By Steven Panzarella
Early on in Sunday night’s battle between the 7-1 New York Giants and the 5-3 Philadelphia Eagles, it looked like it could be a long night for both Eli Manning and Donavon McNabb.
Both struggled early, Manning with an interception on the first drive of the game and McNabb missing his first 7 pass attempts.
The Giants went down 7-0 early thanks to that interception and after that the Eagles were unable to get a first down in the first quarter. The Giants defense was sharp but was unable to hit the sack-friendly McNabb who is all too familiar with getting sacked by Giant players.
We all remember the game last year where McNabb hit the turf 12 times and the Eagles were only able to score 3 points en route to a 16-3 Giant win.
McNabb stayed on his feet this time but was unable to get cooking till the 3rd Quarter. Both teams were forced to go to their run games.
Normally this is something the Eagles do better than the Giants but the Eagles running game struggled all night. Brian Westbrook was unable to get moving and he rushed 13 times for 26 yards, while McNabb rushed 3 times for 35 yards.
Every time the Eagles tried with Westbrook, the Giants hit them right in the mouth. On the other side, the Giants had more success and were able to get big yardage from Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward and even got contributions from Ahmad Bradshaw in the 4th quarter.
All three players were able to outgain Westbrook. Even Bradshaw, who only had 5 rushes, all in the 2nd half, was able to run for 38 yards. The Giants got the big game from Jacobs, who remains one of the top 5 backs in the NFL, with 2 touchdowns and 122 yards in the ball game.
He did fumble the ball once which led to an Eagles score but was able to make up for it with a rushing touchdown later in the game. On the receiving end of the ball Eli Manning was able to complete passes to 7 receivers but favored tight end Kevin Boss with a touchdown in 6 receptions for 69 yards and wide-out Amani Toomer with 5 receptions for 53 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball the Giants had no sacks, but Sam Madison was able to pick off McNabb and running back Ahmad Bradshaw forced a big fumble on a kick return. The Giants were led by Antonio Pierce, and rookie Kenny Phillips who both had very good games. Pierce notched 7 tackles and Phillips, starting his first game, had 5 tackles.
This was a huge win for the Giants who have played each division rival once and have beat each of them. The Giants still have division games on the road against Dallas and Washington and the schedule doesn’t get simple for the defending champs. They come home this Sunday to take on CAA school and Delaware Alum Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens. Flacco has had some pretty good games of late including the 2 touchdown game against the Texans last week where he connected on a 43-yard pass early and a one yard toss late in the game. Flacco has 7 touchdowns on the year as well as 7 interceptions.
He hasn’t been perfect yet he brings a playoff contender at 6-3 into Giant Stadium and believe me I don’t think I’m the only one out their yelling “IT’S A TRAP!”
The Giants will have to remain sharp against the Ravens; they have to be able to stop Flacco as well as be able to run the ball against a tough Ravens defense.
This is a big test for Flacco coming into a not so friendly Giant Stadium.
He could really make a statement but he will have to stay on his feet and keep his cool. If the Giants can get to Flacco and hit him on every down this will be a very long day for the Ravens.
Expect a close game Both teams are coming into this game looking to remain hot and the Giants, with a win, can start talking about wrapping up the East