Giants get past Dolphins, 31-24, behind Odell Beckham

With the score tied in the fourth quarter, Odell Beckham Jr. somehow slipped five yards behind the secondary.

That turned out to be the winning margin for the New York Giants.

Beckham’s 84-yard touchdown reception put the Giants ahead to stay with 11 minutes to go, and they forged a three-way tie atop the NFC East by beating the Miami Dolphins, 31-24, on Monday night.

New York’s Eli Manning completed 27 of 31 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns. His passer rating of 151.5 was his highest since 2009.

The Giants ended a losing streak at three games and tied the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles for the division lead. The Dolphins were mathematically eliminated from the playoff race, extending their postseason drought to a franchise-record seven consecutive years.

The Dolphins topped 20 points for the first time since October, but couldn’t keep up with Beckham, who had seven catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns. The 100-yard game was his sixth in a row, a Giants record.

With the score tied, 24-24, Beckham took advantage of broken coverage to score the go-ahead touchdown. Jamar Taylor and seldom-used safety Shamiel Gary were the closest defenders, but Manning hit Beckham in stride at midfield and he sprinted to the end zone for his 12th touchdown this year.

Beckham made a 45-yard reception to set up a touchdown and had a five-yard touchdown catch. His final catch, a diving grab on third down at midfield, sealed the victory with less than two minutes left.

Manning led a touchdown drive in the final two minutes of the first half covering 80 yards, including 45 on a pass to Beckham, to make it 17-17.

Miami’s Ryan Tannehill threw for 236 yards and burned a blitz by throwing deep to Kenny Stills for a 47-yard touchdown that put Miami ahead, 24-17. But Tannehill overthrew an open Landry behind the Giants’ secondary with the Dolphins trailing and less than five minutes to go.