This was exactly the kind of game the Eagles always used to lose.
All the telltale signs were there.
If the first half, they kept settling for field goals instead of jamming the ball into the end zone. They even had trouble doing that, getting a kick blocked near the end of the second quarter. They had thoroughly dominated the Giants, yet went into the locker room up just 13-3. It just as easily could have been 28-3.
Even Michael Vick seemed to be just a tad off in the first half. Then again, compared to what he did the week before against the Redskins, almost anything he did would be viewed as a bit of a letdown.
But Vick hit Jason Avant dead in the hands with one pass, which the normally sure-haded receiver just flat dropped all alone in the back of the end zone.
Vick also overthrew a wide open DeSean Jackson.
It didn’t take long for these omissions to catch up with the Birrds. The Giants rallied in the second half for two straight touchdowns to seize a 17-16 lead.
You could go to bed cursing all the missed opportunities, the dumb penalties, the dropped passes. We’ve seen it all a million times.
Then something odd happened. The Eagles rallied for 11 straight points to post an improbable 27-17 win.
They now sit alone atop the NFC East with a 7-3 record.
And finally, there is this. Don’t ask me why, but I don’t think the Eagles win this game with Donovan McNabb on their team. I’m not even sure Andy Reid goes for it on the crucial fourth down play turned into the go-ahead touchdown late in the game.
The Vick dimension allows Reid that kind of option.
Vick was not great in this game. But he was good enough.
Suddenly, so are his teammates. They made lots of mistakes, but the Giants made more, including a fumble late in the game by QB Eli Manning.
The Michael Vick express rolls on.
Next stop: Chicago.
All the telltale signs were there.
If the first half, they kept settling for field goals instead of jamming the ball into the end zone. They even had trouble doing that, getting a kick blocked near the end of the second quarter. They had thoroughly dominated the Giants, yet went into the locker room up just 13-3. It just as easily could have been 28-3.
Even Michael Vick seemed to be just a tad off in the first half. Then again, compared to what he did the week before against the Redskins, almost anything he did would be viewed as a bit of a letdown.
But Vick hit Jason Avant dead in the hands with one pass, which the normally sure-haded receiver just flat dropped all alone in the back of the end zone.
Vick also overthrew a wide open DeSean Jackson.
It didn’t take long for these omissions to catch up with the Birrds. The Giants rallied in the second half for two straight touchdowns to seize a 17-16 lead.
You could go to bed cursing all the missed opportunities, the dumb penalties, the dropped passes. We’ve seen it all a million times.
Then something odd happened. The Eagles rallied for 11 straight points to post an improbable 27-17 win.
They now sit alone atop the NFC East with a 7-3 record.
And finally, there is this. Don’t ask me why, but I don’t think the Eagles win this game with Donovan McNabb on their team. I’m not even sure Andy Reid goes for it on the crucial fourth down play turned into the go-ahead touchdown late in the game.
The Vick dimension allows Reid that kind of option.
Vick was not great in this game. But he was good enough.
Suddenly, so are his teammates. They made lots of mistakes, but the Giants made more, including a fumble late in the game by QB Eli Manning.
The Michael Vick express rolls on.
Next stop: Chicago.
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