The absence of the team’s best cornerback, Janoris Jenkins, exposed how vital his work on the opposition’s top receiver is for a remodeled defensive unit to function. Jenkins rested on Thursday with a badly bruised back.

Without him, the Giants’ tackling in the secondary suffered, and other players had to step up. Eli Apple, who was thrust into the role of starting cornerback, gave up what proved to be the game-winning 40-yard touchdown on Thursday. He is having a fine rookie season, but he is not at Jenkins’s Pro Bowl level.

The Giants were already missing their best defender, Jason Pierre-Paul. Even one sack from Pierre-Paul, or a timely tackle of Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, whose scrambling bedeviled the Giants, could have been a significant play and led to a Giants victory.

It’s also time to recognize that the Giants are not a good road team. They are 3-4 in away games, including a neutral-site victory over the Los Angeles Rams in London.

Against better teams — Pittsburgh, Green Bay and Minnesota — the Giants have struggled even to be competitive on the road. The Giants will have to correct that to have any chance in the postseason, because they can only qualify as a wild-card team, which will require playing at least one game on the road.