The Giants’ paper-thin hopes of making the playoffs one year after winning the Super Bowl rest on beating the Eagles in the regular season finale and then receiving a ton of help. The Giants need to attend to their own business first and they will have to beat Michael Vick to do it.
The Eagles yesterday announced quarterback Nick Foles suffered a hairline fracture in his right hand late in their 27-20 loss to the Redskins, putting him out of commission for this final game. That means coach Andy Reid must turn to Vick to start against the Giants.
Vick hasn’t played since week 10, as he was removed from the lineup because of a concussion and when he was cleared to return, Reid opted to stay with the unproven Foles rather than the turnover-prone Vick. The third quarterback on the Philly roster is Trent Edwards.
“It changes the nature of how you have to prepare, obviously for the two quarterbacks there’s a different scenario in terms of how you prepare,’’ Tom Coughlin said. “If that’s the case then we will focus on Michael Vick.’’
This very likely is the last game for Reid and Vick with the Eagles, so it figures to be an emotional afternoon for them at MetLife Stadium.
* DT Chris Canty came out of the loss in Baltimore with a sprained MCL and the knee injury is expected to keep him out of the final game.
“We’ll have to see how he responds,’’ Coughlin said.
* Hakeem Nicks and Eli Manning played 54 games together, with Nicks getting at least one reception in every game, until this past Sunday.
“I love Hakeem and the way he competes,’’ Manning said. “He’s obviously dealing with a frustrating issue that’s limiting him a little bit. He missed most of training camp, all of the off-season, so you don’t get that rep time. We don’t get practice reps. The timing is off on a few things and it can make it hard to be as effective as you need to be.’’
* The Giants went with a four-linebacker scheme to stop the Ravens ground game but it didn’t work at all. Michael Boley wasn’t used much in the linebacker-heavy package.
“He was having some issues for three weeks that we felt was not allowing him to play the way that he’s capable of playing,’’ Coughlin said.’’
* How bad has the Giants’ defense been at getting off the field? In the past two weeks, it has allowed the Falcons and Ravens to convert 69 and 61 percent of their third-down opportunities, respectively. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, those are the highest percentages given up by the Giants in consecutive games since the 1970 merger. … Ravens safety Ed Reed faces a hefty fine and possibly a suspension for Sunday’s game in Cincinnati for his hit on Victor Cruz that resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for driving his shoulder into the upper body of Cruz, a defenseless player at the time. “It was a solid shot but I’m OK,’’ Cruz said afterward.