Coughlin still haunted by loss to Eagles

Once those torturous eight minutes were finally over, and after he had done his best to explain one of the biggest fourth-quarter meltdowns in franchise history, Tom Coughlin shuttered himself in a room at his home in northern New Jersey and just sat there, alone with his thoughts.

He sat there for close to 21/2 hours, trying to wrap his mind around the string of events that seemed to defy logic. Play by excruciating play, he attempted to figure out how it had all unraveled so quickly, how the Giants were seemingly headed to the playoffs one moment, and then . . . it was over.

DeSean Jackson's 65-yard punt return with no time remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Eagles a remarkable 38-31 win over a Giants team that had been ahead 31-10 midway through the quarter. This was not simply a loss; this was a franchise-shaking, future-altering event and the aftershocks still are being felt.

For Coughlin, it is a game that continues to reverberate through his very soul.

He conceded Tuesday that certain losses stick with him more than others, and this one was right up there with the worst of them.

"There is no question'' he said of the difficulty in dealing with the loss.

What happened on the afternoon of Dec. 19, 2010 is at the very heart of Coughlin's approach with his players this season. It is about the need "just to finish," he said. "We will continue for that to be one of our themes and constantly working to finish the game stronger. That certainly would be something to present to our players again this week."

So here they are, about to face the Eagles for the first time since the Meadowlands Meltdown -- or, as they call it in Philly, the second Miracle at the Meadowlands, the first an improbable win on a fumble recovery in 1978.

Michael Vick or no Michael Vick, the Giants can continue the healing process with a win that would take at least some of the crushing disappointment away from last year's game. Or, they can continue to be mired in the post-defeat muck they've found themselves in since that game nine short months ago.

Justin Tuck says that the loss, and the subsequent fallout of not making the playoffs, continues to haunt him. "Last year will linger with me until I die," he said.

It may be worse for Coughlin, whose very standing as the Giants' coach has been shaped by what happened. Think about it: If the Giants win that game and make the playoffs, there would have been zero question about whether Coughlin would be back this seasonand a contract extension would have been a foregone conclusion.

As it turned out, Giants president and co-owner John Mara did announce that Coughlin would be back just minutes after the Giants beat the Redskins on the final weekend of their season. Mara said there was never a doubt in his mind that the coach would be back. But if the Giants had ended the season on a three-game losing streak, I'm not so sure Mara would have been so quick to make that announcement.

Remember, too, that Coughlin was given only a one-year extension through 2012. If the Giants had complete conviction about Coughlin, the extension would have been for multiple seasons.

Instead, there are continued questions about whether this will be Coughlin's final season, especially if his team -- now injury-riddled and featuring 11 rookies on the roster -- - does not at least compete for a playoff spot.

Huge game on Sunday for the players? Yes it is. But it's an even bigger one for the coach.