Giants Survive Bizarre Ending; Eagles Get Extra Shot, Still Lose : NFC: Philadelphia given chance to tie the game after time runs out but field-goal try misses.

Somehow, out of the chaos, the New York Giants are still in contention.

The Giants survived a bizarre finish that seemed to symbolize their difficult season and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 16-13, on Sunday.

Brad Daluiso’s 18-yard field goal with 54 seconds left gave them their fifth consecutive victory and kept them in the playoff hunt.

The Eagles, who benched quarterback Randall Cunningham in favor of Bubby Brister, fell out of the postseason picture.

Neither team was sure where it stood in the final, frenzied moments.

With the Eagles driving for a tie, Victor Bailey was stopped at the New York 27 following a five-yard reception, and time seemed to run out.

But with players and spectators on the field and the game apparently over, referee Gordon McCarter ruled that two seconds should be put back on the clock because Giant linebacker Jessie Armstead had picked up the ball and run downfield.

With no timeouts left, Brister then spiked the ball to stop the clock. The extra time was not enough to save the Eagles, though, when Eddie Murray’s 44-yard field-goal attempt was wide left.

Armstead said he felt no sense of relief after Murray’s miss. He insisted he was only doing his job when he picked up the ball.

“The ball was just lying there,” he said. “The whistle hadn’t blown. I just did what I had to do. It was loose because the whistle hadn’t blown. Get that distinction.”

Giant Coach Dan Reeves said he’s still not sure how the Eagles got off their last field-goal attempt.

“In my opinion, there’s no way they can spike the ball and get the kick off,” he said.

The strange finish “really is a tell-tale sign of the way this season has been for us,” defensive end Erik Howard said. “We’ve seen it all.”

The Giants (8-7), who overcame a seven-game losing streak this season that included a quarterback switch, must defeat Dallas next Saturday to stay alive.

The Eagles (7-8) lost their sixth in a row and end the season in Cincinnati. The NFL’s second-most penalized team, Philadelphia helped beat themselves with 11 penalties worth 98 yards.

“As was the case all season, penalties hurt us all day long,” Coach Rich Kotite said. “Then we fumbled and things continued to spriral downward from there.”

A fourth-quarter interception--it was the fourth consecutive game in which the Eagles have thrown one--set up the Giants’ game-tying touchdown. A fumble by Philadelphia’s Jeff Sydner on the ensuing kickoff led to Daluiso’s field goal.

Dave Brown, 18 of 27 for 264 yards, led the Giants on their tying drive after Thomas Randolph intercepted a pass from Brister with 7:36 left to play.

Brister got his first start of the season in part because Cunningham had thrown fourth-quarter interceptions in the Eagles’ previous three games. Brister finished 25 of 39 for 182 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s not meant to be, I guess,” said Brister, who will remain as starter in the final. “I’ve never seen so many penalties. I don’t know if the refs stunk that much or we just committed a lot of penalties.”

Randolph’s turnover set the Giants up for an eight-play drive that ended with Dave Meggett’s five-yard run with 3:54 left to play.

Sydner’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff, caused when he ran into his own teammate, was recovered by Willie Beamon at the Philadelphia 36 with 3:42 left to play. The Giants drove to the Eagle one before Daluiso made the game-winning field goal.