Eagles Top Giants 27-17, Take First in NFC East at 7-3
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In a wild NFC East showdown marked by turnovers, penalties and mistakes on both sides, the Eagles survived with a 27-17 win over the Giants. With the win, the Eagles improved to 7-3 and took sole possession of first place in the NFC East. The Giants fell to 6-4, currently out of the playoffs, one game back of the last wild card spot.
Despite all of the talk about Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and the Eagles high-flying passing attack, it was LeSean McCoy who made the play of the game, dashing 50 yards to the end zone on 4th and 1 late in the fourth quarter and giving the Eagles a 22-17 lead. Vick found Jason Avant for the two point conversion and the Eagles went ahead 24-17.
On the following drive, Eli Manning fumbled at the Eagles 40-yardline, giving the ball back to Philadelphia with 2:51 left and the chance to run out the clock. McCoy made another big play, breaking a 40-yard run to the Giants 20-yardline. The Eagles ran the clock down to :25 seconds before David Akers hit a 30-yard field goal to put the Eagles up 27-17, leaving just 22 seconds on the clock after the kick. Eli Manning threw one up for grabs in the waning seconds and Stewart Bradley picked him off with one second remaining.
It looked like a defensive struggle early on in the first quarter, with both teams going three and out on their first drives. The Giants went three and out once more, before Michael Vick and the Eagles got their second opportunity on offense and put together a long scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead. Philadelphia went 68 yards on 13 plays in 7:09, and Vick punched it in with a scramble inside the right pylon of the end zone.
The Giants put together a long drive of their own, going 74 yards on 14 plays in 8:06, but settling for a 24-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes. The Eagles were able to stop the Giants on second and third down inside the 6-yardline to force the field goal.
Philadelphia then began to take advantage of turnovers, as Brandon Graham forced a fumble by Ahmad Bradshaw that was recovered by Asante Samuel at the Giants’ 23-yardline. Philadelphia couldn’t get a touchdown off the turnover though, as Vick looked for Jackson in the end zone on 3rd and 7, but the pass was slightly low and Jackson dropped it. Akers connected on a 38-yard field goal to make it 10-3.
On the very next drive, Manning threw an interception to Asante Samuel, who returned it to the Giants 13-yardline. Again the Eagles were stymied, this time on a dropped pass by a wide open Jason Avant in the back of the end zone, as Vick was under heavy pressure from a blitz. Akers made a 24-yard field goal and the Eagles led 13-3.
At the end of the first half, a 42-yard field goal attempt by Akers was blocked by Terrell Thomas and returned to the Eagles 43-yardline by Corey Webster, who was forced out by Eagles’ punter/holder Sav Rocca.
In the third quarter, the Eagles went 82 yards on 14 plays in 8:22 but settled for a 28-yard field goal by David Akers to put the Eagles on top 16-3. The Giants came right back though, with a pair of key third down plays.
On 3rd and 7 at the Giants 35-yardline, Manning hit Mario Manningham for 10 yards. A few plays later on 3rd and 14 at the Eagles 33-yardline, Brandon Graham whiffed on a possible sack and Manning launched it deep for Manningham again. Quintin Mikell yanked him down drawing a pass interference flag and giving the Giants the ball at the 2-yardline. On the very next play Manning hit Travis Beckum for a 2-yard touchdown in the left flat, cutting the gap to six at 16-10.
On the Eagles ensuing drive, Michael Vick was sacked by Justin Tuck, who forced a fumble that was recovered by Giants defensive tackle Barry Cofield at the Eagles’ 27-yardline. Two plays later, Manning connected with Derek Hagan for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Giants a 17-16 lead.
On the following drive, a 24-yard pass from Vick to Avant moved the Eagles to the Giants’ 35-yardline. A chop block on Todd Herremans moved the Eagles back to midfield though, and a third down sack by Justin Tuck caused a fumble that Vick was able to recover, bringing on the punting unit.
The Eagles appeared to have momentum back when Ernie Sims forced a fumble by Ahmad Bradshaw and the Eagles recovered, but Giants head coach Tom Coughlin challenged and the play was overturned on an extremely close call, giving New York a 2nd and 17 at its own 40-yardline. The Eagles forced a punt and got the ball back to the offense at its own 10-yardline with 7:52 left in the game.
Philadelphia moved the ball to the 50-yardline and stalled out, stuck in a 4th and 1 with 4:34 left, down by a point. The Eagles decided to go for it and Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg decided against the usual quarterback sneak or run up the middle. Instead, they called a toss play to LeSean McCoy to the left side.
Vick bobbled the snap and got the toss off just in time to McCoy, who turned upfield and had two blockers lined up on two defenders. “Shady” turned on the jets, sprinting 50 yards to the end zone to put the Eagles on top 22-17. Philadelphia went for two, with Vick finding Jason Avant for the critical two-point conversion and a 24-17 lead.
On the following drive, Manning threw an interception to Asante Samuel at the Eagles 43 yardline, and Samuel returned it to the Giants’ 40-yardline where he was hit by Ahmad Bradshaw and fumbled. The Giants recovered, gaining a yard on the play.
Later in the drive on 4th and 6 from the Giants 44-yardline, Manning scrambled for a first down and more, diving down to the Eagles 40-yardline where he fumbled. Since he dove head first, Manning was a live runner, and the Eagles recovered. The Giants challenged the ruling, as Asante Samuel was in the area and contacted Manning near the time of the fumble, but the ruling on the field stood, giving the Eagles the ball at their own 40-yardline with 2:51 left and a 7-point lead.
Manning’s fumble and the ground game of LeSean McCoy iced the game away, as the Eagles’ David Akers kicked a field goal with just 22 seconds left to seal the Eagles 27-17 win.
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