Brown kicks 5 FGs, Giants beat Eagles 15-7

PHILADELPHIA — The New York Giants went from 0-6 to right in the middle of the NFC East race in six days.

Josh Brown kicked a career-high five field goals, Eli Manning played error-free and the Giants beat Philadelphia 15-7 Sunday.

With Dallas losing to Detroit, the Giants (2-6) are just two games behind the Cowboys (4-4) in the NFL’s weakest division.

“We still believe,” Manning said. “These last two weeks we’ve played our best football, together as a team, both sides, helping each other out, relying on each other. We’ve got to continue to build off that.”

Michael Vick returned for the Eagles (3-5) after missing 2½ games with a hamstring injury, but clearly wasn’t healthy and was removed for rookie Matt Barkley late in the second quarter.

The Giants snapped an eight-game road losing streak while extending Philadelphia’s home losing streak to 10 games. The Eagles’ last win at the Linc was over the Giants on Sept. 30, 2012.

Chip Kelly’s high-flying offense that racked up at least 425 yards in each of the first six games has been grounded. The Eagles followed a 17-3 loss to Dallas with another poor offensive performance. They had just 201 yards of offense and have totaled 479 the past two weeks.

“We’re instable at the quarterback spot. We haven’t played well at quarterback and it’s cost us the last two games,” Kelly said.

LeSean McCoy, the NFL’s leading rusher, was held to 48 yards on 15 carries. DeSean Jackson had 63 yards receiving on eight catches.

The Giants haven’t allowed a touchdown on defense in the last 10 quarters.

“We’ve simplified things,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “(Defensive coordinator) Perry Fewell has done a great job putting in game plans that have allowed athletes to be athletes.”

The Eagles finally scored when Zak DeOssie’s snap sailed over punter Steve Weatherford’s head and Najee Goode picked it up and ran 2 yards for a touchdown with 4:11 left.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do that before, not even on the practice field,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said of DeOssie.

New York opened the season with six losses before defeating Minnesota 23-7 last Monday night. Manning was 25 of 39 for 246 yards and didn’t throw an interception for the second consecutive game after getting picked 15 times in first six weeks.

Barkley finished 17 of 26 for 158 yards and one interception.

“Matt has been thrown in twice into tough situations,” Kelly said. “He gave us a little spark, a little energy.”

Vick was reduced to being an immobile pocket passer. He completed 6 of 9 for 31 yards, threw an interception, was sacked and got called for intentional grounding. The Eagles managed 27 total yards in the four series Vick played.

Barkley came in and drove the Eagles 78 yards in just over a minute late in the second quarter. But on first down from the 2, Barkley was sacked by Terrell Thomas and fumbled. Jacquian Williams recovered at the Giants 12.

Brown kicked field goals of 40, 44, 33 and 46 yards on four straight possessions in the first half to give the Giants a 12-0 lead.

Antrel Rolle intercepted Vick’s second pass and sacked him for a 12-yard loss inside the Eagles 10 on the next series.

The Giants moved the ball easily throughout the game, but couldn’t get it in the end zone. They had a first down at the 5 on the series they settled for Brown’s 33-yarder.

Brown connected from 27 yards to make it 15-0 in the fourth quarter.

Vick strained his left hamstring late in the first half of a win at the Giants on Oct. 6. Nick Foles was impressive in a victory at Tampa Bay, but was awful in a loss to Dallas. Foles sustained a concussion on the final play of the third quarter last week.

Barkley made his NFL debut against the Cowboys and threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter. The fumble on his first series against the Giants gave him four turnovers on his first four drives.

NOTES: This was the first time the Giants won without scoring a TD since a 9-6 victory over Seattle on Sept. 22, 2002. … With his second completion, Manning passed Phil Simms as the franchise’s all-time leader in yards passing. Simms, who played 14 seasons with the Giants, finished his career with 33,462 yards in the air. Manning is also first in attempts, completions, and touchdown passes. … Over the past four games, the Giants have held McCoy (twice), Matt Forte and Adrian Peterson to 189 yards on 67 carries for an average of 2.8 yards per rush.