EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ The Eagles defense needed one stop from the 11-yard line, which was not a given considering the way New York Giants moved the ball against the Eagles all game. But forcing a fourth-down incompletion in the final minute of the Eagles' suspenseful 34-29 win over the New York Giants on Sunday helped clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs on an afternoon that offered both reason for celebration and concern.
Nick Foles threw four touchdowns in his first start in place of the injured Carson Wentz this season, but it was the Eagles pass defense that will likely prompt more acrimony among fans this week than Wentz's absence. Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw for 427 yards and three touchdowns, an unexpected offensive output from an offense that had not topped 24 points all season. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz must fix a pass defense that has been picked apart in recent weeks, although that's easier to do after a win.
Foles' effectiveness (24 of 38 for 237 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions) was a welcome sight considering how well Wentz has guided the offense this season, although the Giants entered the game with the NFL's worst-ranked defense. Four different receivers caught touchdowns, with Nelson Agholor's seven catches for 59 yards leading the group.
The Eagles also benefited from a special teams unit that blocked an extra point, field goal, and a punt, all three of which were critical to the outcome.
As a result, you can make plans for the first weekend of January. The Eagles will be off those days, the reward for being one of the two best teams in the NFC. They return home for a Christmas night game against the Oakland Raiders and a New Year's Eve game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles need to win just one of those to clinch the top seed in NFC, ensuring only home games on a potential Super Bowl path.
But the Eagles only have a chance of playing into February if they look better than they did on Sunday.
The defense appeared to sleepwalk through the beginning of the game, allowing the Giants to score on their first three drives. A Giants offense that topped 17 points just once in the past seven games built an early 20-7 lead.
Manning led the Giants down the field on the opening drive for a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Jalen Mills cost the Eagles points when he was flagged for defensive holding on a third-down stop. The Giants responded with a one-yard touchdown run, but the Eagles blocked the extra point to keep the Giants to six points.
The Eagles took the lead with a successful first drive by Foles. He escaped pressure and threw a deep pass to Torrey Smith that was flagged for a 32-yard pass interference to give the Eagles possession near the goal line, and he found Alshon Jeffery for a three-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-6 lead.
Then came Manning's onslaught. He found Tavares King for a 13-yard score, and then he connected with Sterling Shepard for a 67-yard touchdown in which the Eagles struggled to cover and tackle. A pick play by the Giants helped open space, but the Eagles could have limited the damage with an open-field tackle.
To make it worse, Foles couldn't get the offense going after the first score, sputtering to a three-and-out and then failing to convert fourth-and-1 for the first time this season after the Eagles converted their first 12 attempts. Momentum swung when Ronald Darby bailed the Eagles out with a clutch third-down interception and a spectacular 37-yard return to put Foles and the offense in the red zone.
Foles made it count with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz, cutting the deficit to 20-14. The special teams gave Foles the ball in the red zone again when Kamu Grugier-Hill blocked a punt to set up a 13-yard touchdown pass to Trey Burton. In just more than two minutes, the Eagles turned a 13-point deficit into a one-point lead. Although the Giants kicked a field goal to enter halftime with a lead, the Eagles were back in the game.
The Eagles controlled the early part of the third quarter. Jake Elliott's 28-yard field goal gave the Eagles a lead, and they added to it when Agholor made an acrobatic 10-yard touchdown in the end zone for a 31-23 lead. That should have helped the Eagles put the game away, but they gave the Giants new life.
Eagles linebacker Najee Goode was charged with a neutral-zone infraction on a Giants punt after the Eagles forced a three-and-out, giving the Giants a fresh set of downs. Manning found King for a 57-yard touchdown, and though the Eagles stymied the Giants on a two-point conversion, the penalty and defensive breakdown allowed the Giants to creep right back into the game.
The Giants tried to take the lead with a fourth-quarter field goal, which the Eagles blocked for another key special teams play. When Foles drove the Eagles downfield late in the game, coach Doug Pederson elected for an easy field goal to make it a five-point game instead of going for a fourth down from the 2-yard line.
That decision proved correct when the Giants entered the red zone in the final minute, but needed the touchdown instead of a field goal. The coverage came through when needed, forcing an incompletion and heading down the New Jersey Turnpike with their 12th win and a first-round bye.
