Eagles Make Statement 45-38 Over Giants

by BigGreek24

Monday December 14, 2009 

Eagles Make Statement 45-38 Over Giants thumbnail

Anyone who missed the Sunday Night matchup of NFC East rivals Eagles and Giants really missed a game for the ages.    Sure, the Eagles won 45-38 which combined with the Cowboys 20-17 loss to the Chargers, gives the Eagles a stranglehold on the NFC Eastern Division Lead.   The Eagles controlled their destiny before tonight, but they command their destiny now as they are two games up on the Giants and one game up on the Cowboys.  The Cowboys still have to play both the undefeated Saints next week as well as the Eagles in Dallas the final week of the season.

Okay, now for the Giants game.  This game had it all as the two teams combined for more than 800 offensive yards.  Both teams averaged 7.2 yards per play.  The Eagles recovered four fumbles, including the game clincher, and the special teams put up a touchdown as well.

Sheldon Brown’s recovery and runback on a Brandon Jacobs fumble for 60 yards gave the Eagles an early 14-0 lead.  The Giants got back into the game on a field goal late in the first quarter and got a touchdown early in the second quarter to get to within 14-10.   With the Eagles back on top by a touchdown 17-10, DeShaun Jackson ripped off a beautiful 72 yard punt return down the near sideline for a touchdown to give the Eagles their second 14 point lead of the night.  What made the play was that Jackson fielded the punt, then waited for his opening and shot right through it down the sideline.  The Giants came right back and scored on a three yard run by Bradshaw to bring the Giants to within 24-17 with 1:30 minutes remaining in the first half.  The Eagles then took the ball and managed to score on a Mike Vick 1 yard run with 10 seconds left in the half.  Akers point after was blocked and the Eagles had to settle for the 30-17 halftime lead.

The Giants scored first in the third quarter and finally took the lead at 31-30 as they took the ball right after McNabb over threw a wide open Reggie Brown on third down.  Brown had a couple steps on the defender in the middle of the field around the Giants 45, but McNabb missed the throw forcing the Eagles to punt and the Giants made them pay as they took just two plays – the second of which was a throw and catch to Dominik Hixon who broke two tackles en route to the end zone for the Giants first and what would turn out to be their only lead of the game.  One couldn’t help but think would that be the play that would give the Giants the game and the division.  Not tonight.

The Eagles took the ball back and on the first play from scrimmage McNabb threw a beautiful play-action pass 60 yards to DeShaun Jackson who managed to get behind the defense for an easy score to give the Eagles the lead back at 37-31.  After forcing the Giants to give the ball back with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and needing to get at least a field goal to make the Giants have to score twice to win, the Eagles marched 91 yards down the field, burning off almost five minutes in the process, to score a touchdown on a Leonard Weaver 1 yard plunge.  McNabb hit Avant for the two point conversion to give the Eagles a 14 point lead with just 5:48 to play in the game.

The Giants did what they had to do, and after a potential touchdown to Manningham was overturned on replay review saying the receiver was out of bounds, Manning hit a wide open Boss for the touchdown to get the Giants to within 45-38.   The ensuing onsides kick went out of bounds and the Eagles took over but failed to convert a first down and punted the ball back to the Giants with about 30 seconds to play in the game as Hixon called for the fair catch at the Giants 9 yard line.   A few plays later Manning was scrambling to find a receiver and had the ball knocked out of his hand for a fumble which the Eagles recovered to clinch the game. 

The Eagles made a big statement and answered some critics not just with their play, but with how they did what they did.  The had four leads of 14 points and after going down 31-30 on the road when the Giants had the momentum clearly in their corner the Eagles came out and took the game right back.   They also put together what might’ve been their most important drive of the season so far with the 91 yard drive in the fourth quarter that got them that last touchdown.   Their four game winning streak is their longest since rolling off 5 in a row to end the 2006 season – the last time the Eagles won the NFC East.   The Eagles now come home to play the 49ers and Broncos before going on the road one more time to face the Cowboys.  The Cowboys take on the Saints next week followed by the Redskins before hosting the Eagles.  The Giants have the easiest schedule remaining as they play the Redskins on the road, the Panthers at home and then travel to play the Vikings to end the season.   One would expect that the Vikings will have already clinched their playoff situation and will not be playing their regulars in the season finale which could be a big break for the Giants.

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