The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants, 22-21, on Thursday, and they may have saved their season in the process.

“They were playing the 1-5 Giants, and if you can’t beat the 1-5 Giants, all of the comebacks that fell short against Pittsburgh and then against Baltimore mean nothing,” Eagles radio play-by-play voice Merrill Reese said on After Hours with Amy Lawrence. “To get back in this race, which I call the NFC Least, you’ve got to at least beat the other teams in [the division].”

The Eagles led the Giants 10-7 at halftime but trailed 21-10 with less than five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. At that point, things looked dire.

“They came out strongly and then fell apart and made one mistake after another,” Reese said. “Pretty soon the Giants had an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. If that held up, that is the kind of thing that can really pull a team apart and rob them of their confidence.”

The Eagles, however, did not quit. Carson Wentz led a four-play, 78-yard drive and found Greg Ward for a 3-yard score with 4:38 to play to make it 21-16. 

The Eagles got the ball back, and Wentz was magic again, going 71 yards in six plays. He found Boston Scott for an 18-yard reception with 40 seconds to play to make it 22-21.

Wentz finished 25-of-43 for 359 yards, three touchdowns (two pass, one rush) and one interception.

“I can’t say enough about Carson Wentz, who was under tremendous pressure all night and still made the plays he had to to win that game,” Reese said. “He is a clutch player.”

With the win, the Eagles (2-4-1) moved into first place in the NFC East. They host the Cowboys (2-4) in Week 8.

“They won the game,” Reese said. “Suddenly they’re 2-4-1, which is a lot better than 1-5-1, and you feel good about it.”