Eli Manning fumble seals game for Eagles

PHILADELPHIA — Anyone who guessed that this game would ultimately be decided by a quarterback running out of the pocket was correct. But no one figured Eli Manning would be the passer on the move.

Facing a fourth-and-6 from the 44 with a little more than three minutes remaining, Manning decided to do his best impression of Michael Vick. He took off out of the pocket and ran for 16 yards, enough for a first down. But as Manning attempted to slide, he hit the ground awkwardly and the ball popped out of his grip without contact from the Eagles. It was recovered by the Eagles, who used that fourth turnover (of five) of the game by the Giants to kick a field goal and seal a 27-17 win.

The battle for first place in the NFC East wound up not being a display of championship-crisp football, but a contest to see which team could manage to get out of its own way the best. In the end, it was the Eagles who were able to sidestep their own gaffes and take over sole possession at the top of the division.

The Giants actually had two turnovers on their final drive. Manning threw his second interception of the game on a pass that was tipped by Derek Hagan, but Asante Samuel [stats] fumbled it back to the Giants while trying to return it. The Giants were unable to take advantage of that gift and gave the ball right back to the Eagles on Manning’s awkward scramble.

"The callous disregard for the ball which has been going on for a year and a half here again cost us the game," coach Tom Coughlin said. "It would have been interesting to see what developed from that point on."

The Eagles took the lead for good on a 50-yard run by LeSean McCoy on a fourth-and-1 run. The Giants’ defense crashed on Vick on that play, and even though he bobbled the snap, he was able to pitch it outside to McCoy for the big gain. Two plays before, on third-and-6, Jason Pierre-Paul was called offside to set up the short-yardage situation. A two-point conversion pass made it 24-17 with 4:25 remaining.

The Giants weren’t the only team giving away free chances. A pass-interference call against the Eagles on a desperation heave by Manning for Mario Manningham late in the third quarter set up the Giants’ first touchdown, a 2-yard pass to Travis Beckum that cut the Eagles’ lead to 16-10.

On the Eagles’ next possession, Justin Tuck fought through a triple team to get to Vick and knock the ball from his hand while he tried to scurry away. Barry Cofield recovered it and two plays later, Manning threw a pass over the middle to Hagan — who wasn’t even on an NFL roster when Vick was lighting up the Redskins a week ago — for the go-ahead touchdown and a 17-16 lead with 13:35 remaining.

Earlier in the week, Coughlin had called the Giants’ turnovers "ridiculous" and several players, including Manning, had expressed frustration at their minus-5 differential coming into the game. Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride even suggested that the frustration was "a good thing" because it might snap the team out of what has become a season of giving.

Nope. The Giants had two turnovers deep in Eagles territory in the second quarter, a fumble by Ahmad Bradshaw that was ripped from him by Brandon Graham and recovered by Samuel, and an interception by Samuel, who jumped a slant route by Hakeem Nicks.

The Eagles’ offense could manage to turn those opportunities into only six points, however. DeSean Jackson got behind Terrell Thomas and Deon Grant in the end zone but dropped a low pass that would have been a touchdown after the Bradshaw fumble and the Eagles settled for a field goal. Then Jason Avant, following the Manning interception, dropped a ball while all alone in the back of the end zone. Another consolation prize gave the Eagles a 13-3 lead.

"You have to take care of the ball," Manning said prophetically during the week. "You can’t give their offense easy field position and momentum."

The Giants did — the first two times — and were somehow able to come away from it without giving the game away.

The Giants moved the ball a little and punted into the end zone on their next possession, giving the Eagles the ball with 1:43 remaining in the half. They drove it to the 15 but were pushed back by a clipping call against Todd Herremans against Chris Canty. Once again forced to settle for a field-goal attempt, the Eagles couldn’t even get the three points. Thomas shot around the right defensive corner and blocked a 42-yard attempt by David Akers as time expired.

Anyone tuning in expecting another blink-and-you-miss-it offensive performance by the Eagles would have been disappointed by the first half. The Eagles took a 7-0 lead on a 4-yard run by Vick, yes, but the entire drive took more than seven minutes to complete and lasted 13 plays. The Eagles converted a second-and-18 and a third-and-9 en route.

Their first drive of the second half was just as lumbering, needing 14 plays to go 82 yards before Akers kicked a 28-yard field goal to give them a 16-3 lead. The drive ate up the first 8:22 of the half.