Die Hard Sports Fan

I sat on the edge of my seat for hours as I watched the Giants leave Philly with a ‘W’ over the Eagles, but I was not impressed with the efforts of either team. The Eagles deflected a pass by Eli which set up a Touch Down in the first 90 seconds, and the stadium was rockin’. I was nervous as soon as that happened thinking we would be in for a long night, and I was correct even though the G-MEN won the game. The lead went back-and-forth, and the game was excessively long for a game that did not go into overtime. The only thing that matters is the result. I have to credit Tom Coughlin and his staff more than any of the players for this win because they did not make any mistakes. Many of the players did many good things, but almost all of them made at least one mistake as well. Coach Coughlin had the team prepared to play the Eagles in a hostile environment, and he out-coached Andy Reid last night. The most noteworthy would be the challenge when Eli was on the line of scrimmage and flicked the shovel pass to Boss which ultimately gave Big Blue the lead in the 3rd Quarter. Props to whoever informed T.C. to challenge that play because I thought he was across the line.

Offense

The Giants offense put up plenty of points but got stopped in the red zone three times. Eli Manning had decent statistics as he went 17/31 which is a 54.84% completion percentage and threw for 191 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. I already discussed how disturbed I was when Manning threw the pick to Mike Patterson in the first 90 seconds of the game. Eli led the offense on a scoring drive on the next possession where he found Plaxico Burress in the end zone to tie the game. That was Burress’ only reception of the game. Manning threw his second Touch Down pass to Kevin Boss during the first play of the 2nd Quarter. Kevin Boss had 6 receptions for 69 yards. Boss hurdled over an Eagles’ defender which he should not have done after he saw Jacobs do the same thing but turned the ball over. The O-Line was outstanding as they allowed Earth, Wind, and Fire to rush for 217 yards on 44 attempts which is an average of 4.93 yards per carry. Brandon Jacobs had 2 rushing TDs, but he also fumbled the ball while hurling an Eagles’ defender. Jacobs led the ground game with 126 yards on 22 carries. The Giants’ offense put up 27 of the 36 points.

Defense

The Giants defense was not as impressive as they were in the previous two games, but they got the job done. The Giants were not able to sack Donovan McNabb, but Sam Madison got the only Giants’ turnover which was an Interception in the 2nd Quarter. The Giants were able to stop the Eagles on multiple drives without racking up a pretty stat sheet, especially in the 4th Quarter when the game was on the line. The Giants’ defense put up 0 of the 36 points.

Special Teams

John Carney was 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts. The Giants had trouble on their coverage after placing David Tyree on IR earlier in the week. The Giants’ special teams put up 9 of the 39 points.

So the Giants won their eighth game which makes them 8-1. How will Big Blue fair in the next 7 games? I predicted them to be 7-2 after the first 9 games, and they are 8-1. I got 3 games wrong so far because I had the Giants beating the Browns but losing to the Steelers, and then I had the Giants and the Eagles splitting the season series with each of them winning at home. I predicted the Giants to be 5-2 down the stretch giving them a 12-4 record. The Ravens will travel to New York to take on the Giants on Sunday.

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After keeping fans on the edge of their seats for a few hours, the Giants came out of the City of Brotherly Love with a victory over the Eagles giving Big Blue their eighth win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

The Giants were able to get one first down on their opening drive before Eli Manning threw a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage, intercepted, and returned to the Giants’ 9 yardline by Mike Patterson with 13:30 remaining.

The Eagles quickly capitalized on the turnover on 2nd and Goal as they direct snapped the ball to Desean Jackson who broke to the right side and dove over the right pile on for a 9-yard Touch Down run with 13:18 remaining.

The Giants evened up the score on their next possession going 80 yards on 10 plays, and Eli Manning threw a bullet to Plaxico Burress who was in between two defenders in the middle of the end zone for a 18-yard Touch Down reception with 8:21 remaining.

When the Giants kicked off, Quintin Demps caught the ball at the 5 yardline and returned it to the 25 yardline where Ahmad Bradshaw knocked the ball out and Chase Blackburn fell on the ball at the Eagles’ 14 yardline.

The Eagles were able to stop the Giants from getting into the end zone after giving them great field position, but John Carney made a 27-yard Field Goal Attempt with 6:48 remaining giving the Giants a 10-7 lead.

