Eagles Pull Out Finale Against Giants, 35-30, To Conclude Dismal Season
East Rutherford, NJ (CBS) — The Eagles did something on Sunday that they weren't supposed to do—that's win. In the first game A.C. (After Chip), they couldn't even get that right in a game no one cared about between two teams that no one cared about, save for the scalper on the side of the road trying to convince fans driving into MetLife Stadium that the ticket demand exceeded expectations on Sunday.
The hard sell didn't work. And in many ways just like this year's Eagles, a team with postseason aspirations that many bought into early and who wound up firing coach Chip Kelly on Tuesday and finished playing under interim coach Pat Shurmur.
Their forgettable 2015 season concluded with a 35-30 win over the lowly Giants.
Still, the Eagles' 7-9 finish is their worst since 2012, when they went 4-12 in Andy Reid's last year, and only the second time in the last decade that they finished under .500 and fifth time in the last 10 years that they didn't make the playoffs.
Sam Bradford completed 30 of 38 for 320 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, which came off a deflection. Zach Ertz was tremendous in what basically had the feel of a summer league basketball game, catching 9 passes for 152 yards, while Jordan Matthews recovered nicely from an early drop to for 7 receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
With the win, the Eagles will likely draft no higher than 13 overall. Now they're stuck without a second-round draft pick, an aged offensive line that has holes at both guard spots, a defense that can't defend the long pass and no head coach.
Otherwise, it seems the team is headed in a good direction for whoever takes over for Kelly.
There were two lead changes in the fourth quarter. It seemed the Giants would take charge, grabbing their first lead of the game when Eli Manning hit Rueben Randle for a 45-yard touchdown, which put New York up, 27-21. The play came after DeMarco Murray fumbled at the Eagles' 45. It didn't take long for Manning to spot Randle down the middle of the field, beating safety Walter Thurman.
Thurman would make up for that on the Giants' next possession, when Connor Barwin reached up and grabbed Manning's right hand just as he was releasing a pass. The wobbler floated in the air and Thurman scooped it up at the Eagles' 17 and returned it 83 yards for a touchdown with 3:50 left in the third quarter.
The Eagles added to that with a 13-play, 91-yard drive that ended with Sam Bradford's second touchdown toss to Jordan Matthews, who caught 6 passes for 48 yards—after dropping the first ball thrown to him.
Josh Brown's third field goal of the game, a 48-yarder with 4:30 to play, pulled the Giants to within 35-30. That was it. New York couldn't accommodate head coach Tom Coughlin, who's not expected to come back next year, with the proper sendoff.
