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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – For a game that had zero playoff implications, the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles gave the 78,023 in attendance an exciting game. The Eagles were without Chip Kelly, due to his release by the team prior to Sunday’s game. New York was playing for Tom Coughlin in what was eventually his last game with the team.
This game painted a perfect picture of what the 2015 Giants were all season. New York started the game by driving the ball down the field twice after the Eagles’ first two touchdown drives. However, New York settled for field goals both times. This made what could have been a tie game, a 14-6 game. Red zone inefficiency has really hurt New York all season, and something that needs to be addressed in the off-season.
The Giants couldn’t defend the pass yet again. New York has struggled against the pass all season, and it showed again Sunday against a Sam Bradford led Eagles offense. Philadelphia had 262 yards of total offense in the first half. This included a 54-yard DeMarco Murray touchdown run and a 60-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz. Bradford’s two touchdowns went to Jordan Matthews, who was throwing “Rocky” punches to the Giants secondary all day. Matthews and Ertz combined for 16 receptions for 206 yards.
Rashad Jennings was one of the few bright spots for the Giants, and had a huge day rushing the ball. Jennings had a season-high 27 carries and ran for a season-high 170 yards and a touchdown. This also set a single-season (personal-best) of 863 rushing yards for Jennings. Jennings is a feature back that should have been utilized more this season. Had Jennings had a better offensive line, he could have done much more damage consistently.
It all came together when the Giants mounted a comeback and lost, yet again. Philadelphia dealt the Giants a 35-30 loss, and New York’s 10th loss on the season. The deciding factor was a Philadelphia touchdown after a Walter Thurmond pick six off Eli Manning. “So close, yet so far” should have been the slogan for the 2015 Giants. After the game, the players recognized that they just couldn’t put it all together this year. However, many players remained positive going into the offseason.
The players all defended Coughlin and everything he has done with the team; but Coughlin made the decision easy by resigning on Monday.
Stats Of The Game:
- New York had a hard time stopping Philadelphia on 3rd down, as the Eagles had 10 of 13 third down conversions.
- The Giants scored on 2 out of 5 red zone opportunities.
- Robert Ayers had an impressive game, tallying seven tackles, one sack and three tackles for loss.
Barry Holmes is a Senior Writer for PureSportsNY.com. Follow him on Twitter @BHO732