In Final Seconds, Giants Fall Short to Eagles PHILADELPHIA - On the near sideline, Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid raised his arms and wiped his brow. On the far sideline, Giants Coach Tom Coughlin dropped his head and covered his eyes. It was as if neither coach could believe the unlikely finish he had just seen. Al Bello/Getty Images The Giants" Domenik Hixon catching a pass past the Eagles" Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on Sunday night. They were surely not alone. Yes, all that matters is the final result - Eagles 19, Giants 17 - but the fourth quarter here Sunday night may go down as one of the strangest in the history of this rivalry. After a pair of lead changes and a final drive that included three pass-interference penalties, the drama ended with Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes's missing a 54-yard field-goal attempt - twice, actually, because Reid called timeout just before the first one. And so the Giants, who seemed poised to steal a victory in a game that was ugly at the start and frantic at the finish, slunk out of Lincoln Financial Field while the Eagles strutted through their sighs of relief. Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick passed for 241 yards and a touchdown, and running back LeSean McCoy rushed for 123 yards. The Eagles also got four field goals from Alex Henery, including a 26-yarder with just under 2 minutes remaining that proved to be the difference. Eli Manning passed for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns but also threw an interception in the end zone to kill a fourth-quarter drive. He was left in the odd position after the game of answering questions about failing to cap off another of his trademark fourth-quarter comebacks. Manning entered the game with 22 such rallies - including a remarkable eight last season - and all the ingredients seemed in place for No. The familiar pieces were there: after an inconsistent early effort, the Giants held the Eagles to a field goal after a strong drive early in the final quarter. They then immediately marched down the field and took their first lead of the game when Manning found the reserve tight end Bear Pascoe for a 6-yard touchdown. That gave the Giants a 17-16 lead with 6 minutes 45 seconds remaining. Then things got a little kooky. First, the Eagles seemed destined to score a touchdown as they shredded the Giants" defense in a 12-play, 75-yard drive that sucked time off the clock and brought the Eagles as far as the Giants 2. For the second time in the game, however, the Eagles could not convert in a goal-line situation, and Vick was sacked for a 6-yard loss on fourth down, setting up Henery's final kick. That left Manning needing only to get the Giants in field-goal range to have a shot at the win. "We feel if we get in those situations, we're going to win the game," Manning said. You always want the opportunity. You like to have the ball and a chance to go win it. Certainly the Giants expected he would. But despite Manning's aplomb in these situations, the Giants did not look crisp on their final possession. There was a bad snap that forced Manning to throw the ball away. There was a timing pass that looked out of sync. There was a bad drop by receiver Ramses Barden. Ultimately, what kept the Giants alive were the overzealousness of the Eagles" defenders and the yellow flags of the referees. On a fourth-and-1 from the Giants 44, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was called for interfering with Barden, a 21-yard penalty. Then, on third and 10 from the Eagles 35, Nnamdi Asomugha was called for the same foul, again on Barden. Those decisions had the crowd enraged, but the boos turned to loud cheers two plays later, when Manning threw a deep pass down the sideline to Barden and flags flew yet again. This time, the penalty was on Barden - who seemed to climb all over Asomugha's back - and it pushed the Giants back to the Eagles 36 with 15 seconds remaining. The penalty was significant; instead of a 44-yard field-goal attempt for the win, the 10 extra yards forced Tynes to try from 54 - or 1 yard beyond the longest field goal of his career. "You can have no idea on how I feel about the play right now," Barden said. I tried to make a play on it but must have gotten my arm on him.