WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE GIANTS:
1 No quit — The Eagles jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, but the Giants battled back. Eli Manning threw for 391 yards and his 61-yard bomb to Domenik Hixon gave them a brief 31-30 lead in the third quarter.
2 Third downs — Suddenly, third down conversions weren’t so hard to convert, as Big Blue kept the chains moving wice on its five-play, 83-yard first-quarter touchdown drive.
3 Red zone — The Giants went 3-for-4 in the red zone, including a late TD to Kevin Boss.
WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE GIANTS:
1. Defense optional — The Giants gave up 275 yards passing on just 17 completions. They actually outgained the Eagles, but blown coverages in the secondary led to big plays for Philly.
2 Catch him if you can — DeSean Jackson, who sat out last week with a concussion, lit up the Giants for 178 yards on six receptions and a touchdown. The speedster also scored on a 72-yard punt return. He helped Philly bust out to a 14-0 lead, as the two teams to combined for 47 first-half points. “It killed me watching from home last week,” he said.
3 Can’t get off the field — Trailing only by six points in the fourth, the Giants just couldn’t hold. A Jeff Feagles punt pinned Philadelphia at its own 9, yet the Eagles proceeded to march 91 yards on 12 plays in 7:24 to regain a 14-point lead.
BY THE NUMBERS:
The big plays were abundant, as Philly hung 30 first-half points on
New York; the Giants had scoring plays of 68 and 61 yards; the
diminutive DeSean Jackson was a Giant killer with scoring plays of 72
[punt] and 69 [reception] yards. It was Jackson’s eighth touchdown
reception of 50-plus yards tied him with the most by a rookie in a
single-season [Devin Hester in 2006 and Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch in
1951].
GOOD DAY:
Steve Smith broke the Giants’ single-season receiving record, early in the third quarter, on his fifth reception of the game, breaking Amani Toomer’s mark of 84. Smith, who finished the game with seven catches for 74 yards, now has 89 receptions on the season.
BAD DAY:
Carelessness. The Giants’ four turnovers were too much to overcome. Eli Manning’s fumble on a careless scramble early in the third halted all momentum.
