Giants-Eagles playoff game briefly delayed after first down chains broke

The New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles divisional round playoff game was briefly delayed in the first quarter on Saturday night after an “administrative stoppage.”

The issue, however, was one that isn’t seen very often — especially in the postseason.

A chain broke on the first-down marker on the sidelines of Lincoln Financial Field.

The backup chains weren’t in great shape, either. The chains were wrapped around the 2-yard markers in a less-than-organized fashion, which led to an even longer delay. Those chains had to be taped, too.

Thankfully, the delay didn’t last more than a few minutes. The Giants were just one play into their opening drive of the game when play was stopped. They kept rolling as if nothing happened, but that error was clearly a very bad omen.

The Eagles rolled over the Giants with ease on Saturday night to secure their spot in the NFC championship game next week. After jumping up 28-0 at halftime, the Eagles cruised to their 38-7 win.

They'll now take on either the Dallas Cowboys or the San Francisco 49ers next week in the conference championship game, which leaves officials a week to fix the broken chain.