Giants vs. Dolphins: Score and Twitter Reaction for Monday Night Football

If you didn't know any better, you would think the NFC East is a competent football division after its Week 14 performance. 

The New York Giants matched victories from the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington with a 31-24 win over the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on Monday Night Football to bring their record to 6-7. New York, Philadelphia and Washington are now tied atop the division with three games remaining, but only one of them has quarterback Eli Manning and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.  

Manning torched the Dolphins for 337 yards and four touchdowns on 27-of-31 passing, while Beckham posted 166 receiving yards and two scores on seven catches. The two also connected on a critical third down on the game's final drive to run out the clock and end the Dolphins' comeback hopes.

Bleacher Report reacted to the finish:

As for Miami, it got two touchdown runs from Lamar Miller, but the defense's inability to stop Manning, Beckham and Co. proved to be the difference. 

The Giants started the scoring when Josh Brown connected on a 35-yard field goal after a Miami turnover, but the Dolphins answered. Miller scored from 14 yards out to give the home team a 7-3 lead, and ESPN Stats & Info pointed out just how long it's been since the running back found paydirt:

The teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter, when Rueben Randle caught a six-yard score and Miller responded with a 38-yard scamper that included a handful of elusive cuts near the line of scrimmage. NFL Network shared Miller's path:

Miami added a field goal after a New York turnover and took a 17-10 lead, but its advantage was short-lived. The Giants offense wasted little time marching down the field to tie the contest at 17 heading into halftime, as James Walker of ESPN described:

Miami started the second-half scoring with a beautiful 47-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Kenny Stills. Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News noted defensive back Prince Amukamara "looked back for the ball," which allowed Stills to get behind him and run the rest of the way for the score. 

The NFL Network passed along the highlight:

Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald weighed in on quarterback Ryan Tannehill's throw:

Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News commented on the Giants defense:

As was the case for most of the game, New York responded to a score with an impressive drive of its own. It moved the ball inside the Miami 10-yard line, and Beckham contorted his body and dragged a second foot to make a catch in the corner of the end zone, but it was ruled incomplete. The Giants challenged the call, which was overturned, and Will Brinson of CBS Sports highlighted the receiver's footwork:    

NFL Network expanded the view:

Kevin Clark of the Wall Street Journal reacted to the sequence:

The Giants forced the Dolphins into a three-and-out and drove back into Miami territory with the help of a pass interference penalty on Brent Grimes and an inexplicable roughing the passer penalty on Jordan Phillips. While the mistakes frustrated Dolphins fans, Art Stapleton of the Record pointed to another concern for Miami:

The promising drive ended, though, when Brown missed a 48-yard field goal. The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 24, and Samuel offered a silver lining for New York:

Things looked much better for the Giants early in that final quarter when Beckham sprinted to daylight before reeling in a deep ball. Manning hit him for an 84-yard score and a 31-24 lead, but the Dolphins didn't have a defender within 10 yards of the best player on the field. Jordan Raanan of NJ.com commented on the Miami defense:

ESPN Stats & Info noted it was business as usual for the Giants playmaker: 

The NFL captured the highlight:

The teams traded punts, and Miami took possession in great shape at the New York 48-yard line with less than six minutes remaining. The drive started with a personal foul penalty on Jarvis Landry, who threw defensive back Trevin Wade to the ground after an incompletion. Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports summed things up perfectly:

"

The Dolphins do some dumb stuff.

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) December 15, 2015"

The Dolphins were forced to punt two plays later when Tannehill overthrew a wide-open Landry. Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post did not hold back with his analysis:

The Giants then powered their way to two first downs, and Manning found Beckham for five yards on 3rd-and-2 after the two-minute warning to all but close the game. It was a fitting final play before the kneeldowns since the two superstars dominated the Dolphins throughout the contest.

New York called on its two best players with the game on the line, and it worked. Beasley noted the loss eliminated the Dolphins from postseason contention.

What's Next?

The Dolphins are 5-8 and out of the AFC wild-card race. The best they could do is tie the 8-5 Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, but that would mean winning out against the San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots.

The Colts and Chargers are a combined 9-17, but New England is arguably the best team in the AFC.

The Giants are 6-7 and tied for first place in the abysmal NFC East. New York finishes with the Eagles, but it also plays the undefeated Carolina Panthers and the 8-5 Minnesota Vikings.

The Giants will have to play better to earn a postseason berth with that slate down the stretch.

Postgame Reaction

The Giants have been on the losing end of a number of close games this season, but they closed out this victory. Head coach Tom Coughlin commented on the outcome, per the NFL Network: "It's nice to win and to be able to finish the game with the ball in our hands. It was really fulfilling."

Coughlin also praised his quarterback, per the team on Twitter: "Eli Manning played superbly tonight. I had a good feeling that he would."

The NFL Network shared Manning's postgame interview:

As for the man who caught two of Manning's scores, he was already looking ahead to the next contest, per SportsCenter:

On the Dolphins' side, head coach Dan Campbell said penalties "killed us," per Beasley.

Those penalties were costly, but Miller had only 12 carries. Abramson reported the running back said he doesn't know why he didn't get more second-half carries.

Beasley reported that "Jamar Taylor took full responsibility for the long Beckham touchdown. Said it was his blown coverage."

With Miami eliminated from the postseason chase, Campbell said, "We'll find out who loves the game," per Beasley.

But all the love in the football world won't get the Dolphins to the playoffs this season.