EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. − The Eagles' starters rested in their 27-10 loss to the Giants on Sunday.

But most of them weren't officially taken out of the game until the start of the third quarter. By that point, the Eagles fell behind 24-0, their biggest deficit of the entire season.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and the offense put in a dreadful performance, as did the defense which made yet another backup quarterback seem like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning rolled into one.

Adding injury to insult, several key Eagles suffered injuries on the unforgiving MetLife Stadium turf. That included star receiver A.J. Brown, who left in the first quarter with a knee injury; two defensive backs in Sydney Brown (knee) and Reed Blankenship (groin); and right guard Cam Jurgens (eye).

The NFL Network reported that Sydney Brown tore his ACL, meaning the rookie will likely miss most of next season too. A.J. Brown was seen in the locker room walking without a limp, or without a bulky brace, an indication that his injury might not be as bad as it seemed.

In addition, Hurts injured his finger in the first half on a fourth-down pass early in the second quarter. An AP photo showed Hurts' middle finger on his right, or throwing, hand, grotesquely bent. Hurts went in the medical tent during the Giants possession, but he didn't miss a snap until he was pulled in the final minute of the first half.

"It popped out," Hurts said of his finger. "I’m taking it day by day at this point. It’s a very unfortunate, crazy thing. I never experienced anything like that."

That's pretty much the sentiment of the entire team as the Eagles (11-6) finished the regular season losing 5 of 6 games. And it leaves serious questions about the Eagles' belief in head coach Nick Sirianni as they went from a 10-1 record and No. 1 overall seed to the wildcard round.

The Eagles will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs next Monday night. The Buccaneers (9-8) clinched the NFC South on Sunday.

Had the Eagles beaten the Giants (5-12) and Washington knocked off the Cowboys, the Eagles would have been the No. 2 seed, with two home games before the NFC Championship.

With so much on the line, the Eagles played their starters instead of resting for the playoffs, and then they played like they were resting anyway.

And yet, there was defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, a 12-year veteran who actually did rest on Sunday, giving an impassioned speech about how he's certain the Eagles can turn around their season.

"We just got beat up pretty good by a really bad football team," Cox said. "Let’s just say that. Again, we get to go out and play again next week ... I know the guys we got in this locker room. This team won 11 games. You know how hard that is to do that in the NFL, to win 11 professional football games? It’s really, really hard.

"You know how hard it is to get into the postseason? It’s really, really hard. You know how many teams are having exit meetings (Monday)? A whole lot of them. We’re not one of those teams. We’re going to keep fighting, and that’s the end of it."

The Eagles have a long way to go before they can put off those exit meetings for more than one week.

That's because things went from bad to worse early.

But let's start with Sirianni. After a second straight loss to a sub-.500 team with nothing to play for, Sirianni was once again faced with questions about whether the players have lost faith in him.

"I know I felt in that locker room that we’ve got a lot of belief," Sirianni said. "We're in the playoffs, and we're moving onto Tampa Bay, and everything. Everybody's got to give everything they’ve got this week. Myself, starting with the coaches, putting the plan together, and then everybody in that locker room."

It sure hasn't happened lately.

The Eagles were poised to take the lead after the Giants started out with a field goal. On 2nd-and-9 from the Giants 27, Hurts hit A.J. Brown on a slant over the middle for 9 yards. But Brown fumbled the ball away, then he fell to the ground grabbing his right knee.

Brown, who came into the game with 1,447 yards, stayed down on the ground for a few minutes as teammates kneeled down near him in prayer. He got up, slowly walked off the field into the medical tent.

He was then taken to the locker room and ruled out. The extent of the injury is not known. But with both him and DeVonta Smith dealing with injuries, it's not promising for the playoffs.

It certainly wasn't for this game as the Eagles were left with Quez Watkins and Julio Jones at wide receiver. They came into the game with a combined 16 catches this season. Watkins finished with 8 catches for 93 yards, surpassing his season totals coming into the game of 7 catches for 49 yards.

Then Hurts hurt his finger while throwing on a 4th-and-3 from midfield early in the second quarter. Hurts went into the medical tent as the Giants took possession and stretched their lead to 10-0 on the first of Saquon Barkley's two rushing touchdowns.

Hurts stayed in the game for the Eagles' next possession. But it didn't matter. The offense couldn't get anything going, as Hurts finished 7-for-16 for 55 yards and an interception.

The defense was once again exposed by Tyrod Taylor, who completed 15 of 20 passes for 229 yards in the first half. He finished 23 of 32 for 297 yards.

Taylor hit Barkley for a 46-yard pass deep down the sideline to the Eagles' 19 as edge rusher Nolan Smith futilely gave chase with 2 minutes left in the first half. On the next play, Taylor hit Darius Slayton for a 19-yard TD, and the Giants led 24-0.

When the Eagles got the ball back with a minute left, Marcus Mariota was at quarterback. His first pass was intercepted deep in Eagles' territory.

After that, the Eagles officially rested their starters. Not that anyone could tell the difference.

But they still had to play the second half. Now the playoffs await.

"Right now, regardless of what’s going on outside of us, anything external, it’s about controlling what we can," Hurts said. "I truly believe this team is more than capable of taking advantage of what’s in front of us.

"You have to do the work, and do what you need to do, but all you need is a crumb."

The Eagles have that crumb. Whether it's more than that depends on the Eagles.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Philadelphia Eagles' late-season struggles continue with loss in New York