On Sunday night, the Giants won the turnover battle and didn't lose the fourth quarter – both common ingredients for a win. However, New York fell to the Eagles, 17-10. Here's a look at the key plays that shaped the game.Key Play 1: DeSean Jackson's 51-yard punt return
After being held to three yards on two attempts (the first for a loss of five), Jackson took advantage of his third and took it up the sideline for 51 yards. Jackson was knocked out of bounds by punter Steve Weatherford at the Giants 14, and the Eagles quickly converted when Vince Young found Steve Smith in the end zone on the first play of the ensuing drive. The play led to a 10-0 lead late in the first half.
"I thought, with the exception of the one punt, we did okay in that department," Tom Coughlin said after the game. "Our coverage in the game was good but we punted too many times. We have no first downs to show, we have no yardage to show, we have no rushing yardage with 29 yards, which is about as pathetic as it can get. It was a very poor performance."
Key Play 2: Victor Cruz ties it up
Trailing the Eagles for the bulk of the second and third quarters, the Giants began the fourth on their own 27-yard line, down by seven. On third-and-eight, Eli Manning flipped the field by hitting Hakeem Nicks for a 47-yard pickup. Two plays later, it was Cruz's turn in the back of the end zone for a 24-yard score, knotting the game at 10-10 with 11:36 to play.
"It was a route where me and Mario switched positions," Cruz said. "There was some confusion mid-route on who would take who and I managed to get behind."
Key Play 3: Riley Cooper scores the late go-ahead
On the ensuing possession, the Eagles began at their own 20 after a touchback. Philadelphia went on to convert six third downs and burn 8:51 off the clock culminating with a Riley Cooper eight-yard touchdown pass from Vince Young. Cooper's first touchdown of the season gave the Eagles a 17-10 lead, one which they would not relinquish.
"Confidence doesn't get it done all the time," Mathias Kiwanuka said when asked about the drive. "You still have to go out there and back it up and perform. Like I said, we're going to go back and look at the film. We're not going to hold our heads down too long. It hurts tonight. We're going to take our lumps. They gave them to us. We have to give them credit. After we're done watching this film and making all of the corrections, we'll be the Giants that we were before. And we'll get back to winning."
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