By Ryan Dunleavy | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

If a playoff dream crashes and burns, but nobody is there to see it, does it make a noise?

Playing in front of a small rain-soaked crowd at MetLife Stadium and without 1,000-yard wide receiver Odell Beckham, the Giants offense reverted to hopelessness Sunday during a 17-0 loss to the Titans.

The Giants (5-9) needed to win each of their final three games and got a lot of help across the NFC in order to steal the final playoff berth. They could have stayed alive for at least another week by winning for the fifth time in the last six games but instead are assured of a fifth losing record in the last six seasons.

The Titans (8-6) kept alive their playoff hopes.

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Remember the 40-point explosion against the Redskins last week without the injured Beckham? Well, that success was short-lived.

Saquon Barkley was held to 14 carries for 31 yards, a hit to his chase for the NFL rushing title. He had four catches on 10 targets, but the offense going through Barkley as a runner was non-existent, especially considering the deficit was 7-0 deep into the third quarter.

The Giants managed one first down in the first quarter, didn't get into the red zone until the third quarter and were undone by two costly turnovers from Eli Manning.

Manning threw an interception on the edge of the red zone and lost a fumble deep in his own territory, but the Giants have made it clear that they have no intention of benching him for performance. Manning was playing better of late and the Giants demoted rookie quarterback Kyle Lauletta to third-string before the game.

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The Titans' game plan was simple: Pound the ball on the ground with 247-yard running back Derrick Henry against the undersized Giants defense.

Henry finished with 33 carries for 170 yards and two touchdowns. It was his second-best game of the season, after rushing for 248 yards (including a 99-yard touchdown) last week against the Jaguars.

Sensing the death grip they held on the game at 14-0, the Titans, who entered the game with the No. 8 defense in the NFL, were content to run out the clock from the start of the fourth quarter.

The Giants' sixth-longest offensive play of the game was an improvisational 14-yard run by punter Riley Dixon.

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The rain seemed to impact both teams as receivers slipped, passes slipped through fingertips and punters and kickers shanked ugly wobblers. It also led to an increasing number of empty seats as the game progressed and it was clear the Giants were not going to muster a comeback.

The Titans put the game on ice -- no, the rain did not turn to snow -- with an 11-play, 49-yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes of clock and resulted in a field goal with five minutes to go.

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With the Giants' season now about where they finish in the 2019 NFL Draft order, it is fair to question whether Beckham will play another game this season. He said in his weekly docu-series that he has a hematoma stemming from the final play of a Week 13 loss to the Eagles and has feared it might be worse.

The quartet of Sterling Shepard (two catches for 37 yards), Bennie Fowler (two catches for 43 yards), Russell Shepard (two catches for 28 yards) and Corey Coleman (one catch for eight yards) did not stop as they did last week.

The Giants had a garbage time drive to the Redskins' 4-yard line that did not result in any points. Manning was 14-for-30 for 162 yards before the stat-padding.

Here are the highlights and lowlights:

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TURNING POINT

Manning has cut down drastically on his turnovers this season, but he had two in as many possessions during the third quarter when the Giants still trailed only 7-0.

The Giants survived the first but the second was a killer. Credit the sack and forced fumble to Kamalei Correa and the recovery to Jurrell Casey.

Manning should've just taken a sack, but he tried to force it off, hoping maybe for an incompletion. As he brought his arm back, the ball was knocked loose.

Make it a two-pronged turning point with the facemask penalty on Josh Mauro that negated a third-down stop on the goal line. With a new set of downs, the Titans scored a touchdown.

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BEST OFFENSE

The Giants got tight end Evan Engram back involved in the offense with a season-high seven catches. He clearly was one of the beneficiaries of the more targets opened up without Beckham on the field.

Engram's role had decreased after the midseason bye week and then he missed two games with an injury. The Giants opened the game in a three-tight end-set, with Engram, Rhett Ellison and Scott Simonson.

Engram finished with eight catches for 75 yards.

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WORST OFFENSE

The Giants advanced to the 18-yard line on the opening possession of the third quarter, but that's when they started shooting themselves in the foot. Jamon Brown's 10-yard penalty for illegal use of hands set up second-and-18 and a two-yard loss on a screen forced third-and-20.

With the Giants on the edge of field goal range, Manning forced a pass to Russell Shepard and Kevin Byard made a diving interception. Shepard tapped Byard as they went to the ground, which negated his long return after a replay review.

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BEST DEFENSE

The best defensive play of the game for the Giants was a sack by safety Michael Thomas, who is playing closer to the box in the role vacated by the injured Landon Collins.

