Odell Beckham and Cary Williams fight for the ball during Sunday’s game. Photo by Andy Lewis/contrastphotography.com

Giants vs. Eagles Postgame Notes
By Michael Eisen
Dec. 28, 2014

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Notes and statistics from the Giants’ season-ending 34-26 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles:

*The Giants three-game winning streak ended and they finished the year 6-10, their first double-digit loss season since they had the same record in Tom Coughlin’s debut season in 2004.

*The Giants finished 3-5 both at home and on the road. It was their first under .500 home record in five seasons in MetLife Stadium and their first since they were 3-5 in 2007 – a season in which they won the Super Bowl. The Giants’ regular-season home record in MetLife is 22-18 (plus 1-0 as visitors).

*The Giants were 2-4 in NFC East games. They swept Washington and were swept by Dallas and Philadelphia. The Giants were swept by the Eagles for the first time since 2010.

*The Giants scored 380 points and allowed 400 this season. It was just the fifth time in franchise history they gave up at least 400 points.

*The Giants gained 505 yards Sunday, one week after they totaled 514 yards in a victory in St. Louis. It’s the second time in their history they gained more than 500 yards in back-to-back games and first since Oct. 1-8, 1967, when they gained 520 in a loss at Washington and 535 in a victory over New Orleans. That was the only other season in which the Giants had two 500-yard games.

*The Giants’ 429 net passing yards was the fourth-highest total in franchise history and the most since they threw for a team-record 510 yards vs. Tampa Bay on Sept. 16, 2012.

*The Giants did not allow a sack for the second time this season (also at Dallas on Oct. 19).

*The Giants scored a first-possession touchdown for the third time this season when Andre Williams scored on a one-yard run just 2:29 in to the game. They also scored touchdowns on their opening offensive series against San Francisco and Dallas on Nov. 16 and 23. The Giants are 22-14 under Coughlin when they score a first-possession touchdown.

*The Giants scored points on their first offensive possession five times this season. They were 2-0 when they scored a field goal and 0-3 when they scored a touchdown.

*Philadelphia also scored a touchdown on its first possession when Mark Sanchez threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews just 1:11 after Williams scored. The Eagles were the fourth Giants opponent to score a first-series touchdown this season, joining Detroit, Arizona and Seattle. Under Coughlin, the Giants are 18-21 in regular-season games in which the opposing team scores a touchdown on its opening possession.

*This was the first Giants game in which each team scored opening-possession touchdowns since Nov. 25, 2012, when the Giants got a two-yard touchdown run from Andre Brown and Green Bay countered with Aaron Rodgers’ 61-yard scoring pass to Jordy Nelson.

*The Eagles also scored on their second possession when Sanchez threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Brent Celek. They were the first Giants opponents to open a game with back-to-back touchdowns since the Detroit on opening night, Sept. 8, when Matthew Stafford threw scoring passes of 67 and 16 yards to Calvin Johnson.

*Philadelphia led after one quarter, 14-10. The 24 points was the highest first-quarter total in a Giants game since Nov. 25, 2012, when the Giants jumped ahead of Green Bay, 17-7.

*Eli Manning completed 28 of 53 passes for 429 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The 53 passes tied his career high, set on Nov. 27, 2005 at Seattle and tied on Dec. 16, 2007 vs. Washington.

*The Giants are 1-20 in regular-season games in which they throw at least 50 passes, including 1-18 in games in which one quarterback threw every pass. The lone victory was against Tampa Bay on Sept. 16, 2012.

*Manning finished the season with a Giants-record 601 pass attempts. He held the previous mark with 589 in 2011.

*Manning’s 28 completions increased his season total to a franchise-record 379. He owned the previous mark of 359, set in 2011.

*Manning’s 429 yards were the third-highest total of his career and the sixth time he threw for at last 400 yards. The Giants are 2-4 when he throws for at least 400 yards and 15-18 when he throws for 300 yards.

*Philadelphia quarterback Mark Sanchez threw for 292 yards. It was the ninth consecutive game in which Manning had more passing yards than the opposing starting quarterback. That is one shy of the team record, set by Hall of Famer Y.A. Tittle in 1963 and equaled by Fran Tarkenton in 1969 and 1971.

