Giants.com brings you an instant postgame recap of Thursday's matchup with the Eagles:
AT A GLANCE
Needing one win in their final two games, the New York Giants will have to wait to clinch their first playoff berth since 2011. Big Blue fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-19, on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Giants, however, can still clinch in Week 16 with a loss or tie from any of the following teams: Detroit (at Dallas), Green Bay (vs. Minnesota), or Tampa Bay (at New Orleans). They can also clinch with an Atlanta loss (at Carolina). Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys sealed the NFC East title and the No. 1 seed with the Giants falling on Thursday.
UP NEXT
The Giants wrap up the regular season with a trip to play the Redskins at FedEx Field. Washington won the first meeting, 29-27, in the Giants' only home loss of the season. Big Blue has lost its last two games against the Redskins following a five-game winning streak over the division rival.
WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE OFFENSE
Ball security continued to be a problem for the Giants. On the second drive of the game, QB Eli Manning threw an interception to S Malcolm Jenkins, who returned it 34 yards for a touchdown and a quick 14-0 lead for the Eagles. Manning threw two more in the fourth quarter, including a last-ditch attempt with five seconds remaining, and now has 15 on the season after having 14 in each of the previous two years...WR Victor Cruz, playing in his first game at Lincoln Financial Field since suffering a serious knee injury there on Oct. 12, 2014, caught eight passes for 84 yards…With a 13-yard score right before halftime, rookie WR Sterling Shepard has caught a touchdown in six of the last seven games since the bye week (eight for the season)…The Giants continued to feed rookie RB Paul Perkins, who carried the ball 15 times for a career-high 68 yards as the team totaled 114 yards on the ground. Perkins also added one catch for 9 yards…WR Odell Beckham Jr. eclipsed 100 yards for the fourth time this season, finishing with 11 receptions for 150 yards.
WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE DEFENSE
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins, one of four Giants named to the 2017 Pro Bowl this week, did not play because of a back injury that he suffered in Week 16 against Detroit. Jenkins traveled with the team and worked out for the medical staff on the field before the game…Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie started in place of Jenkins and intercepted rookie QB Carson Wentz early in the second quarter. It was Rodgers-Cromartie's fourth pick of the season and second in back-to-back weeks…The Giants, who allowed just one touchdown (13 points) in their previous two games, gave one up on the Eagles' opening drive…Backup Chase Daniel replaced Wentz after the No. 2 overall draft pick left late in the third quarter to be evaluated for a head injury. Wentz returned later in the game…The Giants had a key goal-line stand with 1:10 left in the third quarter. On fourth-and-goal at the 1, LB Devon Kennard and DE Kerry Wynn stonewalled RB Ryan Mathews for a 1-yard loss. Remarkably, the Giants did it without run-stuffer Damon Harrison, who injured his knee on the prior play. Harrison was able to return later in the game…The 24 points were the most allowed by the Giants since losing 24-14 in Pittsburgh in Week 13.
WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE SPECIAL TEAMS
K Robbie Gould made all four of his field goal attempts with a long of 41 yards...P Brad Wing, who just became the first Giants player ever to win back-to-back Special Teams Player of the Week awards, had one punt downed at the 2…In his first game since being named to the Pro Bowl as a special teamer, Dwayne Harris put the ball on the ground on a punt return in the second quarter, but the Giants recovered the forced fumble.
INACTIVES
NYG: CB Janoris Jenkins (back), DE Jason Pierre-Paul (core muscle), S Nat Berhe (concussion), WR Tavarres King, RB George Winn, OT Will Beatty (lower leg), DE Ishaq Williams.
PHI:WR Paul Turner, CB Dwayne Gratz, DE Steven Means, G Josh Andrews, G Dillon Gordon, OT Vaitai Halapoulivaati (knee), DT Taylor Hart.
LINEUP CHANGES
NYG:Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for Jenkins at RCB.
PHI: Lane Johnson for Vaitai at RT.
GIANTS GAME CAPTAINS
WR Odell Beckham Jr., DE Olivier Vernon, and LG Justin Pugh were the game captains. QB Eli Manning, LB Jonathan Casillas, and LS Zak DeOssie are season-long captains.
INJURY REPORT
NYG:DT Damon Harrison (knee, returned).
PHI: OL Allen Barbre (hamstring), S Jaylen Watkins (concussion), CB Carson Wentz (evaluated for head injury, cleared concussion protocol), RB Ryan Mathews (stinger)
