Eagles Upset NFC East Rival Giants
By cvconrad
Facing their NFC East rival New York Giants, few people gave the Eagles a chance to keep it close, let alone pull out a win. Philadelphia was missing their franchise quarterback in Michael Vick in addition to their most consistent wide receiver, Jeremy Maclin. They were coming off an abhorrent loss to the woeful Arizona Cardinals and playing a team that dominated them in their first meeting. But, in typical Eagles fashion, they shocked everyone and pulled out an impressive road win…and this time they actually held onto a fourth quarter lead. Watching the game, you could feel a collective sense of unrest when the Giants got the ball back late in the fourth quarter, down 7 points. It was as everyone was playing out in their minds how Philadelphia was going to blow this one…I know I was. Then, Jason Babin came up with a huge defensive play, stripping the ball from a scrambling Eli Manning to seal the win for the Eagles.
It was a dominating performance by the Eagles offensive and defensive fronts. They provided exceptional protection for backup quarterback Vince Young all game long, only allowing one sack. The defensive line pressured Eli Manning all night, not allowing him to get into a rhythm, in addition to shutting down a subpar Giants running game to the tune of 29 rushing yards. On both sides of the ball, the Eagles played with an intensity that has rarely been seen this year, which is what is so frustrating about this team. They have the talent to compete with any team in this league, but they have been flat and unfocused for much of the year.
Despite a relatively strong performance in all facets of the game, there are obviously things that need to be corrected and improved upon. It’s not too often that any team, especially this Eagles team, is going to be in a position to win a game when their quarterback throws 3 interceptions. While Young’s numbers for the game are not awe-inspiring, his performance was certainly serviceable. Young finished the game 23-36 for 258 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, resulting in a passer rating of 63.9, but the most important state is the check mark in the “W” column.
Nnamdi Asomugha got beaten badly on a Victor Cruz touchdown catch early in the 4th quarter as New York knotted the game up at 10-all. In previous weeks, that is where the Eagles would have shriveled into mediocrity, probably going 3 and out on their next offensive series and giving the ball back to the opposition. The defense would have allowed an extended drive that led to a go-ahead score, leaving Philadelphia in the wake of yet another 4th quarter collapse. Thankfully for Eagles fans everywhere, that was not the case Sunday night, as the Eagles came back with a vengeance once they got the ball back. Philadelphia engineered their longest drive in terms of number of plays since 1997, an 18 play drive that bled 8:51 off of the clock. During that drive, the Eagles converted on 6 third downs and utilized weapons that had otherwise been quiet all year. Ronnie Brown and Clay Harbor were instrumental in keeping the drive alive, but nobody stepped up more than Riley Cooper, who before this game had not caught a pass all year. Cooper broke wide open in the back of the end zone to catch the go-ahead, game-winning pass from Young with 2:45 left on the clock, giving the Eagles a 7 point lead.
The Eagles defense tried desperately to revert back to their old ways when the Giants got the ball back, giving up 47 yard catch to Victor Cruz with 1:25 left in the game. That put New York in excellent field position at the Philly 21 yard line. Just when you expected the G-Men to punch the ball in the end zone on a porous Philadelphia red-zone defense, Jason Babin came up with a huge strip of Eli Manning, sealing a much-needed win for Philadelphia.
DeSean Jackson put on an excellent performance, as well, catching 6 passes for 88 yards and adding a huge 51 yard punt return that set up the first Eagles touchdown to Steve Smith. What Jackson’s stat line does not indicate, however, is the 50 yard reception that was called back because he taunted Giant’s Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell by tossing the ball at him after Jackson was run out of bounds. There was also a penalty against the Giants on that play, and the result of the offsetting penalties was replaying the down. I understand getting caught up in the moment, but Jackson needs to display more maturity on the field. That boneheaded play could have ended up costing the Eagles the game, and for what? To show up the other team’s Defensive Coordinator? Pull your head out of your ass and get it in the game, DeSean. These types of incidents have popped up occasionally throughout Jackson’s career, most notably flipping the ball to the ground before breaking the plane of the end zone against the Cowboys. If he wants to be paid like a top 5 receiver in the league (which I don’t think he deserves), he needs to conduct himself as such. You don’t see Larry Fitzgerald showing up the opposition. Heck, when he scored against the Eagles, he tossed the ball to the official after crossing the goal-line and jogged back to his bench. THAT’S how an elite receiver conducts themselves, and maybe Jackson or his agent should starting taking notes.
The Eagles are inexplicably playing much better on the road this year than they are at home; boasting a 3-2 record away from the Linc, while only going 1-4 in their own stadium. I’m also not going to jump on the “defense has finally gelled” bandwagon, because I thought that happened in the Dallas game a few weeks ago and I was sadly mistaken. While New York has not been a juggernaut when it comes to rushing the ball this year, Philadelphia held them to only 29 yards on the ground, where they were averaging 120 yards allowed per game previously. The inability of the Giants to get anything going on the ground allowed Philadelphia to tee off on their pass rush, harassing Eli Manning all night long.
This was definitely a good win for an Eagles team that was desperate for something good to happen. While I’m not as optimistic as former Governor Ed Rendell was last night on “Eagles Postgame Live” on Comcast Sports Net, this win did keep Philadelphia from being all but eliminated from playoff contention. Rendell spent a few minutes explaining the road he believes the Eagles are going to take to the SuperBowl. While I admire his confidence, I can’t help but be a little more realistic. They are 2 games behind New York and Dallas, with games left against Dallas and Washington and are already boasting a 3-1 division record. At the same time, New York finishes the season with a ridiculously difficult schedule: @ New Orleans, vs. Green Bay, @ Dallas, vs. Washington, @ Jets and they finish at home against Dallas. It’s not out of the question to see the Giants losing at least 3 of their final 6 games. Philadelphia also has a brutal stretch coming that started with the game against New York. Dallas has a markedly easier end to the season: vs. Miami, @ Arizona, vs. Giants, @ Tampa Bay, vs. Philadelphia and finishing the season @ the Giants.
They Eagles are in the midst of playing 3 games in 11 days with New England coming to town next Sunday and then going to Seattle on a short week to face the Seahawks on Thursday. After their Thursday game on 12/1, Philly goes to Miami, home against the Jets, to Dallas and are home against the Redskins to close out the season. Notwithstanding their atrocious play for most of the season, Philadelphia is still very much alive in the playoff hunt, especially considering the schedule the Giants face and the penchant the Romo-led Cowboys have to fade late in the season. With that being said, it’s also very realistic for the Eagles to finish somewhere around 6-10 or 7-9, although RB LeSean McCoy said last night in a postgame interview that he thinks the Eagles will run the table. I’m not sure if that comment should be attributed to confidence or youthful ignorance, but at least the Eagles haven’t packed it in for the season yet.