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Giants’ lifeless effort vs. Eagles calls everything into question — QB, coach, all of it

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Giants’ lifeless effort vs. Eagles calls everything into question — QB, coach, all of it

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — There have been plenty of times the New York Giants offense has needed a spark since Brian Daboll took over as coach in 2022. But he had never benched quarterback Daniel Jones based on performance.

That changed Sunday. With the Giants’ listless offense managing just 104 yards and 3 points in the first three quarters, Daboll pulled Jones. It made no difference, as backup quarterback Drew Lock failed to provide the “spark” Daboll was seeking in a demoralizing 28-3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Daboll says QB Jones ‘remains’ Giants starter despite benching vs. Eagles

Daboll immediately committed to Jones as the starter “going forward” in the opening statement of his morose postgame news conference. But nothing the coach said in the succeeding eight minutes suggested he believes Jones can turn around an offense that is averaging a pathetic 14.1 points per game.

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“I was trying to create some type of juice and maybe make a few plays and swing the momentum a little bit,” Daboll said. “But that didn’t happen.”

Benching Jones on Sunday feels like the beginning of the end of his six-year run as the team’s quarterback.

“I’m just going to prepare, go about my week doing what I need to do to prepare to play good football,” Jones said. “How (Daboll) sees that, the decisions he wants to make, that’s on him. That’s a better question for him. I’m just going to focus on myself.”

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Jones mostly stood by himself on the sideline, staring expressionless at the field after he was benched.

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“It was frustrating,” Jones said. “You want to be out there playing with your teammates and fighting to score points and move the ball. So, I was frustrated, but not my decision.”

There was always a two-year expiration date looming on this partnership after Jones signed a four-year, $160 million contract during the 2023 offseason. The Giants had an escape hatch built into the deal after this season, and it seemed obvious they intended to use it as they pursued quarterbacks in this year’s draft.

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But once the Giants failed to land any of the top three quarterbacks and took wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth pick, Jones got a stay of execution. Similar to 2022, he would have an opportunity to convince Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen that he could be a franchise quarterback worth building around.

Jones needed to play even better than in 2022, however, because the taste of last season’s injury-plagued disaster lingered. Jones hasn’t come close to clearing the bar that would give Schoen and Daboll any second thoughts about moving on after this season — assuming the duo will be making that decision.

Sunday’s lifeless effort calls everything into question. Even with Jones’ limitations, Daboll has failed to conduct a functional offense despite taking over play calling in his third season.

The Giants have scored one touchdown in four home games this season. They’ve averaged 7.8 points in their four losses at MetLife Stadium.

Compounding matters, the Giants were torched by Saquon Barkley for 176 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in his first game at MetLife Stadium as a member of the Eagles. That’s the same Barkley whose departure caused so much consternation for co-owner John Mara this offseason.

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Mara told Schoen he’d have “a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia” before the start of free agency. Sunday was the nightmare scenario for Mara.

The day began with Giants fans booing Barkley. But as the game progressed, the scorn from the home fans was redirected at Jones and the Giants.

The Giants are 2-5 and 0-3 against NFC East opponents. Schoen and Daboll are 1-10 in games against the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys during their three seasons, and that lone win came with the Eagles eventually resting their starters. The Giants are 10-21-1 since their 7-2 start to the 2022 season.

It’s hard to find hope after Sunday’s defeat.

“There’s a lot of ups and downs,” Daboll said. “Unfortunately, we’ve had more downs.”

Here are more takeaways from the loss:

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Banks account

Eventually, cracks would start to show in the Giants defense with how much of the burden has been placed on that side of the ball. So giving up some explosive plays to an Eagles team loaded with playmakers was understandable.

But a lack of effort can never be excused. Especially not from second-year cornerback Deonte Banks, who already was called out by defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson for not hustling after giving up a 55-yard touchdown catch to Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb in Week 4.

Yet, there was Banks, jogging as Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambled 16 yards for a first down on third-and-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter. This wasn’t the type of loafing that is only revealed after watching film. It was obvious immediately, as evidenced by Henderson’s outburst on the sideline in real time.

But there was no obvious punishment, such as a message-sending benching. Banks remained in the game as the Eagles finished the drive with a fourth-and-goal Hurts sneak to open up a 28-3 lead.

“I think I could have made it, but sometimes when you’re in that moment, you just think like, ‘Nah,’” Banks said. “But I think I could’ve made a tackle.”

These are the moments that can start to push a season off the rails. Banks is a young player who is full of talent but hasn’t accomplished anything in the NFL. Public criticism from his position coach didn’t get through, so Daboll needs to figure out how to curtail Banks’ lack of effort before it spreads to other players.

Whatever button Daboll plans to push, he declined to share after Sunday’s game.

