Giants hang on to beat Eagles after Michael Strahan tells impatient Giant fans to ‘appreciate what you got’

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — During Michael Strahan’s halftime jersey retirement ceremony on Sunday, when the great pass rusher thanked the Mara and Tisch families, a steady chorus of boos got Strahan’s attention.

So he broke from his script to defend the team.

“You know, I gotta say this,” Strahan said, with co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch sitting on the stage behind him. “Every team has their ups and downs, but the New York Giants have won Super Bowls. There are teams that [have] never had enough. Appreciate what you got. We will be back. We will be up again. I guarantee you that.”

The crowd cheered that, and they loved watching Joe Judge’s team justify Strahan’s confidence by hanging on to beat the rival Philadelphia Eagles, 13-7.

Tuesday’s firing of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett did not produce an immediate outburst of points with Freddie Kitchens calling plays on the headset.

But Pat Graham’s defense forced six turnovers. Kitchens’ offense committed none. Daniel Jones hit tight end Chris Myarick with a 1-yard TD pass in the third quarter for a 10-0 lead.

And Philly wideout Jalen Reagor dropped two passes on the game’s final drive, including what might have been the game-winning touchdown on the Eagles’ final play in vain with 15 seconds to play.

Darnay Holmes, Tae Crowder and Xavier McKinney all intercepted Eagles QB Jalen Hurts. Dexter Lawrence forced a fumble by Eagles back Boston Scott into the arms of safety Julian Love late in the fourth quarter up six.

And the Giants’ defense forced two Eagles turnovers on downs, one of which they turned into a 10-play, 59-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter.

Kitchens called plays for Jones to run early and emphasized getting the ball to playmakers in space.

Kenny Golladay failed to haul in a couple end zone jump ball targets with a renewed focus on involving him in the red zone. But he made back-to-back 18-yard catches on the Giants’ fourth quarter field goal drive to create important separation with a 39-yard Graham Gano field goal.

Otherwise the Eagles easily would have forced overtime with a field goal of their own down the stretch.

Love, the Giants’ safety, dropped an interception on Philly’s final drive after Reagor failed to catch a deep throw from Hurts down the left sideline with rookie Aaron Robinson in coverage.

But Reagor returned the favor, posting up Robinson on the goal line in the middle of the field, to seal the Giants’ win.

The Giants (4-7) bounced back from last Monday night’s horrible loss at Tampa, while the Eagles (5-7) faltered after winning three of their previous four to enter the playoff picture.

Judge, Jones and the whole Giants team handled the pressure coming off the Buccaneers embarrassment well. The team played extremely hard, and the defense rose to the challenge. The offensive line was still an atrocious liability, but they did their best to coach around it.

Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram and Golladay all made explosive plays of 18 yards or more, and while Jones put some passes in harm’s way, including an Engram drop nearly picked off by Avonte Maddox, avoiding turnovers protected their lead.

This doesn’t mean the Giants are out of the woods with their fans just yet.

Sunday was the second time that Mara has heard boos from the home crowd this season.

He was booed loudly during Eli Manning’s halftime jersey retirement in a Week 3 loss to the Falcons.

The Giants haven’t put Mara at a podium on the field since. He wasn’t on the field at all for the 10th anniversary celebration of the 2011 Super Bowl champions during halftime of a Week 6 loss to the Rams.

And while Mara and Tisch sat on the stage for Strahan’s ceremony on Sunday, they were the only people on the stage not introduced to the crowd, and neither owner spoke.

Even Strahan had given the organization a hard time during the week about how long the Giants had waited to retire his No. 92.

“What took you so long?” Strahan had said Wednesday.

That’s what happens when a team loses constantly. Everyone from ownership on down loses the benefit of the doubt.

Still, when Judge’s team plays for him like they did Sunday, and they win, maybe it gets a bit easier for the frustrated fans to keep the faith.