NFL2026-11-03Nick Sirianni Sticks With Tanner McKee After a Sixth Straight Loss, and the NFC East-Leading Giants Are Favored in Philadelphia
By Verdexed NFL Desk
The Philadelphia Eagles lost for the sixth straight game on Sunday night, falling 27-10 in Washington, and coach Nick Sirianni responded on Monday by changing nothing. Tanner McKee stays at quarterback and Sean Mannion keeps play-calling duties, Sirianni said, taking responsibility for the slide himself. The Eagles are 2-6 and rank 30th in the league in scoring.
Their reward is a Week 9 home game against the New York Giants, who lead the NFC East and opened as road favorites of about three points. A year ago, that line would have been absurd. Now it reflects how far Philadelphia has fallen without Jalen Hurts, and it has real consequences for fantasy managers holding Eagles skill players.
How Sunday night unraveled
Washington scored 27 straight points after a sluggish start, with McKee's turnovers fueling the run. He finished 23 of 34 for 212 yards with an interception and a lost fumble. Jayden Daniels was efficient rather than spectacular for the Commanders, throwing for 217 yards and a touchdown.
With DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks both out, rookie Makai Lemon became McKee's primary target and caught six of nine targets for 57 yards. Here is how the Eagles' main contributors finished.
| Player | Line | Turnovers |
|---|---|---|
| Tanner McKee | 23 of 34, 212 yards | 2 (INT, fumble) |
| Makai Lemon | 6 catches on 9 targets, 57 yards | 0 |
| Jayden Daniels (WAS) | 16 of 29, 217 yards, 1 TD | 0 |
Why Philadelphia is stuck
Hurts is not expected to return this season. He is on blood thinners to treat clots in both lungs, and the team and his agent have said they expect a full recovery, but not in time to rescue 2026. The roster around McKee has also thinned: Lane Johnson retired suddenly, center Cam Jurgens was traded, and the skill-position group has been hit by injuries.
Sirianni's decision to keep McKee and Mannion signals the Eagles see no better option on the roster. Reports also suggest general manager Howie Roseman is not planning a full sell-off before the Nov. 10 deadline, and the Eagles have reportedly told teams they are not looking to trade Saquon Barkley. That leaves the offense essentially as it is for the rest of the year.
Fantasy fallout: Eagles
Saquon Barkley is still an RB1 by volume, but his touchdown upside has shrunk in an offense averaging about 17 points per game. Defenses have little reason to respect the pass, and Barkley has been forced to create on his own. He stays in lineups, but managers should expect more solid-but-unspectacular weeks than the league-winning spikes of past seasons.
Makai Lemon is the name to know. When Smith and Wicks are out, the rookie has been McKee's first read, and nine targets is starter-level volume. If either veteran misses Week 9, Lemon is a flex play in PPR leagues; if both return, his role shrinks.
Tanner McKee remains a QB2 at best, and his turnover rate makes the Giants' defense an appealing streamer.
The Giants come in rested and confident
The Giants hit their bye at 4-2-1 and atop the NFC East after a 27-21 overtime win over Houston. They have done it without Jaxson Dart, whose knee injury was season-ending, with J.J. McCarthy taking over after arriving from Minnesota in September. Coach John Harbaugh's team has won with defense and a ball-control offense, which fits neatly against a Philadelphia attack that cannot sustain drives.
For fantasy, McCarthy is a low-end QB2 whose job is to avoid mistakes, and the Giants' defense is a strong streaming play against an offense that just gave the ball away twice in prime time. Reports say the Giants were also exploring running back help before the deadline, a situation worth watching for anyone rostering their backfield.
The betting angle
The market has the Giants between -2.5 and -3.5 with a total around 40, one of the lowest on the Week 9 board. That total is the most telling number: books expect a field-position game with few explosive plays.
| Market | Giants | Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Spread (range across books) | -2.5 to -3.5 | +2.5 to +3.5 |
| Total | 39.5 to 40.5 | 39.5 to 40.5 |
A rested team off a bye facing a team on a six-game skid is a classic setup that public bettors will hit hard. The counterpoint is that low totals compress margins, and a divisional game played in the 30s can easily land within a field goal, which makes the key number of 3 decisive. Bettors who like the Giants are better served at -2.5 than -3.5. Verdexed's view on the matchup will appear in the Week 9 picks piece at /blog/nfl-week-9-picks-2026, with the model's live numbers on the /nfl/predictions page.
What's next
The Eagles' coaching situation is the long-term story. Sirianni has now matched the kind of losing run that has cost previous Philadelphia coaches their jobs, and reports have floated the possibility of a January change if the season ends below .500. For this week, though, nothing changes in the huddle.
What to do in your league: keep Barkley in lineups as a volume RB1 with a lowered ceiling, pick up Lemon in PPR leagues if the Eagles' veteran receivers remain sidelined, stream the Giants' defense, and avoid both quarterbacks in one-quarterback formats.