No player wants to get hurt in the final game of the season. Giants center Jon Halapio did not escape Sunday’s 34-17 loss to the Eagles unscathed.
Halapio left the locker room on crutches after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in the fourth quarter. He was carted off the field with 4:45 remaining. It is believed Halapio’s injury is a rupture, and if that is confirmed, he will miss the entire 2020 season.
This is quite a blow for Halapio. He won the starting job last season but did not make it out of the second game, as he went down with a fractured lower leg and ankle against the Cowboys, underwent surgery and spent the year on injured reserve. He came back, regained his starting job and started 15 games this season.
The streak is over. DT Leonard Williams recorded his first sack in nearly one calendar year. He combined with LB David Mayo to drop Carson Wentz for a 10-yard loss in the second quarter. The half-sack for Williams was his first since Dec. 30, 2018, when he was with the Jets. Williams did not have a sack in his seven starts this season for the Jets. After he was traded to the Giants, Williams did not have a sack before finally breaking through. Williams had 17 sacks in his first four-plus seasons with the Jets.
RB Saquon Barkley ran 17 times for 92 yards, allowing him to finish his second season with 1,003 yards, despite missing three games with a high ankle sprain. It was a rough game for Barkley, other than a 68-yard touchdown burst in the third quarter.
WR Golden Tate caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones in the third quarter and celebrated in the end zone by pretending to play the flip cup bar game with his teammates. Jones, Eli Manning and other Giants were seen on video playing flip cup in Hoboken after beating the Redskins last week.
FB Eli Penny was forced out in the first half with a back injury. … The Eagles lost two starters on offense. RB Miles Sanders (9-52) was forced out with an ankle injury, and Brandon Brooks, the starting right guard, was carted off late in the second quarter after he hurt his shoulder while blocking on an extra point. … CB Sam Beal’s season came to an end before the season finale, as he was inactive. Beal was questionable coming into the game with a shoulder issue. … Even though this was his last game with the Giants, Manning continued his tradition of not accompanying the other team captains on the field for the pregame coin toss.