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A few days before what the Giants knew would be their game of the season, Justin Tuck was asked the key to finally beating the Eagles and taking control of the NFC East.
“Finish,” Tuck said simply.
“Finished” might be a better characterization of the Giants’ chances of winning the division after the events that transpired yesterday — as a rousing victory over a hated rival devolved into one of the worst losses in this proud franchise’s history.
And that takes in a load of bitter defeats.
PHOTOS: GIANTS LOSE TO EAGLES, 38-31
There is no easy way to describe how a 24-3 halftime lead for the dominant Giants, and then a 31-10 lead with 8:17 left, unraveled so wildly — how Michael Vick went from beaten to untouchable, and how the Eagles, with 28 unanswered points, rose from the depths to the giddiest of heights.
The meltdown seemed complete when Vick hit Jeremy Maclin with 1:16 remaining to shockingly tie the game at 31.
But the real shocker was still to come.
Seemingly headed to overtime with a chance to regroup, the Giants couldn’t execute a basic, obvious maneuver — punt the ball out of bounds —and they were punished with DeSean Jackson’s breathtaking 65-yard return for the game-winning touchdown as time expired for a 38-31 Giants loss that the largest crowd ever (81,223) at New Meadowlands Stadium will forever be disgusted to admit they attended.
“I’ve never been around anything like this in my life,” Tom Coughlin said. “It’s about as empty as you get to feel in this business, right there.”
The sight of Jackson fielding a truly miserable Matt Dodge line-drive punt on a bounce, dropping it, scooping it up, avoiding Duke Calhoun and Bear Pascoe with ease and running astonishingly free allowed Eagles coach Andy Reid to think, “This is a beautiful thing.”
Jackson held the ball aloft at about the 10-yard line, stopped before hitting the end zone, ran horizontally across the 1-yard line before finally putting the dagger through the Giants’ heart.
“I’m in disbelief … I’m in shock,” Giants tight end Kevin Boss said in a whisper.
Costly, too. The Eagles (10-4), who doused Reid with Gatorade in the locker room and acted as if they’d won a title, now have complete control of the division, giving it up only if they lose their last two games and the Giants (9-5) win their last two.
All is not lost for the Giants, though. They can clinch a wild-card berth with a victory Sunday against the Packers in Green Bay.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and we’re not dead,” said Tuck, who called it “the jinx of the Eagles” after the Giants lost their sixth straight to their most bitter division rival.
This was a total team breakdown in every conceivable way. Eli Manning threw four touchdown passes, two to Mario Manningham, and the defense had Vick limping and bottled up.
Manning hit Boss in the back of the end zone to extend the lead to 31-10 with 8:17 remaining, the rout was on and the division title was within the Giants’ grasp.
Seventy-one seconds later, Vick hit Brent Celek on a 65-yard scoring play and the collapse was under way.
Reid completely baffled the Giants with an onside kick, and the Eagles executed it perfectly. Vick now put on his cape. He ran 35 yards to set up his own 4-yard scoring scramble to make it 31-24 with 5:28 to go. Vick, remarkably, had 215 total yards in the last 8:19.
The Giants offense gave back the ball to the Eagles with 3:01 left. On third-and-10, Vick ran for 33 yards, then for 22 and finally hit Maclin — who spun away from Terrell Thomas — for the touchdown that tied the game with only 1:16 to go.
There was still time for the Giants to avert disaster, with three timeouts starting from their own 36.
“We have to get a field goal and we go three and out with nothing,” Manning lamented. “That is on us.”
Two incomplete passes and a sack left only 14 seconds. Jackson, nursing a sore foot, wasn’t used in punt returns, until now. Dodge, a rookie, was told to kick it out of bounds. The snap from Zak DeOssie was high, Dodge fielded it moving to his right and made the worst possible punt.
“I have one job,” Dodge said. “Didn’t do it.”
None of them did down the stretch.
“You keep thinking about something like this,” Brandon Jacobs said, “forever.”
paul.schwartz@nypost.com
10 steps to a meltdown
The Giants took a three-touchdown lead on Kevin Boss’ 8-yard touchdown catch with 8:17 to go. Here, with times each play begins, is how it all went wrong:
7:43 remaining
With Justin Tuck in coverage, Michael Vick hits TE Brent Celek for a pass over the middle. Kenny Phillips whiffs on a tackle at the 35-yard line and Celek runs in for a 65-yard score.
Giants 31, Eagles 17
7:28 remaining
The Eagles go for an onside kick and catch the Giants, including Duke Calhoun and Gerris Wilkinson who peel back for a return, off guard. Riley Cooper recovers for the Eagles.
6:58 remaining
On first-and-10 from the Giants’ 44, Vick scrambles 35 yards to set up first-and-goal from the 9.
5:32 remaining
On third-and-goal, Vick darts left for a 4-yard TD run.Giants 31, Eagles 24
3:56 remaining
After the Eagles had burned their final timeout, David Diehl is called for a false start, turning second-and-6 at the Eagles’ 38 into 2nd-and-11 at the 43. Two pass plays later, the Giants punt it away.
2:50 remaining
After two incomplete passes, Vick scrambles 33 yards to get the Eagles going.
2:07 remaining
Vick scrambles 22 yards to the Giants’ 20.
1:24 remaining
Vick connects with Jeremy Maclin for a 13-yard touchdown. Giants 31, Eagles 31
1:00 remaining
Facing third-and-10, Eli Manning is sacked by Trevor Laws, forcing the Giants to punt.
:14 remaining
Matt Dodge is unable to follow orders to punt it out of bounds and punts to DeSean Jackson. Jackson muffs it, picks it up, appears trapped, but darts up the middle for a 65-yard shocker.
Eagles 38, Giants 31