PHILADELPHIA _ If the Giants are going to get in the playoffs this week, they'll have to use the back door.
Thursday night's 24-19 loss to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field with a chance to clinch their first postseason berth since 2011 delayed what is still a pretty good chance for the team to get into the tournament. The Giants still can lock up a playoff berth in the coming days with a win by the Panthers, Saints, Vikings or Cowboys, who clinched the NFC East title and the first seed in the playoffs with Thursday night's result. Beyond that, they can get in with a win against Washington a week from Sunday.
What's more unsettling, though, is that after two dominating performances against playoff-contending teams they were unable to finish it off under their own power against an Eagles team that already had been eliminated.
The Giants had chances to win the game late. They kicked a 41-yard field goal with 5:17 left to close to 24-19 and then forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with 4:15 remaining. They seemed to be marching toward a game-winning touchdown when Odell Beckham Jr. appeared to get a first down on a third-and-4 reception for 4 yards with 2:00 remaining, but the Eagles challenged the spot and the Giants were pushed back a yard after the review.
On fourth-and-1 from the Eagles' 32, John Jerry jumped offsides. Then on fourth-and-6 from the 37, Eli Manning tried to find Sterling Shepard for a first down but the pass was incomplete. Nolan Carroll appeared to hook the arm of Shepard before the pass arrived, but there was no flag.
The Giants forced another punt and took over at their 15 with 1:31 remaining, but Manning threw his third interception of the game when he lofted a pass for Will Tye short of the end zone. Terrence Brooks picked it off with 5 seconds left as Tye failed to attack the ball.
The Giants' throwback uniforms were supposed to evoke the glory days of the late 1980s, but many people forgot that they were also the colors the team wore during the pitiful 1970s and early parts of the '80s. They certainly played more like the earlier vintage in the first half, falling behind 14-0 in the first 6:40 of the game and trailing 21-13 at halftime. The Eagles marched down the field against the vaunted Giants defense for their opening touchdown, scoring on a 25-yard run by Darren Sproles, and then Malcolm Jenkins picked off a Manning pass and returned it 34 yards for another touchdown.
The Giants settled down somewhat, scored six points on field goals, and seemed to be regaining control when rookie cornerback Eli Apple had a dreadful series of plays. First he missed a tackle at the line of scrimmage on a third-and-5 screen pass that wound up going for 7 yards. Then he was flagged for unnecessary roughness after making contact with a sliding Carson Wentz on a quarterback scramble (it was a highly questionable flag). Finally, he was beaten for a 40-yard touchdown by Nelson Agholor that made it 21-6 with 4:59 left in the second.
The Giants did respond with a 84-yard touchdown drive capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass to Shepard with :33 left to keep the game within reach at the half. Robbie Gould's third field goal of the game with 9:09 left in the third made it a one-possession game at 21-16.
After a goal-line stand late in the third by the Giants _ the Eagles' drive was helped by another questionable call on a hit on Wentz, this time from Olivier Vernon on what would have been a third-down stop _ the Giants had a chance to drive to take the lead. Instead, Manning was picked off by Jenkins for the second time on a deep pass down the right sideline intended for Shepard with 11:57 left in the game. That led to an Eagles' 41-yard field goal that made it 24-16 with 8:47 left.
