This season is really beginning to mystify us all. Week #1 saw two special teams’ muffs during punt returns. The second happened in the closing minutes directly leading to the Green Bay Packers last-second game-winning FG. McNabb and Big Red lost Game #2 to Washington due to offensive ineptness in the red-zone. The offense failed to convert any of its six possessions into TD’s and settled for 4 David Akers field goals. Then the Lions came to town and were eaten alive. The game was over at halftime as the Eagles’ offense put 42 points on the scoreboard on their way to a 56-21 victory. And now this! The biggest smack down in Eagles’ history!! The final score read only 16-3, thanks mainly to an Eagles defense that held the Giants to just 212 total yards. The Eagles did manage 190 themselves with 136 of them on the ground. Westbrook was out, so Correll Buckhalter had the majority of the carries, 17 times for 114 yards. Donovan McNabb managed to complete 48% of his passes (15-31) for 138 passing yards. But thanks to 12 sacks, the net passing yardage was just 76.

That is correct, the New York Giants sacked Eagles QB Donovan McNabb 12 times. The Giants Osi Umenyiora had six alone, 1 short of the NFL record. The Eagles offense and namely McNabb looked as though he’d been run over by a CSX diesel locomotive. New York blitzed on almost every play and the pressure came from every which direction he looked and rarely did he have time to setup comfortably in the pocket. Second-year tackle Winston Justice was forced to start his first game. He was left out on his own island the entire game and failed miserably. “You’ve got to help the poor kid out,” Michael Strahan said. “Don’t help Runyan out, he’s an All-Pro and I’m 35. The kid better be careful because he might go out and order some food and in Philly, you never know what they might put in it.” The Giants managed just 4 sacks in their first 3 games and then go out and sack McNabb a dozen times in one game. What’s worse is that the Eagles allowed just 5 sacks in their first 3 games. Now this? Strahan said of Umenyiora, “Osi was absolutely phenomenal. I’ve never seen anybody get six sacks in a game. He deserved every one of them.”

Both teams had a FG attempt, which each kicker missed. The Giants scored the games’ first points when Eli Manning found Plaxico Burress open for a 9-yd TD pass with 11:09 left in the second quarter. Late in the third quarter, the Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes added a 29-yd FG, but later missed an extra point after McNabb fumbled the ball away to Kawika Mitchell return the ball for a 20-yd TD. New York had an insurmountable lead at 16-0, since the Eagles could barely move the ball. McNabb found a little success early in the 4th quarter connecting on passes to Curtis, Avant, Celek and Curtis again setting up a 53-yd FG. This game was over before it began, some would say. William Thomas was out. Lito and Dawk out. LJ Smith out. And most importantly, the Eagles engine and most dangerous player in Brian Westbrook are out. The Eagles had no prayer as the Giants defense steamrolled through a pathetic Eagles offensive line. I kept thinking this game is being played in Giants Stadium and the Eagles would eventually find some miracle to get the team back. But all the magic dust was back at Citizen’s Bank Park in the Phillies dugout. Earlier in the afternoon, the Phillies clinched the N.L. East Division with a 6-1 lead over the Nationals coupled with a Mets 8-1 loss to Florida. Even though the Eagles lost, the Phillies have brought back excitement for October baseball to this town, as they will be the newsmakers the next few weeks instead of the football team. Hopefully, the Phils will be newsworthy going into November.