No Repeat: Eagles Thrash Giants 23-11
By JOSH ALPER
Updated 6:43 AM EST, Mon, Jan 12, 2009
The first drive of the game offered a good idea about how things were going to go for the Giants on Sunday. Ahmad Bradshaw nearly broke a kickoff return and set the Giants up on the Eagles' 35-yard line. Eli Manning missed an open Steve Smith on first down, though, and the Eagles defense stiffened in time to force the Giants to settle for a field goal.
It was an omen of an afternoon of missed opportunities. Some caused by their own actions, like John Carney's two missed field goals, and some caused by stout play by the Eagle defense, but all impossible to overcome. The Giants converted only three of 13 third downs on the afternoon, they failed on two of three fourth down tries and didn't score a touchdown despite three trips inside the red zone.
Much blame will land at the feet of Eli Manning not all of it deserved. Manning didn't play well, completing 15-of-29 passes for 169 yards and two interceptions, in a performance that, at times, reeked of the pre-Super Bowl days. What was obvious, however, was that the offense really misses Plaxico Burress's ability to make big plays and intimidate a defense.
Manning didn't get much help from Coughlin either. The coach chose to take the ball instead of the gusting wind at his team's back, and Manning had trouble getting on track early as a result. That led to an interception by Asante Samuel to set up the first Eagle touchdown, a score that put the visitors into control. The coach lost so much faith in his quarterback that he chose to run the ball on 12 of 13 plays while trailing 20-11 in the fourth quarter.
Each of those drives ended when the Giants failed to convert on fourth down. Those failures to convert, added to that pathetic third-down conversion rate, allowed the Eagles to keep control of the game firmly in their grasp. The Giant defense played very well, but broke down as the game wore on and the offense kept putting the pressure back on them. Jeff Feagles punted well, pinned the Eagles deep and set the offense up with great field position, but, time and again, the Giants couldn't do anything with it.
It's a dispiriting end to the Giants year-long run of success. The Eagles played confident football, without a trace of being out of place in the rarefied air despite a middling record, and did everything necessary to beat a divisional rival on the road. Just like the Giants did in this round against the Cowboys in 2008. They likely won't take any solace in the fact that they may have run into a team doing a pretty good impression of last year's Giants, but they can likely recognize the scent.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Jan 11, 2009 4:51 PM EST
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