*Manning finished the season with 4,410 yards, which is the second-highest total in franchise history. He passed for 4,933 yards in 2011. This was his fourth career 4,000-yard season.

*Manning’s fourth-quarter, 63-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. was his 30th of the season. That was one shy of the career-high he set in 2011. It was the fourth 30-touchdown pass season in Giants history; Tittle threw 36 in 1963 and 33 in 1962.

*Manning finished with 14 interceptions, or 13 fewer than he threw in 2013.

*Manning’s completion percentage (63.1) was a career-high. His passer rating of 92.1 was the second-highest of highest of his career (93.1 in 2009).
*Beckham concluded his extraordinary rookie season with 12 catches for 185 yards and the touchdown.

*It was his second 12-catch game of the season. He is the first rookie in NFL history and the first Giants player with two 12-catch games in a season.

*Beckham is also the first NFL rookie with four consecutive games with at least 130 receiving yards and a touchdown. He was also the first rookie with three.

*Beckham’s 185 yards is a Giants rookie record. The former record of 176 was set by tight end Mark Bavaro at Cincinnati on Oct. 13, 1985. The team rookie wide receiver record had been 169, set by Earnest Gray vs. San Francisco on Oct. 14, 1979. Beckham’s previous best was 156 yards vs. Indianapolis on Nov. 3.

*Beckham joined Hall of Famer Michael Irvin as the only players in NFL history with at least 90 receiving yards in nine consecutive games. Irvin accomplished the feat in 1995.

*Beckham finished the year with four consecutive 100-yard games and seven for the season. The Giants rookie record entering the season was three. Beckham’s seven 100-yard games are the highest total by an NFL rookie since Houston’s Bill Groman had nine in 1960.

*Beckham’s season totals were 91 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns, all franchise rookie records. He is the first wide receiver in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards after missing the season’s first three games (he missed the first four with a hamstring injury).

*Beckham set NFL records for most catches and yards in the first 12 games to start a career.

*Beckham’s 91 catches were the second-highest total in franchise history, topped only by Steve Smith’s 107 receptions in 2009.

*Beckham’s 91 receptions are tied with Denver’s Eddie Royal (2008) for the second-highest total in NFL history for a rookie; Arizona’s Anquan Boldin caught 101 passes in 2003.

*Beckham’s 185 yards were the highest total by a Giant since Hakeem Nicks had 199 receiving yards vs. Tampa Bay on Sept. 16, 2012. It was not the highest total by an NFL rookie this season; Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans had 209 yards on Nov. 16 at Washington.

*Beckham’s 1,305 yards were the third-highest total in Giants history, surpassed only by Victor Cruz’s 1,536 yards in 2011 and Amani Toomer’s 1,343 yards in 2002.

*Beckham averaged 108.8 yards a game, obliterating Cruz’s previous Giants record of 96.0, set in 2011. Beckham’s 108.8-yard average is also an NFL rookie record, topping the old mark of 105.2 set by Groman in 1960.

*Beckham is just the fourth player in franchise history with at least 12 touchdown receptions in a season. Homer Jones set the record with 13 in 1967. Plaxico Burress (2007) and Del Shofner (1962) also had 12.

*Beckham and Evans each had 12 touchdown catches this season, the highest total by an NFL rookie since Minnesota’s Randy Moss had 17 in 1998.

*Beckham’s 12 touchdown catches are a Giants rookie record and he tied the franchise total rookie touchdown mark set in 1943 by Bill Paschal (10 rushing, two receiving).

*Beckham and Miami’s Jarvis Landry, who led the Dolphins with 84 receptions, were college teammates at Louisiana State. They are the first rookies from the same college to lead their team in receptions in the same season since the 1970 merger.

*Rueben Randle caught six passes for 158 yards, breaking the career high of 132 he set last week in St. Louis. He actually set his personal best for a full game with 134 yards in the first half.

