The Giants blew a golden opportunity to take control of the NFC East by turning in a sloppy and defensively challenged performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, whose 45-38 win completed the series sweep.
New York, which outgained the Eagles 512 to 374 yards and who dominated the time of possession, hurt themselves with four turnovers, including two by QB Eli Manning, and one by RB Brandon Jacobs which resulted in CB Sheldon Brown returning the loose ball 60 yards to make it 14-0 Eagles in the first quarter.
They also easily left 14 points on the board as WR Mario Manningham twice failed to get both feet in bounds in the end zone after making a reception.
Over on defense, the Giants did a respectable job stopping the run, as they held the Eagles to 77 yards, but they once again fell victim to the big plays, one of which was a 60-yard touchdown pass to new Giant-killer WR DeSean Jackson, who soundly beat S Aaron Ross downfield for the score.
Jackson also hurt the Giant on special teams as his 72-yard punt return for a touchdown put the Eagles up 24-10 in the second quarter.
The Giants kept the game close through three quarters, as scores by 26 yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes, and touchdowns by Hakeem Nicks, Ahmad Bradshaw, Domenik Hixon and Brandon Jacobs at one point gave the Giants a 31-30 lead.
But the Eagles would not be denied first place, as the scored 14 unanswered points to boost their total to 45 before yielding a four-yard touchdown reception by TE Kevin Boss.
Although the Giants offense appears to have played well enough to win, the turnovers, penalties, and numerous dropped passes, along with the afore mentioned incomplete throws to Manningham, really hurt the team’s momentum. However when most people look back on this loss, chances are the defense will once again come under fire.
“This is kind of hard because we went out and practiced well,” said CB Corey Webster. “We had the opportunities out in front of us and we didn’t make the best of them. We let a lot of opportunities slip away. You can’t do that when you play against a good football team. We have to eliminate the turnovers and the big plays. And that is the only way you can stay close in this game.”
Coughlin shook his head when asked if he still has confidence in his team’s pass defense. “That’s not a great question. I didn’t think there was much pressure on the quarterback. We did not cover very well and we didn’t cover for very long.
All they can do now with there games remaining – all must wins --- is to keep on trying different alignments in hopes of finding the right combination. “We keep trying to maneuver people in and out of different spots to try and come up with a better answer. We will just have to keep doing it,” Coughlin said.
