Too little, too late for defending champ Giants

Gary Hershorn / Reuters

Giants quarterback Eli Manning, right, talks with Eagles quarterback Michael Vick after the game.

By TOM CANAVAN

updated 4:29 p.m. ET Dec. 30, 2012

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - There will be no repeat for the New York Giants. Not even a playoff berth.

The Giants (9-7) saw their playoff hopes end minutes after posting a 42-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles when Chicago beat Detroit 26-24 to eliminate the defending Super Bowl champions from playoff contention.

It marks the seventh straight season the Super Bowl champion has failed to win a playoff game the following year.

The Giants came into the regular-season finale needing to beat the Eagles (4-12), have Chicago and Minnesota lose and then have Dallas either lose or tie against Washington to advance to the postseason. The Bears' win brought a quick end to that scenario playing out.

Eli Manning did his part with a career-best five touchdown passes, and fans who stuck around were chanting "Let's Go Lions" as the final moments ticked off in the Chicago-Detroit game.

"Nine and seven was good enough last year," Manning said after a game that might have been Andy Reid's final one as the Eagles' coach. "It wasn't good enough this year and we knew it wouldn't be."

The Giants put themselves in a tough spot to reach the playoffs, losing five of seven prior to Sunday, including two games by a combined 67-14 margin to playoff-bound Atlanta and Baltimore.

Manning woke up the offense with touchdown passes of 3 and 38 yards to rookie Rueben Randle, a 15-yarder to David Wilson and a 24-yarder to Victor Cruz just before halftime for a 35-3 lead. He's the first Giants player to throw five TD passes in a game since Phil Simms did it against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980. His fifth score was a 1-yard pass to fullback Henry Hynoski in the fourth quarter.

Manning finished 13 of 21 for 208 yards and no interceptions. Ahmad Bradshaw, who rushed for 107 yards and passed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second time in his career, also scored on a 1-yard run.

Starting for the first time since a concussion against Dallas in early November, Michael Vick threw a 7-yard touchdown to Jeremy Maclin. Vick finished 19 of 35 for 197 yards and one interception before being replaced by Trent Edwards late.

The Eagles surprised the Giants on a cold and windy day with an onside kick to open the game. Vick and the Eagles took over at their 47 and got a first down at the Giants 40.

However, turnovers have hurt the Eagles all season, and it happened again when Stevie Brown came up with his eighth interception and returned the ball to the Eagles 26.

Manning needed four plays to score, finding Randle over the middle for his second touchdown of his rookie season. His third came on the following series when New York went 74 yards in five plays with Randle catching a go-pattern down the left sideline from 38-yards out for a 14-0 lead.

It was all Giants after that as New York scored on its first three possessions. The third touchdown was another pass to a rookie, with Wilson catching a 15-yarder after running a wheel route out of the backfield.

Philadelphia's only touchdown came in the opening minutes of the second quarter, and it might have been Vick's last with the team. The Eagles have to decide whether to keep the oft-injured quarterback or turn things over to Nick Foles.

Bradshaw's 1-yard run stretched the lead to 28-7 later in the quarter and Manning and Cruz hooked on a salsa-inducing touchdown with 10 seconds left in the half, just two plays after a fourth-down gamble by Reid failed.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50325372/ns/sports/

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