After 6 straight wins and destiny on their side for clinching the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Eagles lost to the Giants in OT, 10-7. The All-Pro kicker David Akers shanked a short FG with only 1:16 left in the game. What! Yes, Akers who made 50 straight field goals from 35 yards or closer, missed the his first FG from 35 yards or closer ever in his NFL career. One 35-yard kick from surely supplanting the Eagles as the clear cut choice to advance as the NFC Champion. A Super Bowl where all roads go through Philly. Ike Reese said, "That guy can make that kick with his eyes closed. He can make that kick in his sleep." Well, not this time. He missed it. The game went into overtime and the Eagles failed to score with the first possesion. The Giants did not as they drove down the field and setup an easy FG for the Giants kicker, Matt Bryant. The 39-yard FG was good and the Giants are officially a wild card team. Thanks to the other New York team, who on Sunday clobbered the Packers on the same field 42-17, the Eagles still clinched the #1 seed in the NFC. All roads via the NFC go through the VET, alias "The Dump". Veteran's Stadium is considered by most to be the worst stadium in all of America to play. Teams always worry about the infamous turf, the fans and an Eagles defense that brings more than just game. In addition to the noisy stadium, the temperature usually is around 25 degrees and windy during the month of January. The last playoff game past the Wild Card Round held at the Vet was way back on January 11, 1981. In that game, the Eagles won the game on the first play against the Cowboys. It was 18 degrees with a crisp 10-15 mph wind. The weather, the fans, Wilbert Mongomery and the NFL's best defense made sure of victory for the "Mean Green Machine".

The Eagles took the opening kickoff against the Giants and drove it straight down the field with AJ Feely at the helms. A very creative double-reverse to James Thrash gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead on the 20-yard TD dash. After that, the Eagles did not mount much offense, while the defense stopped the G-Men in the redzone, time after time. Thanks to many turnovers by the Giants, the Eagles were still in position to win the game before the game went into OT. Tiki Barber rushed for 203 yards and added another 73 through the air for a total of 276 yards. It was the most total yards ever by one player in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The old record was held by the Vikings Chuck Foreman who had 266 total yards versus the Birds in 1976. But, Tiki Barber fumbled 4 times, losing it 3 times. His last fumble occuerd in OT as the Giants were setting up for the game winning FG. Luckily, Barber recovered his own fumble and Bryant kicked the winning field goal. The first New York blunder happened when Kerry Collins was intercepted in the endzone by rookie Michael Lewis. Then early in the 2nd quarter, Brandon Whiting recovered the first Barber fumble, but the Eagles didn't take advantage of that mistake. Feely and the offense was basically ineffective throughout most of the game. He finished the game completing 13-of-25 passes for only 150 yards. He was sacked only twice and was intercepted only once, but that occured in OT. The Giants' secondary played superbly and held the Eagle wideouts to a total of 6 receptions all game. Freddie Mitchell had 4 catches to lead the team.

No matter how you look at the game, Tiki Barber's third fumble lost with 5 minutes left deep in New York territory, should have given the Eagles the win. Brian Dawkins, who was voted to his 3rd Pro-Bowl stripped Barber of the ball and Michael Lewis recovered the ball at the 26-yard line. Duce Staley got the Birds down to the 14-yard line. With the ball at the Giants' 17-yard line and Mr. Automatic in David Akers kicking the 35-yard FG, it should of given the Eagles a 10-7 lead with a minute left and the Giants had 0 timouts left. The win would of given the Eagles a 13-3 record, their best ever. But the result was different and the Giants won in OT, 10-7. New York outgained the Eagles 461-137 yards after Thrash's TD run. Yes, Tiki Barber rushed for over 200 yards. But in the end, the Eagles still could of won the game on an almost always easy field goal. Can't blame the wind as for once, there was none. The good thing is, the Birds still have the home-field advantage and Donovan McNabb is scheduled to return to action for Philly's first playoff game in two weeks. I do know one thing. The games are in our house at the Vet. Our fans will have plenty of time to get ready to make life really hard for whoever plays next in South Philly.