Giants Get Wild-Card Spot After It Almost Slips Away

Running back Tiki Barber found redemption Saturday, and so did kicker Matt Bryant. As a result, the New York Giants are headed for the playoffs.

Bryant, who needed a lucky ricochet to make an extra point that tied the score, kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime to topple the Philadelphia Eagles, 10-7, and secure a wild-card berth for the NFL’s most improbable playoff team.

Setting up that winning drive was Barber, who had his best and worst day as a pro. He rushed for a career-high 203 yards but lost three fumbles in the process, as many as he lost in the first 15 games of the season.

Still, the only offensive plays the Giants called in overtime were Barber runs -- six of them for 29 yards.

“He came up to me after the game, put his arm around me and said, ‘Hey, Coach, thanks for sticking with me,’ ” Giant Coach Jim Fassel said. “It wasn’t a hard call for me. He’s won a lot of games for me. I stuck by him before, I’ll stick by him again.”

The Eagles stuck by their man, too. But Pro Bowl kicker David Akers didn’t come through. He was wide right on a 35-yard attempt with 1:16 remaining in regulation. He might have been bothered by a shoulder stinger he suffered while making a tackle on the opening kickoff, but he was in no mood to elaborate after the game.

“I’ve got one word to say to you: I missed,” he said, proving this was neither his day for kicking nor counting.

The loss put home-field advantage in jeopardy for the Eagles (12-4), who need the New York Jets to beat visiting Green Bay today to avoid hitting the road in the NFC playoffs. Philadelphia had won six in a row and nine of 10.

The Giants (10-6), meanwhile, are just happy to make the playoffs. After all, they were 6-6 in early December after consecutive losses to Houston and Tennessee. Since, they’ve won four in a row and erased any doubts about Fassel’s job security.

The Giants join Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Green Bay in the NFC playoff field. Atlanta can secure the final spot today with a victory at Cleveland or a loss by New Orleans against visiting Carolina.

“We’ve played football about as bad and as well this season as anybody can play it,” Giant defensive end Michael Strahan said. “To win 10 games and make the playoffs is huge.”

New York limited the Eagles to 209 yards and blemished the record of quarterback A.J. Feeley, who dropped to 4-1 as a starter. Philadelphia’s only touchdown came on its opening drive, when receiver James Thrash scored on a 20-yard reverse.

“We weren’t able to connect,” Coach Andy Reid said. “That comes back to me getting the guys in the right position to make plays. I didn’t do a very good job of it.”

That’s not to say the Giants made the most of all their opportunities. They lost three of seven fumbles, had two turnovers in the red zone and saw two touchdowns called back because of penalties. Bryant missed a 36-yard field-goal attempt, rattled through a PAT, and shanked a kickoff.

The Giants didn’t get on the scoreboard until midway through the fourth quarter, when tight end Jeremy Shockey outjumped safety Brian Dawkins to make a beautiful one-handed catch for a seven-yard touchdown. Shockey, true to his University of Miami roots, started talking trash as they tumbled to the ground. He then popped to his feet and celebrated by heaving the ball deep into the stands.

“It was so unfortunate that we had so many turnovers, because we could have put up a lot more points,” said Shockey, who had a game-high 10 catches for 98 yards.

Barber was so overcome by emotions after the game, he sat on the bench with his face buried in his hands and cried. He could never remember doing that after a game, win or lose.

“The gamut of emotions I ran through today was unbelievable,” said Barber, who touched the ball 40 times and accounted for 276 yards. “I told Matt Bryant after he kicked that field goal that it takes a lot to make me cry. But when that thing went through, I couldn’t help myself.”

Although Barber was officially responsible for three fumbles, he had four by his count. On the final drive by his count, he and quarterback Kerry Collins had a bad exchange and the ball hit the turf. Barber pounced on it and Collins was charged with the fumble. But the two later said the miscue was caused by Barber being out of position.

