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FIVE KEYS TO BEATING PHILADELPHIA: By Aaron Klein Such is the 2015 finale Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium. When the NFL planned out the schedule last spring, most imagined that this game would be the battle for playoff seeding and the NFC East title, just as they saw the Washington-Dallas game, also this Sunday. Instead, Washington has already won the division; Dallas took an epic fall with Tony Romo out nearly the entire season with a broken clavicle suffered in Week Two. And the Giants were supposed to be on the rise against the preseason favorites, the Eagles. Instead, neither team can get out of Dodge fast enough. Well, there is something to play for, or play to avoid: The loser of this game will be scheduled for one of the London games in 2016. We'll see who wants to play the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams in Week Seven next year. A loss also gets that team a higher draft choice. The Giants currently hold the 10th pick overall. Offensive lineman, anyone? Defensive end? Safety? Linebacker? Start thinking about it now. The Eagles, by the way (oh, you must have heard) fired head coach Chip Kelly Tuesday afternoon and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will coach the team in their last game. There will be plenty of changes for both teams come the off-season with the potential looming that the Giants themselves will make major changes, maybe even from the top down. Still, these two teams must play Game 16. There will be no forfeits. Instead, plenty of players whose contracts are about to expire need to impress, well, their own team as well as 31 other teams if they want to keep working in the NFL. So, how can the Giants win to finish at 7-9? Will it make a difference when it comes to the biggest decision: the fate of head coach Tom Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese? (Gee, haven't we been here before?). For the record, three Giants -- safeties Craig Dahl and Cooper Taylor and right tackle Marshall Newhouse -- were held out of Wednesday's practice under the concussion protocol. Beyond Bobby Hart, who would sub for Newhouse if he can't play, the secondary will likely be flooded with guys you barely know without Dahl and Taylor, though Landon Collins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Prince Amukamara must be cornerstone-type players. If you're thinking you might be seeing the last of DR-C and Prince this Sunday, well, you may be half-right – DR-C has three years remaining with quite a bit of cash still owed to him while Prince is finishing up his contract on Sunday. Here are Five Keys to victory and to saving face after yet another long, crazy and ultimately disappointing season. 1. Don't worry about winning ... play for pride instead: The best the Giants can finish the season is at 7-9 record, the worst, 6-10, but does it really make a difference? Not at all, aside from higher draft positioning. Instead, the team should just play the best it can, in all three phases, and play it loose. Winning would be nice, but losing because everyone has one foot out the door would be worse. The players love Coughlin and love playing for him. This week, some think that they're playing for his job, just as he may be coaching for it. The scoreboard will only matter so much in the end, but playing well and staying focused would mean so much more and will likely result in victory. The winner will finish second in the NFC East and, for what it's worth, there may be a little bit of pride to find in that. 2. Get back to Manning-to-Beckham Jr.: Eli Manning blamed himself for the loss to Minnesota and said that he wished he could have played better for his coach. Fine, it's over. Besides, he was without his best receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., who let his emotions get the best of him the week before in a loss to Carolina and was suspended for Week 16. Both, hopefully, will be back, figuratively and literally, this week and together they can be quite effective against the Eagles defense, as long as the offensive line can protect Manning from a sometimes dominant pass rush. As a unit, the Eagles defense ranks 15th in the league with 35 sacks, 9.5 by Fletcher Cox alone. Oh, here's one for you old-timers out there: Manning is three touchdown passes away from tying Y.A. Tittle's all-time single-season team record. In last week's loss to Minnesota, he threw his 292nd career touchdown pass and moved into eighth place in the NFL history, passing Warren Moon, Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas. 3. Control the clock: The Giants have slipped a bit in time of possession over recent weeks and the less they have the ball, the less they have chances to score. Even with Kelly gone, it's hard to imagine Shurmur drastically changing the offense, a unit that seemed to be sharply focused on moving as fast as it can. Two of the best ways to control the ball are the most obvious ones: running the ball and utilizing the short passing game. Running back Rashad Jennings was the workhorse last week and should be given every opportunity to do it again. Running the ball well means the offensive line is doing its job, and the "dancing elephants" have a good time setting the running game free. 4. Attack Sam Bradford but beware a resurgent DeMarco Murray: Bradford has taken 27 sacks and thrown 13 interceptions on 494 pass attempts with 17 touchdowns. His favorite receivers are Jordan Matthews and tight end Zach Ertz, but the most dangerous is, in one man's view, Darren Sproles, the all-purpose back whom the Giants should have gone after when he was a free agent before the 2014 season. Putting Bradford under pressure can disrupt the offense, but watch for the potential resurgence of Murray, who found himself in some sort of spiteful doghouse under Kelly but could be unleashed with Shurmur at the helm, particularly if the Giants get to Bradford with the pass rush. In fact, don't be surprised if Murray becomes the focal point of the offense and looks for an upswing in 2016. 5. Special teams had better be special: Return specialist Dwayne Harris has been limited with a shoulder injury and the Eagles field some of the better special teams units in the league, with Sproles on punt returns, Josh Huff on kicks, and the coverage teams have been outstanding. Sproles must be the focus as he's already brought two punt returns back for touchdowns while averaging nearly 12 yards per return . If Harris can't be effective (no, we wouldn't want to see OBJ get "Sehorn-ed" on a punt return), the Giants will have to try guys like Shane Vereen, Ben Edwards, Myles White or just about anyone else. Questions?
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