EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., making his NFL debut, finished with a team-leading 44 yards including a 15-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, to help the Giants to a 30-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

The Giants scored 20 points in the final 17:05 in the game to rally from a 20-10 deficit and boost their record to 3-2. It’s the first time since Dec. 30, 2012, that the Giants boast a winning record in the regular season.

Beckham, whose absence due to his hamstring injury started on the second day of training camp and continued into Week 4 of the season, expressed relief at having gotten his first NFL game in the books.

“Words can’t even describe it,” Beckham said of his successful NFL debut. “To be out there smiling and have to deal with the adversity I’ve had, I just want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to play and all me to score in my first game. It’s great to get that under your belt and get that off your chest.”

Giants quarterback Eli Manning completed 19 of 30 passes for 200 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was 29-for-45 for 316 yards, one touchdown and one interceptions. Wide receiver Julio Jones had 11 catches for 105 yards for Atlanta.

The Giants drew first blood, capping their second possession of the game with a 3-yard touchdown catch by receiver Rueben Randle.

Following that scoring drive, the Giants were unable to get much of anything done, especially on defense against a Falcons offensive line that had three new starters this week. That line helped block for running back Steven Jackson’s a 10-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to tie the score 7-7.

“I thought our guys battled today,” said Ryan of his offensive line. “I thought in the first half we did a really nice job mixing the run and the pass. We just got out of rhythm across the board in the second half.”

Atlanta added a pair of first-half field goals from kicker Matt Bryant to take a 13-10 lead at the half.

Preston Parker, who was inserted into the game for regular kickoff returner Quintin Demps, fumbled a kickoff late in the first quarter to give Atlanta the ball at the Giants’ 21. When the ensuing drive stalled, Bryant converted a 20-yard field goal for the 10-7 lead.

Atlanta widened its lead in the third quarter when, on third-and-4, Ryan hit running back Antone Smith on a 74-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-10.

The Giants, who started to show life on both sides of the ball in the second half, then scored 20 unanswered points to take back the lead.

In addition to Beckham’s touchdown reception, the points included running back Andre Williams’ 3-yard rushing touchdown, and field goals of 50 and 26 yards by kicker Josh Brown, who earlier in the game converted on a 49-yarder.

What the Giants said:

“You couldn’t tell the difference from the way (Andre) Williams was playing from (Rashad) Jennings. Running the ball hard, I know he had a great third down conversion that he just lowered his shoulder. He stepped up; he did great; he kept us on the field.” – Left tackle Will Beatty, on the performance of rookie running back Andre Williams, who came into the game when Rashad Jennings suffered a sprained knee.

What the Falcons said:

“Those are red zone situations that we would like to have put the ball in the end zone, and we know against a good offense and a good quarterback like Eli Manning that when you kick field goals, when you get down there, you really put yourself behind. We had been good in the red zone, (but) our red zone efficiency wasn’t as good. I thought we did a good job getting down there, we didn’t execute when we got into the red zone.” – Falcons head coach Mike Smith on his team finishing just one of three in the red zone this week.

What we learned about the Giants:

1. The special teams still stink. The Giants special-teams follies continued to rear their ugly head this week. There was the first-quarter fumble by Preston Parker on a kickoff return, a turnover that Atlanta converted into a 20-yard field goal to take the lead at the start of the second quarter. There was also a host of missed tackles on Devin Hester’s first punt return of the day, a 25-yard scramble along the Giants sideline.

2. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is the real deal. Quarterback Eli Manning told reporters that in the four days of practice he had to work with rookie Beckham, there were many routes that they had yet to work on, one of which was Beckham’s 15-yard touchdown reception. Considering that Beckham caught four out of five targets for 44 yards, one can only imagine how much deadlier the Manning-Beckham connection will be as they get more practice reps under their belt.

–LB Spencer Paysinger suffered a hamstring injury in the second quarter and did not return. There was no word regarding the severity of his injury.

–WR Odell Beckham Jr. made his first NFL reception in the first quarter, a 7-yard catch. It was his first reception in a live game since Nov. 29, 2013, when the LSU Tigers played Arkansas. Beckham finished with four catches, tied for the team lead in that category with Rueben Randle, and 44 yards.

–RB Rashad Jennings, who has yet to play a 16-game season, suffered a sprained left knee in the third quarter and did not return. Rookie Andre Williams took over the bulk of Jennings’ carries, rotating with Peyton Hillis.

What we learned about the Falcons:

1. The offensive line situation isn’t as bad as initially thought. The Falcons, who were missing three starters on the offensive line, held the Giants to just one sack and eight quarterback hits (on 45 pass attempts). All things considered, it could have been a lot worse for Atlanta, which also used a series of short, quick throws to keep the Giants pass rush at bay.

2. In 2011, Atlanta head coach Mike Smith tried to convert on fourth down against the Giants three times in the NFC Wild Card round with no success. Fast forward to the present. After having success earlier in the game on a fourth-down conversion, Smith and the Falcons went to the well again with the score 27-20 Giants at the time. This time, the Giants weren’t in such a giving mood, as second-year defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins burst into the backfield to drop quarterback Matt Ryan for a 9-yard loss, thus forcing a turnover on downs. The Giants, on their ensuing drive, put the final nail in the Falcons’ coffin with kicker Josh Brown’s third field goal of the game, this one from 26 yards out to make it a two-score game.

–DE Osi Umenyiora’s second-quarter sack of quarterback Eli Manning was his first since Dec. 15, 2013, and, obviously, his first career sack against Manning, who was his teammate until last season.

–RB Antone Smith, who scored on a 74-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, now has four touchdowns on the season, two rushing and two on receptions. Each of his scores has been at least 35 yards, with his 74-yard score against the Giants being his longest score this season.

–WR Julio jones finished as the team leader in receptions (11) and receiving yards (105), but was kept off the scoreboard for the second week in a row. Jones, who has three touchdowns this season, is the Falcons leading receiver with 40 receptions for 552 yards.