Giants commit five turnovers in loss to Eagles

PHILADELPHIA - Anyone who guessed that this game would be decided by a quarterback running out of the pocket was correct. But no one figured Eli Manning would be the passer on the move.

Facing a fourth-and-6 from his own 44 with 3:13 left, Manning decided to do his best impression of Michael Vick. He took off out of the pocket and ran for 16 yards, enough for a first down. But as Manning tumbled forward, he hit the ground awkwardly and the ball popped out of his grip without contact from Philadelphia. It was recovered by the Eagles, who capitalized on the Giants' fourth of five turnovers to kick a field goal and seal a 27-17 win last night.

Tom Coughlin was furious that turnovers - what he called "terrible errors" - cost the Giants another game.

"The callous disregard for the ball which has been going on for a year and a half here again cost us the game,'' he said, particularly irked by the slide that wasn't. "It would have been interesting to see what developed from that point on.''

The battle for first place in the NFC East wound up not being a display of championship-crisp football but a contest to see which team could manage to get out of its own way the best. In the end, it was the Eagles (7-3) who were able to sidestep their own gaffes and take over sole possession at the top of the division.

The Giants (6-4) actually had two turnovers on their final drive. Manning threw his second interception on a pass that was tipped by Derek Hagan, but Asante Samuel fumbled it back to the Giants while trying to return it. The Giants couldn't take advantage of that gift and gave the ball right back to the Eagles on Manning's awkward scramble.

"If we want to go anywhere, we have to fix it," Manning said. "I have to stop the turnovers, the interceptions. We have to find ways to bounce back and get back to playing better football."

The Eagles took the lead for good on a 50-yard run by LeSean McCoy on a fourth-and-1. The Giants' defense crashed on Vick, and even though he bobbled the snap, he was able to pitch it outside to McCoy. Two plays before, on third-and-6, Jason Pierre-Paul was called offsides to set up the short-yardage situation. A two-point conversion pass made it 24-17 with 4:25 remaining.

The Giants weren't the only team giving away free chances. A pass-interference call late in the third quarter set up a 2-yard pass to Travis Beckum that cut the Eagles' lead to 16-10.

On the Eagles' next possession, Justin Tuck fought through a triple team to get to Vick and knock the ball from his hand while he tried to scurry away. Barry Cofield recovered, and two plays later Manning threw over the middle to Hagan for a 17-16 lead with 13:35 left.

On their first two turnovers, the Giants somehow were able to come away without giving the game away. The second two times, they were not so lucky.

Earlier this week, Coughlin called the Giants' turnovers "ridiculous," and several players, including Manning, expressed frustration at their minus-5 differential coming into the game. Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride even suggested the frustration was "a good thing" because it might snap the team out of what had become a season of giving.

Nope. The Giants had two turnovers deep in Eagles territory in the second quarter, a fumble by Ahmad Bradshaw ripped from him by Brandon Graham and recovered by Samuel, and an interception by Samuel.

The Eagles turned those opportunities into only six points, however. After the Bradshaw fumble, DeSean Jackson got behind Terrell Thomas and Deon Grant in the end zone but dropped a low pass that would have been a touchdown, and the Eagles settled for a field goal. Then Jason Avant, after the Manning interception, dropped a ball while all alone in the back of the end zone. Another consolation prize gave the Eagles a 13-3 lead.

"You have to take care of the ball," Manning said prophetically during the week. "You can't give their offense easy field position and momentum."

Notes & quotes: Eagles KR Ellis Hobbs was carted off after a scary helmet-to-helmet collision on the second-half kickoff. He had feeling and movement in his extremities, the team announced, and also said X-rays were negative.