“We’ll take a look at all that stuff and whatever we need to address, we’ll address,” Daboll said. “But the guys are putting effort into it each and every week. We’re just, unfortunately, not getting the results and it’s a results business.”

‘Outcoached’ and outclassed

Daboll said the Giants got “outcoached.” He won’t find many arguments.

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The Giants came out throwing despite the offensive line missing left tackle Andrew Thomas, who suffered a season-ending foot injury last week. The Giants had seven possessions in the first half and only called three handoffs, which produced just 4 yards.

Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni has his flaws, but he has established a DNA as an aggressive coach on fourth downs. The Eagles went 3-for-3 on fourth downs, producing an additional 15 points as a result.

Twice, Sirianni went for it on fourth downs inside the Giants’ 5-yard. The Eagles converted both to put touchdowns on the board instead of field goals. A fourth-and-3 gamble from the Giants’ 41-yard line in the second quarter resulted in a touchdown pass to AJ Brown to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Daboll punted on fourth-and-3 from the Eagles’ 43-yard line on the game’s opening possession. The Giants didn’t advance that deep into Philadelphia territory again until their final possession of the first half.

The Giants drove to the Eagles’ 10-yard line late in the second quarter before a Theo Johnson touchdown catch was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty. Faced with third-and-14 from Philadelphia’s 20 with 14 seconds remaining and no timeouts, Daboll elected to kick a 38-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-3 at the half. The Giants had time to take a shot at the end zone, but Daboll had no faith in his offense to execute.

“Just thought it was the best thing to do,” Daboll said.

Daboll waved the white flag early in the fourth quarter beyond the Jones benching. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and outside linebacker Brian Burns were lifted after the Eagles went up 28-3. That was understandable since both indispensable players missed practice time due to injuries last week.

Inside linebacker Bobby Okereke was also removed during the fourth quarter. Okereke had played 1,489 straight snaps since signing with the Giants, never leaving the field in more lopsided games last season.

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Removing the starters led to a particularly lackluster fourth quarter as fans flooded the exits as Lock (3-of-8, 6 yards) failed to provide any hope he’d be a significant upgrade on Jones.

O-line collapse

The offensive futility doesn’t rest solely on Jones’ shoulders. The pass protection was worse than it had been all season. Not surprisingly, that coincided with the first game missed by Thomas.

Josh Ezeudu appeared overmatched at left tackle, allowing sacks on two third downs in the first quarter. But Ezeudu was hardly alone in his struggles for a line that allowed eight sacks to an Eagles defense that had tallied just 11 sacks in its first five games.

It’s hard to calculate how much Thomas’ absence affects the rest of the line, but there is a residual impact. The Giants were forced to use tight ends and running backs to chip frequently on Ezeudu’s side. That keeps them from helping elsewhere on the line or being immediate outlets for Jones like they were when Thomas was left on an island at left tackle.

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Quick hits

• The dominant Giants’ pass rush was limited by the lopsided score. Hurts dropped back to pass 21 times. He completed 10 of 14 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown while being sacked four times and scrambling three times for 21 yards.

The Eagles had no reason to put Hurts and a banged-up offensive line at risk against the Giants’ strength because Barkley and Kenneth Gainwell (13 carries for 56 yards) were running wild. Lawrence had two sacks to boost his league-leading total to nine.

• Nabers averaged 8.8 catches for 96.5 yards in the first four games of the season before suffering a concussion that sidelined him for two weeks. He returned Sunday, managing just four catches for 41 yards on eight targets.

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• Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt left after failing to catch his lone target, a deep ball from Lock. Hyatt told NJ Advance Media that he suffered a cracked rib. Even if Hyatt misses time, it will hardly be noticed. He has one catch for 6 yards this season, and he only played three snaps Sunday.

Cornerback Cor’Dale Flott left with a groin injury in the second quarter. On the next play, Hurts hit Brown for the 41-yard touchdown after Nick McCloud was left in one-on-one coverage and missed his jam on the 6-foot-1, 226-pound receiver.

Linebacker Ty Summers, who has been a core special teamer, was carted off with an ankle injury suffered while covering a punt in the second quarter. With Summers likely set to miss time, the door is open for preseason standout Dyontae Johnson to be activated from injured reserve.

(Photo of Daniel Jones: Luke Hales / Getty Images)

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Trump admin says SJSU now faces ‘impending enforcement’ for transgender volleyball scandal conflict

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Trump admin says SJSU now faces ‘impending enforcement’ for transgender volleyball scandal conflict

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FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s Department of Education said it has notified San Jose State University (SJSU) that it faces “impending enforcement action” for its “refusal to comply with Title IX.” 

