The look of shock and disbelief was etched on faces of players who were sure this would be another step in the journey, not the end of the road. Everything was there for the taking, all lined up for the Giants, but mainly because of a woefully unproductive offense that Eli Manning could never jump-start, the defending Super Bowl champions are finished.
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This battle-tested team won the hearts of their fans last year, but broke some of them yesterday. The club that specialized in playoff upsets one season was the victim this time around.
“We let our fans down, we let ourselves down,” guard Rich Seubert said softly.
The unthinkable did in the Giants, who as the No. 1 seed in the NFC forced a towel-waving crowd at Giants Stadium to wave goodbye to all those thoughts of a repeat title. Unable to score a single touchdown, and done in by a shaky outing by Manning, some questionable decisions from the offensive brain-trust and an inability to ever cash in when it counted, the Giants fell hard, losing 23-11 to the rival Eagles in an NFC Divisional playoff game that for the home team was an exercise in futility.
“We did some good things, but as we know it all comes down to what you do in the playoffs,” a somber Manning said. “That’s what makes your season a good season or a disappointment.”
There’s no doubt which this season was, even after the Giants went 12-4 in the regular season, won the NFC East and got all the rest they needed but could not match the intensity or efficiency of the gritty Eagles (11-6-1), who now head to Arizona for an unlikely NFC Championship Game against the Cardinals in what could be called the Upstart Bowl.
“I think shock would be an understatement,” center Shaun O’Hara said.
The Giants blew scoring chances and trailed 10-8 at halftime. Despite all their wasteful ways, they led 11-10 early in the third quarter on John Carney’s 36-yard field goal.
But on the Eagles’ ensuing possession, quarterback Donovan McNabb, on third-and-20 from his own 15-yard line, showed poise and escaped pressure on a day when the Giants didn’t get much. McNabb threw across the field to Jason Avant for 21 yards.
“That play kind of broke our backs,” defensive end Justin Tuck said.
That Eagles drive ended in a David Akers field goal for a 13-11 lead that Philadelphia never relinquished, but this was not a game to blame on a defense that snuffed out Brian Westbrook (18-36), contained McNabb without really laying a glove on him, scored on a safety and was put in a bad situation early when Manning was intercepted in the first quarter by Asante Samuel, who brought the ball to the 2-yard line to set up a McNabb touchdown run.
The Giants ran the ball well enough (Brandon Jacobs had 92 yards, Derrick Ward had 46) except when it counted most, got painfully little from their receivers and an uninspiring game from Manning (15 of 29, 169 yards, two interceptions).
Carney hit three field goals, but missed two, the second a 47-yarder late in the third quarter to keep the Giants down by one point. The Eagles then put together their only true touchdown drive, capped by McNabb’s 1-yard flip to Brent Celek to make it 20-11 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
There was still time, if the Giants could get their act together. But Ward was stopped on third-and-3 from the Giants’ 42 – coach Tom Coughlin was incensed with the spot, challenged the call and lost – to set up fourth-and-inches. The line got no push, Manning went nowhere on a sneak and the Giants gave the ball up.
“That’s inexcusable,” O’Hara said. “The responsibility falls on us up front.”
With 6:28 remaining, the Giants faced fourth-and-2 from their own 47. Coughlin blamed himself for not calling a timeout after realizing he needed two full yards and that the play-call – a handoff to Jacobs – probably wasn’t the best call. “Obviously I decided to let the play go,” Coughlin said.
Jacobs was stopped a yard short, and so were the Giants.
“You can’t even fathom not continuing to play,” O’Hara said. “After the season we had last year, having so much fun with that, you work all season long to get to the point we’re at right now, to have it taken away right now is the worst feeling ever.”
Eagles 23 Giants 11