Another exasperating, heart-throbbing, unexplainable, devastating loss of the umpteenth magnification. In other words, this one really hurt as though you were kicked right in the gut. Two games come right to mind when watching this game unfold. (1) Eagles on Monday night last season against the Dallas Cowboys, when McNabb threw that terrible INT to Roy Williams who waltzed on in for a Cowboys 21-20 victory. (2) How can anyone ever forget the last Eagles game ever at the Vet against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Warren Sapp? This one ranks right up there with the others. The Giants were down and out at 24-7 and were being totally out-played going into the 4th quarter. Eli Manning was being pummeled time after time with 8 sacks and numerous other knockdowns and hits. Here’s the biggest stat of all; the Eagles took a 24-7 lead on Reggie Brown’s 3rd quarter catch with 10:49 left. At this point, the Birds had totally dominated the Giants, outgaining them to a tune of 378-87. The rest of the game, the Eagles managed just 73 more yards, while New York managed to gain 317 yards.

Those New York Giants took the opening kickoff and on a 7-play drive moved the ball straight down the field and took the early 7-0 lead. A 37-yard TD pass to Amani Toomer highlighted the Giants opening drive. The Eagles returned the favor with a 92-yard TD drive of their own to tie the game at 7-7. Until the start of the fourth quarter, the Eagles defense totally shut down the Giants, terrorizing Eli Manning most of the afternoon. Even Tiki Barber only managed 51 rushing yards and 57 receiving yards with no touchdowns. Also, Shokey was a no factor at all as he only had 2 catches all game long. As for McNabb, his stats read 25-for-47 and 350 yards with 2 TD’s and 0 INT’s. He was sacked just once and had a QB rating of 99.3. He even rushed 4 times for 31 yards. Number 5 is NOT at fault in this loss as he was directly last season against the Cowboys. This loss to me comes down to 4 people who all had a hand in allowing a miracle Giants comeback or so I call it, “The Eagles Giveaway of the Century”, though only six years have passed by this century.

First and foremost is the Eagles head coach, who seemed to call off the dogs halfway through the third quarter allowing New York to regain their composure and dwindle away at the Eagles lead. The play calling was horrendous the last 2 minutes of regulation. Play after play went for nothing and then failure on third downs only to punt the ball back to the Giants. Second is Michael Lewis, who should have recovered the fumble of Plaxico Burress with 13:40 left in the game. Instead, he muffed the fumble and even worse is that the ball’s momentum carried it into the endzone where Tim Carter recovered it for a TD. That cut the lead to 24-14. If Lewis had recovered that fumble, it still would have been 24-7 and that probably would have been the last nail in the coffin for the Giants. Instead, the TD breathed new life back into the Giants offense. After another three-and-out series, Jeremiah Trotter seemed to ice the game again with an INT. A couple of first downs and a sure David Akers FG would of made it 27-14. But Andy Reid decided to go for it on fourth down on Giants 38-yard line, but Buckhalter was stopped for no gain and the Giants took over on downs.

The Eagles still held a 24-14 lead with 8:45 left in the game and the defense still forced the Giants to punt after one first down. On the Eagles next possession though, it was Brian Westbrook’s turn to help the Giants when he fumbled away the ball on the Eagles 33-yard line. Four plays later, Eli Manning connected with Amani Toomer again with a 22-yard strike, which resulted in a touchdown. That made it 24-21. And the last bonehead play came with 15 seconds left and no timeouts for the Giants. Manning barely completed a pass Shokey for 8 yards, probaly setting up a 50-yd FG attempt to tie the game. But Trent Cole kicked Kareem McKenzie in the crotch just as Wayne Rooney had done for England in a Worl Cupo Quarterfinal match against Portugal. England went on to lose in penalty kicks afcter Rooney was red-carded. On this play, Feely easily kicked a 35-yard FG to send the game into OT after the 15-yard personal foul penalty was enforced. I don’t need to discuss OT. The Eagles blew this game after totally dominating the New York Giants that was ready for their bus trip up the Jersey Turnpike. What else is their to say?