Justice prevailed: the New York Giants' comeback continues and the Philadelphia Eagles descent is complete.
A confusing ending nearly cost the Giants their hard-earned perch near a playoff berth, but as has been the case through six straight losses, the Eagles proved they weren't good enough - even when given a chance they didn't deserve.Brad Daluiso's 18-yard field goal with 54 seconds left gave the Giants a 16-13 victory over the Eagles on Sunday, keeping alive the post-season hopes of a team that turned around a seven-game losing streak with five straight wins.
It didn't look like that was the case as the game's final 13 seconds unfolded.
Having taken their first lead of the game on what proved to be the game-winning field goal, the Giants gave the Eagles a shot to tie by going with a squib kick on the ensuing kickoff.
The Eagles got the ball on their 42 with 47 seconds left to play and no timeouts. Bubby Brister, making his first start of the season for the benched Randall Cunningham, moved the Eagles downfield.
With 13 seconds to play, Brister completed a 5-yard pass to Victor Bailey, who tried - but failed - to get out of bounds. New York's Jesse Armstead then picked up the ball and started running.
"The whistle still hadn't blown, so it was a live ball," Armstead said.
The seconds ticked off the clock until it read 0:00. The Giants threw their hands up in celebration. People started running onto the field.
But referee Gordon McCarter cleared the field, spotted the ball for play and Brister spiked the ball.
McCarter then announced that there had been two seconds left on the game clock after Bailey was tackled. He didn't explain why until after the game.
McCarter said that when Armstead picked up the ball, "we have no football to spot, and we have to stop the clock. To that extent, he (Armstead) was his own worst enemy."
Armstead had delayed the game, the officials ruled, but not intentionally, so there was no penalty.
The spike, McCarter said, took one second, leaving the Eagles with one second left. Eddie Murray came on to attempt the 44-yard field goal that would have tied the game, but the kick was wide left.