“It wasn’t slick,” Barber said of the football. “It wasn’t enough awareness on my part. I was getting complacent on the contact, and that’s what [the Eagles] are known for. They go for the ball, they strip it, they hit you hard and they pull it out. They got me.”

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AFC Playoff Scenarios

MIAMI

* can clinch the division with a win or tie.

* can clinch a first-round bye with a win and Pittsburgh loss or tie; OR a win, Pittsburgh loss or tie and Tennessee loss.

* can clinch a playoff berth with a N.Y. Jets loss or tie and Denver win; OR N.Y. Jets loss or tie and an Indianapolis loss.

NEW ENGLAND

* can clinch the division with a win and a N.Y. Jets loss or tie.

* can clinch a playoff berth with a win, Cleveland loss or tie and Denver loss or tie; OR a win, Cleveland loss or tie, Denver loss or tie and San Diego loss or tie; OR a tie, N.Y. Jets loss, Cleveland loss, Denver loss, San Diego loss.

N.Y. JETS

* can clinch the division with a win and a Miami loss.

* can clinch a playoff berth with a win, Cleveland loss or tie; OR a tie, New England loss or tie, Cleveland loss, Denver loss or tie, and San Diego loss or tie.

PITTSBURGH

* has clinched the division title and can clinch a first-round bye with a win and Tennessee loss.

CLEVELAND

* can clinch a playoff berth with a win, Denver win and N.Y. Jets win; OR a win and N.Y. Jets win; OR a win, Denver win and Miami win or tie; OR a win, and Miami win or tie; OR a tie, N.Y. Jets loss or tie, New England loss or tie, Denver loss or tie, and San Diego loss or tie; OR a loss, N.Y. Jets loss, Baltimore loss or tie, Denver loss, and San Diego loss. Note: There are other scenarios in which Cleveland can clinch a playoff berth if it is determined that after this week’s games they will own the strength of victory tiebreaker over the teams they are tied with.

BALTIMORE

* can clinch a playoff berth with a win, New England loss, N.Y. Jets loss, Cleveland loss, Denver loss and San Diego loss.

TENNESSEE

* has clinched the division title and can clinch a first-round bye with a win or tie; OR a Miami loss and a Pittsburgh loss; OR a Miami win; and Tennessee wins strength of victory tiebreaker over Miami.

INDIANAPOLIS

* has clinched a wild-card playoff berth.

OAKLAND

* has clinched the division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

DENVER

* can clinch a playoff berth with a win, Cleveland loss or tie, New England loss or tie, N.Y. Jets loss or tie; OR a win, Cleveland loss or tie, Miami loss, N.Y. Jets win; OR a tie, New England loss or tie, N.Y. Jets loss, Cleveland loss, and San Diego loss or tie.

SAN DIEGO

* can clinch a playoff berth with a win, Denver loss or tie, New England loss or tie, N.Y. Jets loss or tie and Cleveland loss or tie; OR win, Denver loss or tie, Miami loss, N.Y. Jets win and Cleveland loss or tie; OR a tie, Denver loss, New England, N.Y Jets loss and Cleveland loss.

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NFC Playoff Scenarios

PHILADELPHIA

* has clinched the division title and a first-round bye and can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a Green Bay loss.

N.Y. GIANTS

* have clinched a wild-card berth.

GREEN BAY

* has clinched division title and can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win or tie.

* can clinch a first-round bye with a win or tie OR Tampa Bay loss or tie.

TAMPA BAY

* has clinched division title and can clinch a first-round bye with a win and Green Bay loss.

ATLANTA

* can clinch a wild-card with a win or tie; OR New Orleans loss or tie.

NEW ORLEANS

* can clinch a playoff berth with a win and Atlanta loss.

SAN FRANCISCO

* has clinched division title.

Teams eliminated from the playoffs: Arizona, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Minnesota, St. Louis, Seattle and Washington.

Associated Press