Eagles Evade Hungry Giants, Grab Sole Possession of First Place

The Giants took some kind of loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night. It was a run-and-gun type ballgame, considerably one of the more exciting games all year. If you happen to enjoy smashmouth defense, sorry. 45-38 was the final in this one, and the score is absolutely symbolic of the outcome. The Eagles opened the game with a quick 14-0 cushion. They marched right down Big Blue's throats scoring 7 in 3 minutes and 27 seconds. They would then steal a Brandon Jacobs' fumble which hit off of tight end Kevin Boss's foot, went right to Sheldon Brown who took it 60 yards for the score. The Giants were resilient at times, coming back from that deficit, and then a 30-17 deficit and actually taking a 31-30 lead. It looked good for the Giants until Desean Jackson caught a 60 touchdown, which then he would taunt the Giants by walking backwards "shimmying" into the endzone. No flag was thrown, and that would end up being the knock-out punch for the G-Men. The officiating in the game was incredibly poor. No sides were taken, the referee crew just happened to miss many obvious pass interferences, holds, and numerous clipping penalties, however Philadelphia embraced the adversity, and took it to the Giants in their own stadium.

Although it hurt the Giants' divisional hopes, they still have life in the wildcard picture. While some may not think they are deserving of a playoff spot, think back to 2007 when the Giants were this close to losing out in the playoff race after losing to the Washington Redskins in difficult windy, rainy conditions at Giants Stadium. Some have said that it was the worst they had ever seen the Giants look in franchise history, however we all know how Giants fans can be. They would then come back with a statement win in the snow in Buffalo. The game was Ahmad Bradshaw's coming out party, and this led them to the pride they displayed in the loss to the undefeated (at the time) New England Patriots. I'm not saying that the Giants have as many playmakers as they did that year, however they went from under the radar, to Superbowl contenders. The Giants will in fact need some kind of turnaround in the final 3 games of the season in which they will face the Skins, the Carolina Panthers, and to finish out the season with the Minnesota Vikings as they did last year. Dallas will face New Orleans next week, so the Giants aren't in too bad of shape if the Saints take care of business like they have literally done week in, and week out. The Giants luckily have the tie-breaker on Dallas, however if they get to the postseason, they must make sure their Bill Sheridan's defense improves during these next 3 games, or they might as well lose the next 3 and snag a mediocre draft pick.