Free safety Sean Chandler came screaming from the back with a well-timed blitz but took a bad angle as Mariota scrambled. Thomas wrapped up Mariota by the ankles as he rolled to his right. Alec Ogletree also was in on the pressure.

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Phil Simms expects Eli Manning to be Giants quarterback until 2020

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WORST DEFENSE

The Giants managed no pass rush again.

After just 10 sacks in their first nine games, the Giants came alive with 12 in their previous four games, mainly because Olivier Vernon started winning more of his 1-on-1 matchups. Rookie B.J. Hill had three sacks in a game against the Bears.

But the Giants had no pressure on Mariota when he did drop back to pass. There were multiple instances where he went through three or four reads and came back to the top of list after buying time with his feet.

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BEST SPECIAL TEAMS

It sure didn't look like a designed fake punt.

Riley Dixon bobbled his grip on a good snap as he moved forward to punt, but there was no rush at all coming at him. He could've regrouped and kicked, but he took off running and gained 14 yards and a first down before sliding at the 45-yard line.

It allowed the Giants to use their final timeout with 12 seconds left and get the offense back on the field, but nothing came of it.

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WORST SPECIAL TEAMS

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ALMOST A GOAL-LINE STAND

Henry was ruled to have scored a touchown on a 5-yard run in the first quarter, but replays showed his knee down just short of the goal line. Mariota was stopped short on a quarterback sneak.

So, the Titans went for it on fourth down from inside the 1-yard line and gave it to their battering ram as Henry fell into the end zone for a touchdown.

Giants defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson came spilling into the backfield on the ground and swiped at Henry's feet but it was a near-miss.

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WHO KNEW?

The Giants had the Titans pinned inside their 10-yard line on another nicely placed punt Riley Dixon.

But Ukeme Eligwe picked up the bouncing punt and ran towards the end zone with the ball rather than downing it in position. If he carries it into the end zone, it is a touchback and possession at the 20-yard line.

Teammate Antonio Hamilton saw a possible brainfart coming and stripped the ball out of Eligwe's hands. It bounced into the end zone for a touchback.

Or did it?

The call was overturned and the ball was placed at the 9-yard line because Eligwe had the ball with two feet on the ground, so he is ruled possessing it and down for the end of the play. Credit the Giants for knowing the commonly used rule.

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WHO KNEW? II

Another obscure rule sighting!

The Titans intentionally took back-to-back delay of game penalties on a fourth-and-6 from the 36-yard line in the final minute of the second quarter. They didn't want to risk giving away good field position on fourth down or attempt a 53-yard field goal and wanted more breathing room to drop a punt inside the 10-yard line.

The Giants declined the first delay of game penalty, so the Titans took another. By rule, back-to-back delay of game penalties result in a personal foul penalty and 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

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CHALLENGE-LESS

The Giants were out of timeouts 19 minutes into the game because Shurmur won the challenge on the punt and lost one a few minutes later. If you win two challenges, you are rewarded with a third.

Henry ripped off a 22-yard run down the sideline but it looked like he stepped out of bounds after only nine yards. Replays shown in MetLife Stadium zoomed in on Henry's foot being on the white, but the officials upheld their call that he stayed in bounds.

It caused Shurmur to lose his cool on the sidelines and point to the screens.

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DEFENSE HAPPY WITH A 17-YARD GAIN

When is it worth pounding your chest after making a tackle 17 yards downfield?

Ask Kendrick Lewis.

The Giants didn't have any blocking on a handoff to Barkley, who took the ball and just sped past overpursuing defenders. When he hit the second level, Barkley was in the clear except for Lewis, who hit Barkley's legs and wrapped up him by the ankle.

Tackling Barkley in the open field is one of the most difficult tasks in the NFL, so Lewis pounded his chest for not allowing a long touchdown.

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CENTURY MARK

Henry went over 100 yards with more than four minutes remaining in the second quarter. He had 104 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown, with a long of 22 at that point.

The Giants mainly stayed in nickel defense with 5-foot-9, 190-pound slot cornerback Grant Haley even as the Titans bludgeoned them with a 250-pound running back.

Henry and scat back Dion Lewis came into the game with the same exact number of carries on the season, but it was not a committee against the Giants. When the Titans dropped back to pass, it felt like a mistake.

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TEMPERS FLARED

There were two scrums that needed officials to step in.

One was between Giants defensive tackle Josh Mauro and the Titans special teams after a PAT.

The other was when Olivier Vernon body-slammed running back Dion Lewis at the end of a run. Linebacker Alec Ogletree also got in the face of the Titans.

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PODCAST: Giants are Eli Manning's team and that's not changing

Ryan Dunleavy can be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy.