PHILADELPHIA — If something is hurting, the Giants are the balm.
If you are down, the Giants will lift you up.
If there is a losing skid to stop, call in the Giants to stop the losing.
Playing the role of the dutiful overmatched underdog, the Giants did what has come to be expected of them in this place, against this opponent.
They spent their Christmas falling far behind, staged a mini-rally to the disgruntlement of the Philly fans but the disgruntlement did not stick. A 20-3 deficit was cut to 20-18 but the Giants ultimately did what comes naturally to them against this team in this venue, losing 33-25 to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday night.
At least they put up a fight.
The Giants could have folded as they left the field at halftime, down by 17.
Coach Brian Daboll pulled the plug on Tommy DeVito and inserted veteran Tyrod Taylor in at quarterback.
DeVito was 9 of 16 for 55 yards in the first half, with one run for 5 yards and one sack. The Giants had 101 total yards of offense at the time of the switch.
The beat goes on for the Giants, who have now lost five consecutive games to the Eagles, and lost their 11th straight game at the Linc.
Taking the depressing stretch of ineptitude even further, the Giants are now 6-26 in their last 32 games in this lopsided series.
This loss means the Giants (5-10) own the ignominy of double-digit losses in eight of the past 10 seasons.
DeVito, the undrafted rookie from Cedar Grove, N.J., made local and then national headlines by winning three consecutive games, celebrating touchdowns with an Italian-based hand gesture and for the “Tommy Cutlets’’ aura he and his family embraced.
DeVito did not turn the ball over but did not do much in last week’s 24-6 loss in New Orleans.
He was cautious with the ball and not seeing the field as sharply as he needed to, prompting Monday’s benching.
With Taylor on the field, the Giants pulled within 20-10, taking advantage of a Boston Scott fumble on the kickoff return to open the third quarter.
Saquon Barkley scored from 7 yards out to complete a 14-yard “drive.’’
Next, the Eagles marched from their own 6-yard line to the Giants’ 18 before a stunning turn of events. Jalen Hurts threw behind tight end Dallas Goedert and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson was there for the interception, with open field down the right sideline.
He sprinted 76 yards for a touchdown, with Hurts hauling Jackson down in the end zone with a horse-collar tackle.
Daboll opted to enforce the penalty on the two-point conversion and from the 1-yard line, Barkley took the shotgun snap and crashed into the end zone. The Giants, with nine seconds remaining in the third quarter, were within 20-18.
The Eagles fans were booing and chanting “run the ball’’ as Hurts misfired twice to set up a third-and-20 from the Philly 26.
A defensive stop would have kept the momentum going for the Giants. It did not happen.
With cornerback Deonte Banks forced out with a shoulder issue, Hurts hit A.J. Brown for 32 yards. Order was restored.
D’Andre Swift scored on a 5-yard run and the Eagles expanded their lead to 27-18 with 11:07 left.
Taylor threw wide of Wan’Dale Robinson on fourth down, the Eagles tacked on a field goal but Taylor hit Darius Slayton on a 69-yard touchdown to pull the Giants within five points with 5:22 remaining.
The Eagles took 4:12 off the clock and Jake Elliott hit a 43-yard field goal with 1:10 left for a 33-25 lead.
Taylor hit Darren Waller for 21 yards to the Philly 26-yard line, but Taylor’s final throw was intercepted in the end zone by Kelee Ringo as time expired.
The Eagles had been struggling — past tense.
Their high-flying ways were grounded with three consecutive losses, dropping their record from an NFL-best 10-1 to 10-4, which put them no longer in the driver’s seat in the NFC playoff chase for the No. 1 seed.
The Eagles needed to get well and they did against their annual patsy.
The last time the Giants were on this field they were blasted 38-7 in last year’s NFC divisional playoff game.
This one also started badly. Britain Covey’s 54-yard punt return set the Eagles up on the Giants’ 13-yard line and two plays later Hurts scored on a quarterback sneak/Tush Push/Brotherly Shove.
Barely two minutes into the game, Hurts notched his 15th rushing touchdown, the most by a quarterback in one season in NFL history.
DeVito kept the ball moving with short completions but threw behind Waller over the middle on third down, forcing the Giants to settle for Mason Crosby’s 52-yard field goal to make it 7-3.
Hurts ran for 16 and then fired over the middle to DeVonta Smith, who badly beat cornerback Cor’Dale Flott for an easy walk-in 36-yard touchdown hookup to make it 17-3.
The Giants made a quarterback switch and game of it, but not enough to produce the upset.
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