SJSU and the California State University (CSU) system filed a lawsuit earlier in March to challenge an Education Department investigation that determined the university violated Title IX in its handling of a biological male transgender volleyball player on a women’s team from 2022-24. 

Now, the administration is cracking down against that resistance. 

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“We have provided SJSU with multiple opportunities to resolve its Title IX violations with common sense actions: separating male and female athletes based on their biological sex, keeping men out of women’s locker rooms and bathrooms, restoring rightfully-earned titles and accolades to female athletes, and apologizing to the women forced to forfeit competitions to protect themselves,” Kimberly Richey, the department’s assistant secretary for civil rights, said in an announcement. 

“Yet, SJSU remains obstinate, choosing a radical ideology over safety, dignity, and fairness for its own students. With today’s action, the Department is putting the university on notice: comply with the law or risk losing its federal funding.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to SJSU and CSU for a response.

Brooke Slusser and Blaire Fleming of the San Jose State Spartans call a play against the Air Force Falcons on Oct. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

The conflict between Trump’s administration and the school stems back to the 2024 season, when a national controversy involving transgender player Blaire Fleming triggered an election-cycle media firestorm, all during Trump’s third White House campaign. 

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The Education Department’s investigation has claimed, “SJSU actively recruited and allowed a male to compete on the women’s indoor and beach volleyball teams and reportedly instructed members of the coaching staff not to tell the female players that the athlete was a male.” 

The investigation added that “on multiple occasions, the male athlete spiked the ball so forcefully that it knocked females on the opposing team to the ground.” 

One of the standout details of the investigation’s findings was that a female SJSU player “discovered that the male student had conspired to have a member of the opposing team spike her in the face during an upcoming match. SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected this female athlete to a Title IX complaint for reportedly ‘misgendering’ the male athlete when discussing this incident in online videos and interviews.” 

Former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser has included those allegations in her ongoing lawsuit against representatives of SJSU and CSU. 

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After SJSU and CSU announced they were suing the Trump administration to challenge the findings, Slusser, and other former NCAA players, came forward about their alleged experience during the scandal, and how it affected them, in recent interviews with Fox News Digital. 

Slusser, who shared an apartment with Fleming at SJSU without knowing the athlete’s birth sex, became the subject of viral debate after her interview reflecting on the experience sharing spaces with Fleming. 

“You find out you’re just chilling in a bed with a man that you have no idea about… I [was] unknowingly sharing a bed at that time with a man,” Slusser said, also alleging SJSU volleyball coach Todd Kress encouraged her to live in the same apartment as the trans teammate when another group of players was also looking for a final tenant. 

Former Utah State volleyball star Kaylie Ray told Fox News Digital that during matches against SJSU and Fleming in 2022 and ’23, before Fleming’s birth sex was known, she had teammates suffer finger injuries from the trans athlete’s spikes. 

“I had teammates who had seriously jammed their fingers, luckily not broken, but a handful of girls who had sustained minor injuries from the male player,” Ray said, adding, “We knew that if the male athlete had a phenomenal game, there was nothing we could do to stop that person.” 

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Ray’s Utah State team became one of five teams to forfeit at least one game to SJSU in 2024, seemingly in protest of Fleming. She says the forfeit impacted her team’s hopes of winning their fourth straight Mountain West championship. 

Meanwhile, the University of Wyoming forfeited two matches to SJSU in 2024. Former Cowgirls player Macey Boggs told Fox News Digital that the decisions to forfeit the games “permanently ruined” friendships among her teammates. 

“There were some of the girls who I really enjoyed, and we got along great, and then this situation came up, some conflict came up, and ultimately we went in separate directions because of that… as soon as we played in our last game, we all went in separate directions… it was hard to maintain those relationships,” Boggs said. 

SJSU was plagued by a separate Title IX violation in sports that it had to resolve with the Biden administration in 2021. The university ultimately came to a $1.6 million resolution with the Department of Justice in 2021. 

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The DOJ found that SJSU failed for more than a decade to respond adequately to reports of sexual harassment, including sexual assault, of female student-athletes by an athletic trainer then working at SJSU, beginning in 2009 when female student-athletes reported that the trainer subjected them to repeated, unwelcome sexual touching.

The department and SJSU entered into a comprehensive agreement to address the findings of the investigation, which began in June 2020 during Trump’s first term. 

Now, Trump’s current administration is giving the school 10 more days to comply with a series of resolution agreements to resolve the volleyball situation, or face enforcement action, including referral to the DOJ and termination of SJSU’s federal funding.

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‘I’m back’: Tiger Woods to play in TGL championship match with Masters status still unclear

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‘I’m back’: Tiger Woods to play in TGL championship match with Masters status still unclear

Some major Tiger Woods news broke Monday night.

