The Eagles’ season mercifully ended at exactly 4 p.m. on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
And, surprisingly, it ended with a win.
After coming into 2015 with high expectations, the Eagles beat the Giants 35-30 in Sunday's season finale just five days after firing head coach and de facto general manager Chip Kelly.
With the win, the Eagles finished the 2015 season with a 7-9 record and in second place in the NFC East.
With the loss, the Giants finished the year with a 6-10 record and third in the division.
That means the Giants will end up with a higher draft pick than the Eagles and will also play the Rams in London next season.
Sunday’s game was actually pretty entertaining. It’s just a shame it wasn’t for the division crown like we all thought it would be earlier in the season.
After the Eagles took a one-point lead into the second half, the two teams exchanged touchdowns in the third. The Giants scored on one play after Sam Bradford was intercepted. Then, the Eagles scored on an 83-yard interception return touchdown from Walter Thurmond.
The Eagles added some insurance on a 91-yard drive in the fourth quarter capped by Jordan Matthews’ second touchdown of the game.
First half
The Giants drove down the field at the end of the second quarter to cut into the Eagles’ lead at the end of the half. The Eagles were up 21-20 after two quarters of play.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first on a 54-yard run from DeMarco Murray. It was the longest run Murray has had this season and it came from under center. Murray running from under center didn’t happen much with Kelly. This week, Murray basically admitted he didn’t fit in Kelly’s scheme.
The two teams exchanged scores the rest of the way. The biggest lead the Eagles had in the first half was 14-3 after Darren Sproles had a six-yard touchdown run.
The first half was pretty even in terms of total yards. The Eagles had 261 and the Giants had 259.
That’s not Chip
It was interesting to watch the Eagles on Sunday and try to pinpoint things that wouldn’t have happened if Kelly was still the head coach. For one, Murray’s touchdown from under center stood out. Also, the Eagles went on two touchdown drives that lasted over six minutes each.
Turning point
Thurmond’s 83-yard interception return in the third quarter gave the Eagles the lead and they didn’t give it up.
Key stat
In the first half, Bradford surpassed the 3,500-yard mark for the season. Here’s a list of Eagles quarterbacks who have done that: Donovan McNabb, Randall Cunningham, Sonny Jurgensen, Ron Jaworski, Sam Bradford.
Offensive stud
After what was an up-and-down season for much of 2015, Zach Ertz has really come on strong to finish the year. He went over 100 yards for the second consecutive week, becoming the first Eagles’ tight end to do that since Brent Celek in 2009.
Offensive dud
Once again, the Eagles’ outside receivers were invisible on Sunday.
Defensive stud
Marcus Smith had his first-career solo sack!
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Defensive dud
Mychal Kendricks missed a tackle on a touchdown in the first half and continued to make an impact. He’s been a big problem all season. Kiko Alonso is at least coming off a big injury. What’s Kendricks’ excuse?
Key injuries
Bennie Logan (calf) and Byron Maxwell (shoulder) didn’t play on Sunday. They’ll have the entire offseason to get healthy.
Up next
The Eagles have to find another new head coach. Just three years ago, they made a big move to hire Kelly, but on Tuesday decided to fire him. It’s going to be a busy offseason.
