#Giants defense finds redemption by closing out Eagles

The first is zero. That’s how many times the Eagles converted a third down Sunday against the Giants.

The second is two. That’s how many defensive stops the Giants made in the final five minutes of a 27-17 victory — after allowing the Eagles to score two touchdowns in the final five minutes and steal a win when the teams met earlier this season.

“The first game we were kind of vanilla when they went tempo — Cover 3, Cover 2, Cover 3, Cover 2,” safety Jabrill Peppers said. “This game we had a lot more multiples. That’s a testament to the coaching staff putting us in places to excel and giving them looks on the fly, that they think they are getting ‘this’ but we are actually doing ‘this.’ I think that gave them trouble.”

The Giants have held double-digit leads in each of the past six games but are only 3-3 in that span. But the defense is learning to close out wins, as first shown last week with fourth-quarter interceptions by Peppers and Logan Ryan against Washington.

This time, it was back-to-back fourth-down stops, which is more encouraging because coordinator Patrick Graham’s unit wasn’t reliant on the takeaway to be effective.

“I think all of the defensive coaches have done a tremendous job in bringing these guys along,” coach Joe Judge said. “We talk all the time about the improvement from week to week, and we’re continually seeing that. To me, it’s when the fundamentals marry up with the scheme on the field. The fundamentals are 10 times more important than the scheme.

“I see these guys and understand a big-picture concept and move forward with that. Pat has really evolved in what he’s calling based on what we have to do within the game and who is available.”

First, James Bradberry batted down a fourth-and-10 pass in 1-on-1 coverage from the Giants’ 36-yard line to protect a 24-17 lead. It was a clinic from the possible Pro Bowl cornerback on how to turn his head and look for the ball at the last second without getting flagged for pass interference.

“Credit that defense,” Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz said. “They definitely disguised a lot of looks and brought all sorts of different pressures and made it tough on us.”

After the Giants added an insurance field goal, Dexter Lawrence’s sack was the Eagles’ ninth and final third-down failure and set up fourth-and-16. Peppers tackled Boston Scott short of the chains in an act of poetic justice because Scott caught the game-winning touchdown over Peppers when the Eagles overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit on Oct. 22.

“I was just thinking about making an open-field tackle and getting off the field,” Peppers said. “I wasn’t really thinking about it like, ‘Oh, I gave up this. Let me get this back.’ That was my mindset going into the game: I have to make impact plays and just to wash the bad taste out of my mouth.”

The Seahawks actually won a game earlier this season without converting a third down. But it’s rare — and usually spells a loss.

“We were able to execute at the end and finish off the game,” Bradberry said, “so it was a huge achievement for us.”