Eagles edge Giants in season finale

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Eagles enjoyed winning locker rooms only six other times this season, and that was kept in mind during any celebration of a 35-30 win over the New York Giants on Sunday. There was only subdued excitement after the victory because they knew that a season that started with such promise ended earlier than any hoped and with more uncertainty than any expected.

For the second consecutive year, the Eagles finished their schedule with a Week 17 victory at MetLife Stadium in a game without playoff implications. Except this season, interim coach Pat Shurmur directed the team and not Chip Kelly. Five days after owner Jeffrey Lurie fired Kelly, the Eagles completed the third and final season of Kelly's tenure with a 7-9 record.

"It was tough this week on everyone," quarterback Sam Bradford said. "It would've been tougher if we had to go into the offseason with a loss."

The result did not affect the playoffs, but it did affect next season's schedule and the Eagles' draft position. The second-place finish in the NFC East standings means the Eagles will not take a trip to London next season and will visit the Seattle Seahawks instead. They will select 13th in the draft.

But those are issues for the next coach to worry about. On Sunday, Shurmur wanted his players to disregard the unknown of the future and just worry about three hours of football. Those three hours included subtle changes to what the Eagles had shown all season.

Bradford had more freedom to change the play at the line of scrimmage. DeMarco Murray rushed in a traditional deep set with the quarterback under center. Even 2014 first-round pick Marcus Smith saw more action.

"There wasn't really much different," Shurmur said. "We just utilized some of our plays in a different way."

Bradford had one of the finest games of the season, completing 30 of 38 passes for 320 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He said after the game that he would need to consider the new coach's scheme when determining whether he would return to Philadelphia next season.

DeMarco Murray led all Eagles rushers with 12 carries for 69 yards and a score. Zach Ertz finished with nine catches for 152 yards. Jordan Matthews caught both of Bradford's touchdown passes, but his seven catches for 54 yards left him three shy of a 1,000-yard season.

On Murray's first carry on the Eagles' opening drive, he lined up eight yards deep with Bradford under center. With a running start, Murray took the ball, hit the crease, and ran for a 54-yard touchdown. It seemed fitting that Murray's longest carry of the season came on his first carry after Kelly's ouster.

"I think this is the most we've worked on it throughout the course of the week — everyone had a good feel for it," Murray said of the formation. "Offensive line did a great job blocking, and I felt I was able to get used to it. I've always talked to \[Shurmur\] and we've had a good relationship about certain run plays."

Darren Sproles rushed for a 6-yard score later in the quarter to give the Eagles a 14-3 lead. The Giants cut the deficit to one point after a field goal and an interception set up the first of two touchdown passes by Eli Manning.

The Eagles took a 21-20 lead into halftime, but they lost it after Murray fumbled early in the third quarter and the Giants responded with a 45-yard touchdown pass (Manning to Rueben Randle) on the first play after the turnover. The Giants were in position to extend that lead on their next drive, going all the way to the Eagles' 14-yard line. But linebacker Connor Barwin beat Giants left tackle Ereck Flowers and hit Manning from behind. The ball popped loose and was caught by Walter Thurmond, who returned the fumble for an 83-yard touchdown.

"That's a 14-point swing," Barwin said. "I was going for the sack, but the ball just kind of floated and Walt did a great job."

The Eagles never relinquished the lead. Matthews caught a fourth-quarter touchdown pass and the Giants added a late field goal. The Giants actually had a chance to go on a game-winning drive, but the Eagles stymied Manning to complete their second consecutive season sweep of the Giants. It might have been the final game for Giants coach Tom Coughlin, who declined to address his future.

The Eagles already determined the future of Kelly. Shurmur did not want to view Sunday as an audition, but he's expecting a meeting with the team's brass this week. He showed some tweaks to the offense that were welcomed, such as trusting Bradford to make more changes at the line.

"I think sometimes, it just gets us in a better play, allows us to have an opportunity to have a more explosive or successful play than if were just to run what had originally been called," Bradford said.

Center Jason Kelce mentioned how the Eagles reduced mistakes in the game. They were penalized only three times on Sunday. They averaged 6.7 penalties in the previous 15 games.

The players will meet Monday for exit interviews and then will disperse for the offseason. When they're together next, there will be new coaches and new faces, with many of the current players and coaches elsewhere. Even though the final game lacked meaning, the players emphasized that it was the last time this group would play together.

On his ride to the stadium in the morning, Shurmur turned to the team's vice president of security, Dom DiSandro, and said, "Game day never gets old, and winning games certainly never gets old." The Eagles won only seven times this year, which was too few to extend the season any longer than Sunday. But Shurmur said he thinks the final win could help the franchise moving forward.

"Whatever happens for this team next year," Shurmur said, "there's just a lot of really good stuff here that you can build on."