*This is the first time the Giants had two 100-yard receivers in back-to-back games since Oct. 6
(Lionel Manuel/Bobby Johnson) and Oct. 13 (Manuel and Bavaro), 1985.

*Randle, who caught 60 passes in his first two seasons combined, finished with 71, for 938 yards and three touchdowns.

*Rookie Andre Williams led the Giants in rushing with 43 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He finished the season with team-high totals of 217 attempts, 721 yards and seven touchdowns.

*Williams is the first rookie to lead the Giants in rushing since Joe Montgomery did so in 1999 with 348 yards. Williams’ 721 yards are the highest total by a Giants rookie since Ron Dayne had 770 in 2000.

*Williams’ seven rushing touchdowns were the most by a Giants rookie since Brandon Jacobs had seven in 2005.

*Rookies Williams and Beckham led the Giants in rushing and receiving yards, respectively. This is the first time rookies led the Giants in rushing and receiving yards in a full season since 1950, when Eddie Price ran for 703 yards and Bob McChesney had 380 receiving yards.
The last NFL team with rookies leading in both rushing and receiving yards was the 2012 Cleveland Browns. Trent Richardson rushed for 950 yards and Josh Gordon had 805 receiving yards.

*Josh Brown kicked field goals of 28, 20, 36 and 53 yards. The 53-yarder was the longest by a Giant since Lawrence Tynes kicked a field goal from the same distance at Dallas on Oct. 25, 2010. Brown’s 53-yard field goal was his longest since he booted a 53-yarder on Nov. 21, 2010 for St. Louis vs. Atlanta.

*Brown finished the season with 24 successes in 26 attempts (one of the misses was a block), a 92.3 percentage that is a Giants single-season record. The former mark of 92.1 (35 of 38) was set by John Carney in 2008.

*Brown’s 116 points were the third-highest total of his career; he scored 127 points for the Seahawks in 2007 and 125 for the Rams in 2010.

*The Giants sacked Mark Sanchez four times and finished the season with 47 sacks, their highest total since they had 48 in 2011 (they had 34 sacks last season).

*Jason Pierre-Paul had two of the sacks and finished the season with 12.5, the highest total by a Giant since JPP had 16.5 in 2011.

*Mark Herzlich and Markus Kuhn had the other sacks, the first career sack for each player.

*The Eagles scored on a blocked punt in the third quarter when James Casey got his hands on Steve Weatherford’s punt and Trey Burton picked up the ball and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown that gave Philadelphia a 24-16 lead. It was the first time a Giants opponent scored a touchdown on a blocked punt since Sept. 5, 1993, when Chicago’s Myron Baker blocked a Sean Landeta punt, picked up the ball and carried it five yards into the end zone.

*It was the first blocked punt by a Giants opponent since Carolina’s Greg Hardy blocked a Matt Dodge punt in the first regular-season game in MetLife Stadium on Sept. 12, 2010.

*It is the only time Weatherford has been blocked in 674 career regular-season punts.

*Cornerback Mike Harris made his first start of the season, the seventh of his career and first since the 2013 season finale for Jacksonville at Indianapolis.

*Harris picked off Sanchez for his second career interception and first since Nov. 25, 2012, when he played for Jacksonville vs. Tennessee. Harris also led the Giants with 10 tackles, all unassisted.

*The Giants lost two safeties to injury in the first quarter. Nat Berhe hurt his knee on Preston Parker’s kickoff return with 10:52 remaining in the quarter. Three minutes later, Stevie Brown suffered a sprained foot while intercepting a Mark Sanchez pass, a takeaway that was nullified by Chykie Brown’s questionable pass interference penalty.

*Tight end Larry Donnell left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.

*Linebacker Spencer Paysinger started for the second time this season in place of Devon Kennard, who was inactive with a toe injury.

*Seven Giants started all 16 games this season: Manning, left tackle Will Beatty, center J.D. Walton and right guard John Jerry on offense, and tackle Johnathan Hankins, end Jason Pierre-Paul and safety Antrel Rolle on defense.

*Pierre-Paul joined captains Manning, Antrel Rolle and Zak DeOssie on the field for the coin toss.