December 22, 2010 New York Giants Injury Report: LT David Diehl (illness) and DE Dave Tollefson (knee) did not practice yesterday.

“Dave’s going to be out for a while with the MCL (injury),” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “I don’t know (if we’ll put him on Injured Reserve). We’re going to try to see where we are in a few days.”

“I was on the StairMaster today, so that’s got to be good, right?” Tollefson said. “I think it’d be a little easier if we had won last week to kind of say, ‘Man, I’ve got a little more time to get better.’ But we’re behind the eight ball now. So as soon as I can run, I’m going to go. I don’t know when that’s going to be. Hopefully I can start running next week. The main concern is with the MCL injury and that I don’t injure another ligament in my knee. Can you play with an injured MCL? Yeah, but it leaves other ligaments susceptible to injury. So we’re kind of making sure that doesn’t happen.”

WR Mario Manningham (heel) and DE Osi Umenyiora (knee) practiced on a limited basis.

“(Manningham) seems to be sore,” said Coughlin. “We’ll see how far he can go.”

OC Shaun O’Hara (foot), OL Shawn Andrews (back), and WR Devin Thomas (hamstring) all practiced fully.

P Matt Dodge on WFAN: The audio of yesterday’s interview of P Matt Dodge on WFAN is available at CBSNewYork.com.

Article on Head Coach Tom Coughlin: Coughlin Feeling Insecure? He Shouldn’t by Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com

Article on DE Jason Pierre-Paul: A Rookie Born to Play This Game by Aditi Kinkhabwala of The Wall Street Journal

Win and In: If the Giants beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, they will clinch a playoff spot. If the Giants lose, they will have to beat the Redskins and hope the Bears beat the Packers in the final week of the regular season.

Practice Squad Move: The Giants have signed DE Ayanga Okpokowuruk to the Practice Squad. The Giants originally signed Okpokowuruk as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2010 NFL Draft. He was waived at the end of July.

S Antrel Rolle on WFAN: The audio of yesterday’s interview of S Antrel Rolle on WFAN is available at CBSNewYork.com.

Article on QB Eli Manning: Eli Addresses Giants Mann to Man by Hank Gola of The Daily News

Article on the the Giants Bouncing Back: How the Giants Can Bounce Back by Aditi Kinkhabwala of The Wall Street Journal

Notes: The Giants lead the NFL in both takeaways (34) and giveaways (35).

The Giants have allowed only 15 sacks this season while sacking opposing quarterbacks 42 times.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, more than 3,000 NFL games have been played in which a team held a lead of at least 21 points in the fourth quarter. Last Sunday’s game marked just the ninth time in league history a team trailed by that margin in the final quarter and won. The Giants have been on the wrong end of the last two such comebacks: last Sunday and the 2006 game against the Tennessee Titans.

The Giants are 50-5 under Tom Coughlin in games in which they own the lead after three quarters.

Giants Lose in Epic Fashion: This one hurts. The Giants were up 24-3 at halftime and 31-10 with just over eight minutes left in the game. But the Eagles scored 28 points in the last 8 minutes and 17 seconds, including scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 65-yard punt return with no time left on the clock.

“I’ve never been around anything like this in my life,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin after the game. “It’s about as empty as you get to feel in this business.”

“I’m in disbelief right now; I’m in shock,” said TE Kevin Boss. “The mistakes that we made were costly and I’m in disbelief right now.”

“No words, no explanation,” said DT Barry Cofield. “This is about as bad a loss as you can suffer.”

“(The locker room is) devastated and it should be,” said DE Justin Tuck. “We let one slip out of our hands. We had an opportunity to basically seal up the NFC East today, had it and lost it.”

With the loss, the Giants fell to 9-5. The Eagles improved to 10-4. And because they swept the Giants, the Eagles are in the driver’s seat to win the division with two games to play.

The first half was all Giants as New York scored four times on seven possessions. The Giants failed to move the ball on their first two drives of the game. But then the Giants drove 71 yards in 9 plays to take a 7-0 advantage when QB Eli Manning hit WR Mario Manningham for a 35-yard touchdown.

The Giants’ fourth drive ended with an interception at the New York 45-yard line. This helped to set up the Eagles’ only points of the first half, a 34-yard field goal.

But the Giants then scored 17 points on their final three possessions of the first half. Manningham scored from 33 yards out on a pass from Manning during an 8-play, 73-yard drive. With under a minute to go, the Giants added a 25-yard field goal after driving 55 yards in 12 plays. With under 10 seconds to play, CB Terrell Thomas forced a fumble that S Kenny Phillips recovered and returned 22 yards down to the Eagles’ 8-yard line. On the very next play, Manning hit WR Hakeem Nicks for the score. Giants 24 – Eagles 3 at the break.

Defensively, in the first half, the Eagles were held to 4 first downs and 74 total net yards.

The mistakes started happening in the second half. The Eagles and Giants both went three-and-out to start the third quarter. The Eagles moved from their 8-yard line to the Giants’ 46-yard line, but were forced to punt. Two plays later, Manningham fumbled and the Eagles recovered the ball at the Giants’ 25-yard line. Three plays later, the Eagles scored to cut the Giants’ lead to 24-10.

The Giants could not move the football on their next two possessions. Neither could the Eagles as Philadelphia punted once and then fumbled the ball away near midfield after a long pass completion, as Phillips forced the fumble and recovered the football. Seven plays later, TE Kevin Boss scored from 8 yards out on a pass from Manning. With 8:17 left in the game, the Giants were up by three touchdowns, 31-10.

