January 9, 2009
Giants beat Eagles to take command in NFC East
PHILADELPHIA - In a game that was defined by
challenges, the Giants showed that their dominance in the NFC East is unquestionable. No one is throwing a red flag on their supremacy.
Last night's 36-31 win over the Eagles improved their division record to 3-0 and increased their lead in the NFL's toughest grouping to two games over the Redskins and three games over the Eagles and Cowboys. They've beaten each of their three fiercest rivals by a combined 35 points.
Of course, had Eli Manning been wearing sneakers instead of cleats, things might have turned out differently. But his ability to keep his right foot just inches behind the line of scrimmage, coupled with the intimate knowledge of the rule book by the Giants' coaches, helped the Giants (8-1) take the lead for good in the third quarter.
On third-and-10, Manning was flushed from the pocket and scrambled upfield before throwing a 17-yard pass to Kevin Boss. He initially was flagged for an illegal forward pass, and it appeared to the naked eye that he was well beyond the line of scrimmage. But Tom Coughlin challenged, and replays showed Manning's right heel was behind the line of scrimmage. According to Rule 8, Section I, Supplemental Note No. 3, a forward pass is illegal " ... when the passer's entire body and the ball are beyond the line of scrimmage."
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"I didn't know for sure; I just know that rule," Manning said of his suggestion to Coughlin that the play be reviewed. "I thought it was worth the risk. I know that rule where it may look like you're across the line of scrimmage but if your foot is back there behind that line, then it's a legal pass."
Assistant coaches Mike Sullivan and Chris Palmer in the booth concurred and told Coughlin to throw the flag.
The Giants were back in business with first-and-goal at the 3, and two plays later, Brandon Jacobs pounded in over the right side for a 27-24 lead with 5:56 left in the quarter. They added a 28-yard field goal before Jacobs, who had 126 of the Giants' 219 rushing yards, backed into the end zone like a beeping dump truck with 9:30 left to seal the win. The Eagles challenged that Jacobs had fumbled on the moonwalking touchdown but lost it, and they trailed 36-24 after a two-point conversion failed. More than the points, the challenge left Philly with only one timeout.
That Jacobs TD was set up by Domenik Hixon's apparent 73-yard punt return that was called back on Michael Johnson's holding but still created good starting position at the Eagles' 40.
Defensively, the Giants kept dangerous Brian Westbrook under control, limiting him to 26 yards on 13 carries and 33 yards on three catches. They were unable to sack Donovan McNabb, who got the Eagles within five points on a 2-yard pass to Kevin Curtis with 5:36 left, but after Jeff Feagles pinned the Eagles at their 15 with a 51-yard punt with 3:20 left, Chase Blackburn penetrated and stopped Westbrook on fourth-and-1 with 1:48 to go.
"I was able to come downhill pretty clean with the defensive line the way they made that push," Blackburn said. "I knew I was at least a yard deep [at contact]. He fell forward, but he was probably a yard short still."
For all the drama early, the game really hung on that fourth-down stop.
"We just had to get on the sideline," rookie safety Kenny Phillips said. "We knew it would come down to us. We all got in the huddle, looked in each others' eyes, and said: 'Somebody make a play, let's go.' "
Each team coughed it up twice in the first half. The difference was that the Giants found only six points in those takeaways while the Eagles scored two touchdowns off Big Blue miscues.
On the game's third play, Manning tried to throw to Boss, but 292-pound tackle Mike Patterson intercepted it. He rumbled to the 9, and two plays later, the Eagles scored on a direct snap to DeSean Jackson and a run around right end.
In the second quarter, while leaping over cornerback Asante Samuel for extra yardage, Jacobs was smacked hard by linebacker Chris Gocong and fumbled. Patterson recovered the first lost fumble by a Giants running back this season. That gave the Eagles the ball at the 44, and six plays later, aided by a questionable late-hit call against Sam Madison, McNabb hit Jason Avant for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 17-14 with 4:01 left in the half.
The Giants were not as opportunistic with their freebies, even though they came deep in Philadelphia territory. Ahmad Bradshaw forced a fumble on a first-quarter kickoff that gave the Giants the ball at the 13, but they got only John Carney's 27-yard field goal. Then, after Madison picked McNabb late in the half to give the Giants the ball at the Eagles' 14, they settled for a 26-yard field goal.
The Giants marched 80 yards and tied it at 7 on a 17-yard pass from Manning to Plaxico Burress. A nearly identical 10-play, 80-yard drive ended with Boss' 1-yard fingertip grab for a 17-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter.
The Eagles scored 10 straight points - a 29-yard field goal as time expired in the half and a 7-yard fade to Hank Baskett on the opening drive of the third quarter - to take a 24-20 lead.
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