Welp, Philadelphia Eagles fans got their wish with having Joe Milton III starting at quarterback in Week 9 against the New York Giants. The final result of that performance? Eh.
Milton took over as the Eagles' starting quarterback for Tanner McKee after McKee went 0-3 in the last three games. McKee was filling in for Jalen Hurts, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with blood clots. The Eagles signed Milton after Hurts' injury.
Many Eagles fans were calling for Milton to start at quarterback to see what they had in him. Not many walked away impressed with that performance.
Joe Milton showed flashes in first half as Eagles QB
Milton got off to a slow start in the first half, which is pretty typical for the Eagles' offense, with a three-and-out on the first drive. It didn't help that he was called on a penalty on the very first play of the Eagles' opening drive. Their second drive, though, showed why they promoted Milton.
He threw a 12-yard completion to Dallas Goedert and ran for 19 yards. Milton also went deep to Darius Cooper, but the pass was incomplete; however, he got a defensive pass interference call that gave the Eagles 30 yards. Saquon Barkley closed the drive with a touchdown, and Milton got the two-point conversion.
The rest of the half, though, wasn't good: the Eagles had two three-and-outs, and Milton fumbled an unblocked sack and a forced fumble. Philly gained 121 yards on offense, and the Eagles somehow led 8-6 at halftime.
First Half Stats: 8-14 for 87 yards, five carries for 24 yards, two-point conversion, one fumble
Joe Milton's second half was about as dull as it could have been
There really isn't much to highlight from the second half. The Eagles had three three-and-outs and gained only 94 yards, scoring three points.
Milton had to handle a lot of the work with running the football, as the passing game was a mess overall. He had no protection; the wide receivers dropped passes, and Milton missed open receivers.
Overall, Milton had an ugly, disappointing second half. He couldn't do much for the team, as the Eagles lost to the Giants 19-11.
Final Game Stats: 18 of 34 for 169 yards, nine carries for 64 yards, two-point conversion, one fumble
Grading Joe Milton III's overall performance in the Eagles' loss to the Giants
Let's start with how bad everyone was on offense around Milton. His pass-catchers dropped four passes; his offensive line allowed seven sacks, and the rushing attack averaged 1.8 yards per carry when Milton wasn't running it. Oh, and the Eagles were called on six penalties for 56 yards.
As for Milton, he wasn't responsible for half the game's problems. He had very little support from most of the players on offense.
He made some things happen with his legs, and his willingness to throw it deep at least gave the Eagles a chance. It wasn't pretty, but Philly at least played aggressively.
Still, Milton missed many throws in the game. Sometimes he held on to the ball too long and had to run it to make something happen, which turned into a negative play.
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Overall, Eagles were hoping to see more out of Milton, but he is stuck with a horrible offensive line, a bunch of backup skill players, and a banged-up Barkley. Milton did the best he could in the game, but there was never going to be much hope for him to play well.
The real question is whether Milton showed he could be the long-term backup quarterback for the Eagles in this game. For the moment, not really.
Grade: C-
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