contract was finalized. He was flanked by Mets owner Steve Cohen, president of baseball operations David Stearns and agent Scott Boras. 

Cohen purchased the Mets ahead of the 2021 season and has boosted them to baseball’s highest payroll in search of the team’s first title since 1986.

The value of Soto’s contract eclipsed Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. The 26-year-old Soto batted .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks this year and has a .285 career average with 201 homers, 592 RBIs and 769 walks over seven seasons with Washington, San Diego and the Yankees.

Soto’s success will be determined by World Series titles. The Yankees have 27, the Mets two.

“It’s such a big city, right? There’s plenty of room for both of us,” Cohen said.