Giants Comeback vs. Eagles Falls Short, 22-16

It was a surprisingly competitive game for the New York Giants, who fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 22-16 in their regular-season finale. New York finished the regular season at 9-7-1 and a playoff berth, their best finish since 2016.

The game itself had no purpose to the Giants; they were guaranteed to finish as the sixth seed in the NFC, regardless of the game’s result. Not wanting to risk injuries for a team that has already been ravaged by them, coach Brian Daboll chose to rest most of the team’s key starters.

QB Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley, the catalysts of New York’s offense, earned a well-deserved rest. Jones had the best season of his career up to this point, while Barkley enjoyed a Pro Bowl campaign that was his best since his rookie season. Both are set to make their first playoff appearances in their young careers. Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, also selected for the Pro Bowl, got the day off as well.

In contrast, the Eagles played all of their starters, needing to win to clinch the NFC East and the number one seed in the conference, which they ultimately accomplished.

New York started Davis Webb at quarterback; in his first career start, Webb completed 23 of 40 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 41 yards and another score. Backup running back Gary Brightwell rushed for 60 yards on 11 carries and added 64 yards on a pair of kickoff returns.

The Giants went three-and-out on the game’s opening drive, and the Eagles went to work. On their first play from scrimmage, Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts connected with receiver A.J. Brown for a 35-yard completion into New York territory. A subsequent 14-yard completion to Quez Watkins set up Jake Elliott’s 32-yard field goal, putting Philadelphia ahead 3-0.

After another three-and-out by the Giants offense, the Eagles stormed down the field again. Brown provided the spark again when he hauled in a 37-yard pass from Hurts, and Giants’ nemesis Boston Scott scored from eight yards out to complete a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive and extend the lead to 10-0.

New York responded by moving into field goal range. Webb completed a 16-yard pass to Lawrence Cager on 3rd and 6, and an unnecessary roughness call on Philadelphia during a Webb scramble would move the ball to the Eagles’ 29-yard line. But facing 4th and 8, the Giants attempted a fake field goal, which quickly failed when punter/holder Jamie Gillan was sacked for 11 yards.

After both teams punted, the Eagles had great field position at the Giants' 39. Although the offense went three-and-out, Elliott made it 13-0 Eagles when he drilled a 52-yard field goal.

The Giants put together a drive that went as far as the Philadelphia 40, but an intentional grounding call on Webb resulted in a massive 16-yard loss and forced the offense to punt. Philadelphia’s offense then marched to the Giants’ 10, but a pair of sacks forced them to settle for Elliott’s 39-yard field goal, his third of the half, making it 16-0 Eagles at halftime.

With nothing to lose, the Giants attempted an onside kick to start the second half, but the Eagles quickly recovered the ball and had great field position at the New York 48. They proceeded to move to the Giants’ 2-yard line but came up empty-handed; after an Eagles touchdown was negated by penalty, rookie safety Dane Belton intercepted Hurts in the end zone.

Philadelphia quickly got the ball back after forcing a punt and moved 36 yards in 10 plays. This set up Elliott’s 54-yard field goal, his fourth of the night, extending the lead to 19-0.

The Giants finally responded and broke up the shutout, driving 69 yards in nine plays. The drive started with 55 yards in three plays, consisting of a 14-yard pass to Cager, a 16-yard run by Matt Breida, and a 25-yard run by Gary Brightwell. The drive stalled when the offense was flagged for delay of game on back-to-back plays, but Graham Gano kicked a 24-yard field goal to cut the Giants’ deficit to 16.

After forcing the Eagles to punt, the Giants suddenly leaped back into the game with a 10-play, 59-yard touchdown drive. Cager made a key catch on 4th-and-1 near midfield, and a 17-yard run by Brightwell and a 12-yard reception by Cager moved the ball inside the red zone. Webb scored his first professional touchdown on a 14-yard run, making it 19-9 after the two-point conversion attempt failed.

But the Eagles finally put the game away by moving 71 yards in 15 plays, chewing up over six and a half minutes. Elliott kicked his fifth field goal, a 22-yarder, extending the lead to 22-9.

The Giants concluded the scoring (and their regular season) with a 7-play, 54-yard touchdown drive. Brightwell gave his team good field position by returning the kickoff to the Giants 46, and the drive continued with a 4th down conversion by Webb. On the next play, Webb threw his first career passing touchdown, a 25-yard strike to Kenny Golladay, who finally scored his first touchdown as a Giant.

The sixth-seeded New York will visit the third-seeded Minnesota Vikings next week in the first round of the NFC playoffs.

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