The Eagles quickly scored on the ensuing possession as QB Michael Vick hit TE Brent Celek for a 65-yard touchdown. The two-play drive took 49 seconds.

Then the Eagles recovered the onsides kick. Huge special teams mistake #1.

It took 5 plays and 2 minutes for the Eagles to score another touchdown, cutting the Giants’ lead to 31-24 with 5:28 to go in the game. The Giants’ offense did gain two first downs and take off 2:27, leaving about 3 minutes to go in the game. But the Eagles went 88 yards in 8 plays and 1 minute and 45 seconds to tie the game 31-31. with 1:16 left to play.

The Giants received the football but could not gain a first down and punted with only 14 left on the clock. On the punt return, WR DeSean Jackson scored from 65-yards out with no time left. Huge special teams mistake #2. And ballgame. Eagles 38 – Giants 31.

“I was definitely looking out of bounds the whole way,” said P Matt Dodge. “I got the snap and tried to get it off quick. Not a good time to hit a line drive, that’s for sure…I had plenty of time, just not executing good. There’s nothing more you can say. You can’t give the most explosive returner in the game a line drive in a situation like that.”

Lowlights of the game are available at NFL.com.

Post-Game Notes: Inactive for the Giants were WR Devin Thomas (hamstring), WR/Returner Darius Reynaud, TE Jake Ballard, OL Mitch Petrus, OL Jamon Meredith, DE Alex Hall, DT Linval Joseph, and CB Michael Coe.

December 17, 2010 New York Giants Injury Report – All Hands on Deck!: Every Giant on the 53-man roster practiced yesterday.

Practicing on a limited basis yesterday were WR Mario Manningham (hip flexor), WR Devin Thomas (hamstring), OC Shaun O’Hara (foot), OL Shawn Andrews (back), and LB Michael Boley (shoulder). Of these five players, Manningham is “probable” for the game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday; the rest are “questionable” for the game.

“(Manningham) seemed to be okay today,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “A little bit better.”

“Shaun (O’Hara) worked,” said Coughlin. “He’s had good work and we’ll see. We’re always looking at the next day to see how the guys recover.”

“I don’t think I’d say I’m healed,” said O’Hara. “I think it’s to the point now where I don’t know how much better it’s going to get and it’s just where we just have to go. I don’t think I can wait much longer. The season will be over. It’s now or never and I’ve been managing pain all year so it’s nothing new.”

“(Shawn Andrews) worked a little bit today, too,” said Coughlin.

RG Chris Snee (hip), DE Justin Tuck (abdomen), and DE Osi Umenyiora (knee) fully practiced. All three are “probable” for the game.

Articles on Sunday’s Giants-Eagles Game:

• Eagles CB Samuel Has Knack For Mann Coverage by Bart Hubbuch of The New York Post
• Eagles Live and Die by the Big Play by Aditi Kinkhabwala of The Wall Street Journal
• O’Hara’s Return Lets G-Men Put It All On ‘Line’ by Steve Serby of The New York Post

Steve Smith Done for the Season: The Giants announced yesterday that WR Steve Smith will miss the remainder of the 2010 NFL season with a knee injury. After undergoing an MRI, it was learned that Smith sustained an articular cartilage injury to his knee. Smith will require season-ending surgery which has yet to be scheduled.

“Steve is injured and will not be able to play anymore (this season),” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “He will have surgery on the knee. I feel bad for Steve. He fights his way back, he gets back on the field, he gets a little bit acclimated to game conditions again and then is injured, so our thoughts and the entire thoughts of our team are for Steve at this time. I did not and I tried to encourage him after the game because the first news was that it may have been a hamstring or something like that or that type of injury there in the outside back part of the knee. Unfortunately it turned out to be more than that.”

“You can’t get used to missing somebody like Steve,” said HB Brandon Jacobs. “When Steve wasn’t around for the last four weeks we really missed him. And you can tell.”

“Our team just has to march on,” said Coughlin. “Someone else has got to step up there and do the job we would have asked Steve to do.”

Giants Place Sintim on IR; Sign DE Alex Hall: As expected, the Giants have placed LB Clint Sintim on Injured Reserve. Sintim tore an ACL in one of his knees against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday.

With the roster vacancy, the Giants signed DE Alex Hall. Hall spent the preseason with the Giants after the Eagles waived him and was on the Giants’ 53-man roster in November after the Cardinals waived him.

Injury Report: Aside from WR Steve Smith (knee/pectoral), who will likely be put on Injured Reserve shortly, not practicing yesterday were WR Mario Manningham (hip flexor) and RG Chris Snee (hip).

“(Manningham) does have an issue and hopefully he can progress a little bit each day,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “Hopefully he’ll make progress and hopefully he’ll be able to go (on Thursday).”

“I’ll be good for Sunday,” said Manningham. “I don’t know how my week is going to be, but I’m going to be alright.”

Practicing on a limited basis yesterday were OC Shaun O’Hara (foot), OL Shawn Andrews (back), and DE Osi Umenyiora (knee).

“Shawn (Andrews) is going to work this week,” said Coughlin before practice. “He’s going to be limited at first and we’ll see how far he can go.”

Practice Squad Moves: The Giants officially confirmed that LB Kenny Ingram has been signed to the Practice Squad, as we reported yesterday. To make room for Ingram, the Giants released DT Joe Joseph from the Practice Squad.