2nd Quarter

A few runs by Ward along with a few passes to Toomer helped set up the Giants on 1st and Goal at the Eagles’ 1 yardline, and Eli Manning capped it off by throwing a 1-yard Touch Down pass to Kevin Boss in the back of the end zone giving the Giants a 17-7 lead with 14:55 remaining.

On 1st and 10 at the Giants’ 43 yardline, Eli Manning got sacked by Trent Cole and Mike Patterson for a loss of 9 yards with 11:04 remaining on a drive which ultimately led to a punt.

On 1st and 10 at the Giants’ 35 yardline, Manning handed the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who broke towards the left sideline and jumped over defenders near the first down marker but had the ball stripped out of his hands by Chris Gocong and recovered by Mike Patterson at the Giants’ 44 yardline with 6:39 remaining.

The Eagles took advantage of the great field position again as Donovan McNabb found Jason Avant at about the 5 yardline who ran it into the end zone for a 10-yard Touch Down catch with 4:01 remaining cutting the deficit to 17-14.

On 3rd and 12 at the 13 yardline, Donovan McNabb threw an interception to Sam Madison who returned it 19 yards to the Eagles’ 14 yardline with 2:05 remaining.

The Eagles kept the Giants out of the end zone again, but John Carney made his 26-yard Field Goal Attempt giving the Giants a 20-14 lead with 1:49 remaining.

McNabb led the 2:00 offense to the Giants’ 11 yardline with 0:05 remaining so David Akers came out to try a 29-yard Field Goal Attempt which he made with 0:00 remaining cutting the lead to 20-17 before the half.

3rd Quarter

McNabb was spreading the love during the Eagles’ opening drive of the half, and Donovan McNabb lofted an 8-yard Touch Down pass to Hank Baskett who came down with the ball in the left corner of the end zone with 11:24 remaining giving the Eagles the lead 24-20 .

The Giants gave the Eagles’ defense a big dose of Jacobs who kept moving the chains to the Eagles’ 21 yardline before Manning scrambled and threw a shovel pass to Boss at 3 yardline which was ruled a penalty initially, and then the play was challenged and overturned. On 2nd and Goal, Brandon Jacobs bulldozed his way into the end zone for a 3-yard Touch Down run giving the Giants the lead 27-24 with 5:56 remaining.

4th Quarter

The Giants continued to wear down the Eagles’ defense as Earth, Wind, and Fire got them to the Eagles’ 6 yardline before getting held out of the end zone for the third time, but John Carney connected on his 28-yard Field Goal Attempt making the score 30-24 with 13:28 remaining.

Hixon returned the ball all the way to the Eagles’ 15 yardline, but a holding penalty backed them up to the Eagles’ 40 yardline. Bradshaw had a 23-yard run which immediately got the Giants into the redzone. On 2nd and Goal at the 3 yardline, Brandon Jacobs with the help of his blockers broke the plane of the goal line while losing the football which was initially called a Touch Down, and then it was challenged and the ruling on the field was upheld. The Giants failed on their Two Point Conversion Attempt so their lead is now 36-24 over the Eagles with 9:30 remaining.

The Eagles opened up their passing attack on the Giants prevent defense marching all the way down to the Giants’ 2 yardline, and Donovan McNabb rolled to the right and threw a 2-yard Touch Down pass to Kevin Curtis in the back of the end zone on 4th and 2 with 5:30 remaining cutting the lead to 36-31.

The Giants held the Eagles on 4th and 1 at the Eagles’ 45 yardline forcing the Eagles to turn the ball over on downs with 1:48 remaining.

The Giants picked up a first down on 4th and Inches to run out the clock.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 17/31 and threw for 191 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts and Rushing Yards with 22 and 126 respectively.

Kevin Boss led in Receptions and Receiving Yards with 6 and 69 respectively.

Brandon Jacobs had 2 Rushing TDs, and Kevin Boss and Plaxico Burress each had 1 Receiving TD.

John Carney went 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts.

Antonio Pierce led the team in Tackles with 7.

The Giants had no Sacks.

Sam Madison had 1 INT.

The Giants had no Forced Fumbles.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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