The NFC East was suppose to be the toughest division in the NFL but the Giants have made sure the only tough thing about their division is them. Last week they gave the Cowboys a beating, last night they took care of the Eagles.
It was a little tougher for the Gmen this week as the game went down to the final minutes to decide who was coming out on top.
Eli Manning threw 2 touchdown passes (17-31,191 yards) and
Brandon Jacobs had 2 TD runs in the 36-31 victory. It was the second week in a row where the Giants offense exploded for 30 plus points. The game was ultimately decided with 1:55 remaining in the 4th quarter. The Eagles had the ball at their own 45 and were facing a 4th and 1. The Eagles elected to give the ball to
Brain Westbrook to try and gain the yard they needed for a 1st down but he was stopped by
Chase Blackburn and thus sealed the win for New York.
The win puts the Giants at 8-1 on the year and puts Philly at 5-4, 3 games back of New York and tied with Dallas.
It was a back and forth game which saw numerous lead changes. Eagles QB
Donovan McNabb threw for 3 TD passes (17-36, 194 yds 1 INT) and that still wasn't enough. Another big moment in the game was in the 3rd quarter when Manning threw a 17 yard pass to
Kevin Boss but the play was ruled illegal because it appeared Manning was ahead of the line of scrimmage. The Giants challenged the ruling on the field and replays showed Eli's back foot was still behind the line and thus the ruling on the field was overturned and gave the Giants a 1st down. Two plays later the Giants scored on Jacobs' 3 yard TD run making it 27-24.
“I think the way the rule is written, it was worth taking a shot at it,” said Manning, who urged Coughlin to challenge the call. “If you have one toe on the line of scrimmage, then it’s a legal pass. I thought it was worth the risk.”
The risk payed off for New York. The Eagles weren't too thrilled with the overturn of the call.
“I don’t know what they were looking at,” defensive tackle Mike Patterson said.
This was another big win for the Giants as they further themselves from the rest of the division. The Eagles needed a win to stay afloat wit New York as a win would've seperated the two teams by 1 game in the NFC East. It was a hostile crowd in Philadelphia but the Giants are no strangers to winning on the road and look forward to the challenge.
“It’s great to win here,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “It reinforces everything we believe about team, supporting each other and finding a way to win the game.”
The defending Super Bowl Champs are finding ways to win these tough games and that makes them a scary team going into the second half of the year. If they can keep things up, the playoffs look like they'll no sweat for Eli and the boys. Another meeting with the Eagles, Cowboys, and Redskins still awaits the Gmen so they can get through those games like they did the first time around, I'd say this team is set to make a run at returning to the Super Bowl.
The Giants and Eagles have split their two meetings this season. The Giants won in Philly earlier this season in week 10, 36-31. The Eagles beat the Giants in their own home a few weeks ago in week 14 20-14. It'll be interesting to see if the G-men can top last year's unprobable feat. There's no Michael Strahan this year, no Plaxicio Burress, no Osi Umenyiora, no David Tyree. So how can the Giants win today, much less the whole thing? Easy, there's Eli Manning, there's the defense, and they have guys like Kevin Boss, Brandon Jacobs, and Corey Webster that can step up to the plate when the time is right. Granted Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and company are playing their best football of the year, I don't think their best is enough to overtake the champs.
