Eli Manning fired a touchdown strike to Larry Donnell with 21 seconds remaining to guide the New York Giants to a last-gasp 30-27 win over the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium.
The visitors got on the scoreboard first when Colin Kaepernick drove his side the length of the field, but the Giants' defense held them to a field goal from Phil Dawson from 43 yards.
New York answered with a kick of their own from Josh Brown from 22 yards afer Manning had moved the home side into the redzone, but they were held out of the endzone by a resilient series from the 49ers.
The Giants took the lead in the match when they drove into the redzone again and this time Manning was able to guide his side in for the touchdown when Shane Vereen made the grab for a four-yard score.
San Francisco responded with another field goal from Dawson after Kaepernick's throw to the endzone fell incomplete.
Manning had the chance to hand his side control of the game when they moved to the 14-yard line with 11 seconds to play in the first half, but his attempted strike to Beckham in the endzone was picked off by Tramaine Brock.
In the second half, the 49ers levelled the scores when Kaepernick fired deep to Anquan Boldin, which set up a score for the receiver from four yards out from a short pass from the quarterback.
New York restored their advantage when Manning fired the ball to Odell Beckham Jr, who made a swift turn and ran the ball over the left side of the field to race in for a 17-yard score.
However, the visitors rallied once again to level the scores as Kaepernick drove his side to the goalline before he fired the ball over the middle to his tight end Garrett Celek for a four-yard touchdown.
New York retook the lead through a field goal from Brown from close range, but the 49ers forged ahead on their next possession whn Hyde took the handoff and plowed through the middle of the line for a one-yard score.
With just one minute and 45 seconds on the clock, Manning manoeuvred his side downfield with the aid of three receptions to Vereen before he looked to the endzone for Beckham.
The officials awarded a penalty against Kenneth Acker for interfering with the wideout as he attempted to go for the ball, moving the Giants closer to the endzone.
Manning seized his opportunity to secure the victory when he lobbed the ball up for grabs and Donnell made the catch for a 12-yard touchdown between NaVorro Bowman and Antoine Bethea to win the match for the Giants.
Coughlin's men move to 3-2 in their season to top the NFC East as a result of their third win on the bounce, while the 49ers lost for the fourth time in a row to drop to 1-4.
Simon Sinclair
