PHILADELPHIA — Before a scruffy-faced Eli Manning walked out of the visitors’ locker room at Lincoln Financial Field he grabbed a hot dog, with mustard, and took a hearty bite. It must have tasted like prime, aged beef.
In a season left for dead, the Giants live, somehow. No, they could not purge all their sins in one afternoon and they remain in last place. But they vaulted over two roadblocks Sunday they had not been able to hurdle in a calendar year, winning on the road and winning for a second consecutive week. That they did it without scoring a single touchdown made it all the more bizarre in what is shaping up, perhaps, into the most bizarre of seasons.
“It was a rough start for us,’’ Hakeem Nicks said, “but I feel we’re shaking it off now.’’
Don’t look now, but the Giants are on a roll. Or what constitutes a roll for this team this year. It took a dominating defensive performance, a bum Michael Vick hamstring and five Josh Brown field goals for the Giants to come away with a 15-7 victory over the Eagles to break an eight-game road losing streak (dating back to last season) and extend the Eagles’ home losing streak to 10 games.
As they dressed and prepared to bus back home to New Jersey, the Giants learned the Cowboys had lost to the Lions 31-30. The breaks did not end with the Cowboys loss, as the Redskins (2-5) blew a lead in Denver and lost to the Broncos. At midseason, after an 0-6 start, the Giants head into their bye week two games out of first place in the NFC East.
“It’s realistic now,’’ Mathias Kiwanuka said. “We’re two games back. If both of us had tremendous records and we were two games out it would just be like ‘This is a great race.’ That’s irrelevant for us. We’re in a fight.’’
That there’s any fight left at all in the Giants is remarkable, as is the fact a team with a 2-6 record could possibly feel good about itself.
“It’s great … we need all the help we can get,’’ cornerback Terrell Thomas said. “We dug ourselves a deep hole, but this team has been in this position before, it’s crazy were at our best when our backs are against the wall. It’s exciting.’’
Manning and the offense did not have a turnover for the second straight game and the red-zone failings were no big deal with the way the Giants were humming with a defense that has not allowed a point in nine quarters (and haven’t allowed a touchdown in 10 quarters). The only points last week for the Vikings came on a punt return and the Giants owned a 15-0 lead on the Eagles with 4:11 remaining before Zak DeOssie sent a snap sailing over the reach of punter Steve Weatherford, allowing Eagles linebacker Najee Goode to recover the ball in the end zone to spoil the shutout.
“I tell them every year, I’ll take it 2-0, 3-0, 5-3, whatever you want to do,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said.
The Eagles (3-5) and their supposed revolutionary offense had no chance once it became evident Vick could not move. He strained his left hamstring Oct. 6 against the Giants and missed the previous two games, watching from the side as Nick Foles won one game and came out of last week’s loss to the Cowboys with a concussion. With rookie Matt Barkley the only alternative, Vick was rushed back, clearly before he was ready. He was a statue in the pocket and the Giants realized soon enough he could not move and was no threat to run. His second pass of the game was intercepted by Antrel Rolle and Vick, after aggravating the injury, was pulled late in the second quarter after completing 6-of-9 passes for 31 yards.
“I really can’t say if I should have or shouldn’t have played,’’ Vick said, who ran once for 1 yard.
Barkley, entered with 2:24 left in the first half and immediately got the Eagles moving. They were poised to cut into a 12-0 deficit with a first-and-goal on the Giants 2-yard line, but Barkley was hit and stripped of the ball by Thomas. Linebacker Jacquian Williams leaped over Barkley and managed to dive on the ball on the right sideline, his left elbow hitting inbounds before he slid out for a recovery.
That was as close as the Eagles offense got to scoring, as the Giants loaded up against LeSean McCoy (15 carries, 48 yards), whose longest run was a mere 9 yards. After managing only six sacks in the first seven games, the Giants got four in this game, three on Barkley.
Manning couldn’t get in the end zone, but opted to concentrate on not committing any turnovers.
“That’s two weeks in a row and two wins,’’ he said. “Obviously there’s something to that.’’
And now, the Giants are back, sort of.
“We obviously dug a big hole for ourselves but we’re back on the right track right now,’’ Kiwanuka said. “We have an opportunity to make history and win a championship.’’