It had nothing to do with the Masters — not directly anyway.

The 50-year-old golfing legend will be playing competitively for the first time in more than a year as his Jupiter Links team competes against Los Angeles in the second match of the best-of-three TGL finals Tuesday night in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

TGL is a high-tech, indoor golf league that uses simulators and real surfaces, founded by Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley in 2022. While a TGL match doesn’t present the same physical challenge as a PGA Tour event, the team event could serve as Woods’ first step toward playing at Augusta National on April 9-12.

Woods last played competitively March 4, 2025, in Jupiter’s final TGL match of that season. He missed all of the PGA season last year as he recovered from a 2024 back surgery and surgery in March 2025 for a ruptured Achilles tendon. Last fall, he underwent disk replacement surgery in his lower back.

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A five-time Masters winner, most recently in 2019, Woods is listed as a 2026 invitee on the tournament website but has yet to confirm his participation.

Last month at the Genesis Invitational, a reporter asked Woods if the Masters was “off the table” for him this year. Woods answered simply, “No.”

In the opening match of the TGL finals Monday night, Jupiter lost 6-5, with Kevin Kisner narrowly missing a birdie chip from 20 feet that would have won the match. Woods was on hand as a team captain and supporter, roles he has served all season.

After the match, Woods told reporters he felt bad for his players — Tom Kim, Max Homa and Kisner — but expressed optimism that Jupiter could still come back and claim the title. If Jupiter wins Match 2, a third match will take place immediately afterward to determine the TGL champion.

“We have possibly two more matches,” Woods said. “We’re not out of this.”

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Woods didn’t mention the possibility of placing himself in the next day’s lineup. After the news conference, however, TGL posted a graphic on X that showed what appears to be Woods’ torso and the words “He’s back,” along with the viewing information for Tuesday’s match.

Moments later, Jupiter Links posted a graphic on X that featured a photo of Woods and the quote, “I’m back.”

Woods will be replacing Kisner in the lineup for at least Match 2. It is unclear if Woods would take part in a possible third match.

Last week, after Jupiter clinched a spot in the finals, Woods told reporters he has been trying to play all season “but it just hasn’t worked out that way.” He added that the players had done well without him and implied that he didn’t foresee any changes ahead of the finals.

“I really don’t want to screw up the lineup,” Woods added. “I just want these guys to keep playing.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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John Daly calls himself a ‘jacka–‘ after falling down desert hill during tournament

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John Daly calls himself a ‘jacka–‘ after falling down desert hill during tournament

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Golf great John Daly shared a hilarious moment that may have been more serious after watching a video he posted on social media, calling himself a “jacka–” in the process. 

Daly was in desert terrain at the La Paloma Country Club for the Cologuard Classic, when he was trying to hit a shot onto a green when he lost his footing.

As he tried to gain traction in the sand, Daly’s feet fell from under him, and he slid down a long desert hill. Multiple people got involved, voluntarily jumping down the hill to see if Daly was all right. 

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John Daly of the United States plays a tee shot on the first hole during the second round of the Cologuard Classic 2026 at La Paloma Country Club on March 21, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Daly left unscathed, but he did enjoy putting the theme music to the “Jackass” franchise over the video to share to the masses. 

“Bellyfloppin’ in the desert,” Daly captioned the video, while shouting out his caddie, Joel Cooley, who sprang to action to see if his partner was doing fine at the bottom of the hill. 

“On today’s episode of ‘jacka**’” was also seen on top of the video. 

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While he doesn’t usually show off his bellyflopping, Daly remains a key figure in golf.

John Daly of the United States plays his second shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Cologuard Classic 2026 at La Paloma Country Club on March 20, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

He spends most of his time on the course for the Champions Tour, which is former PGA Tour players 50 years and older. His most recent round came on Sunday, where he finished tied for 29th with a 6-under tournament in the Cologuard Classic. 

Daly was just named the 2026 Ambassador of Golf Award honoree ahead of the Kaulig Companies Championship at the signature Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. The award recognizes those making an impact on the course as well as in their communities off the course. 

“I’ve always loved this game and what it’s given me,” he said in a press release for the award. “Golf has taken me places I never imagined and introduced me to incredible people along the way. To be recognized with the Ambassador of Golf Award is truly an honor, and I’m proud to support the meaningful work being done here in Northeast Ohio.”

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John Daly hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the PNC Championship 2025 at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Dec. 21, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Daly’s impact on the sport is quite iconic, whether it’s his monstrous drives from the tee box, winning the 1991 PGA Championship as the ninth alternate in the field, or taking home The Open Championship in 1995 at St. Andrews, forever marking himself as a multi-time major winner. 

His larger-than-life personality has always been on display, even today in silly moments like these on and off the course. 

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