By Joseph Santoliquito
We wanted answers—we got them. The Eagles had one of their best halves under Andy Reid Sunday and couldn’t do anything wrong, while the New York Giants couldn’t do anything right. There’s no doubting where the Eagles stand now, after they trampled through what had been the NFL’s sad sack division.
We needed only 30 minutes Sunday to find out that the Eagles are the second-best team in the NFC, better than the Minnestoa Vikings but not quite as good as the New Orleans Saints. Why we needed only two quarters against the Giants was because after a half, the Eagles held a commanding 30-7 lead, en route to a 40-17 victory.
The win gave the Eagles a 5-2 mark placing them in a first-place tie atop the NFC East with Dallas and setting up another NFC East showdown at Lincoln Financial Field next Sunday when the hated Cowboys visit.
This was supposed to be a challenge between two teams still looking for an identity. Some challenge. The Giants were inept on offense and confused defensively.
But for now, let’s not look at what the Giants didn’t do, let’s look at what the Eagles did do. Let’s savor this one.
The Eagles scored on drives of one, two, three and four plays. They had a 90-yard drive. They had a running game. Their fullback (shocking!), Leonard Weaver, even entered the fray, rolling to a 41-yard scoring run through the Giants’ defense the third play of the game. Donovan McNabb was simply amazing, connecting on 11 of 15 passes for 201 yards and touchdown passes of 17, 54 and 23 yards in the first half. McNabb finished completing 17 of 23 for 240 yards.
The polarization of Sunday's game grew so ridiculous that just when you thought the Giants would mount some kind of second-half comeback, they promptly came out and fumbled the opening second-half kickoff at their 21, resulting in a David Akers’ field goal and a 33-7 Eagles’ lead.
A few weeks ago Giants’ linebacker Antonio Pierce made the comment “It felt like playing a scrimmage,” after the Giants 44-7 win over Oakland on October 11. If that felt like a scrimmage to Pierce, the Giants must have felt like a Pop Warner team for the Eagles.
Eli Manning, the same Eli Manning who haunted the Eagles a number of times before at the Linc, was highly unsure of himself, throwing two first-half interceptions that the Eagles converted into touchdowns. For as sharp as McNabb was, Manning was skittish, throwing into coverage, overthrowing receivers. He never got into a rhythm, completing 20 of 39 for 222 yards, but a quarterback rating to pitiful 55.7.
The Giants’ secondary took a day off, as they let Eagles’ receivers roam freely down field. DeSean Jackson’s 54-yard score came with the nearest Giant defender at least 10 yards away.
The victory also reaffirmed that Jackson is one of the league’s best big-play threats. His 54-yard TD reception late in the second quarter gave him six touchdowns of 50-plus yards, tying him with Eagles’ all-time great Tim Brown for TDs of 50 yards or more in a season. And we’re only seven games into this season.
It further substantiated that LeSean McCoy is a viable replacement for Brian Westbrook, after making his third-career start and rushing for 82 yards, including an electric 66-yard TD run.
“You have to put the Eagles now in that same area as the Saints and Vikings,” said analyst Daryl “Moose” Johnston, working the game for Fox. “I know there was a lot of excitement about the offensive line, but I know injuries have hurt their consistency. What you saw today was consistent play of the offensive line that made a difference.
“I’ll also say the Eagles looked a lot better than I expected, especially against a team like the Giants. The Eagles are good, very good, and what impressed me was that they never took their foot off the gas. There was no complacency. They got the Giants down and kept them down.”
Eagles’ offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg concurred with Johnston. Once tackles Jason Peters and Winston Justice, guards Todd Herremans and Nick Cole and center Jamaal Jackson got healthy and started playing together, good things will come. The good things shown Sunday can’t erase the 13-9 loss to Oakland, but it could spell an unstoppable, exciting big-play offense that could be one of the Eagles’ all-time best.
“I wanted us to be a little more efficient on the offensive line and once we started to get a little healthy, that showed,” Mornhinweg said. "Our offensive line is filled with tough guys who gutted things out. Because of the health of our offensive line, we’re able to play at a higher level.”
It could even mean some new things like … running the ball. The Eagles rushed for 180 yards, but once Weaver broke through the middle, the Eagles kept going back to it.
“I love running the ball,” Mornhinweg said. “I have no problems running the ball if we produce.”
“The Eagles are a fun team to watch,” Johnston said. “If they get some consistency up front, the Eagles are a team that can do some things. They have so many weapons across the board, they’re almost impossible to defend.”
Tight end Brent Celek had another superb game, catching four passes for 61 yards, including a touchdown. He and the rest of his teammates see what can happen when everything is working right.
"This [win] proves is we play well, we're tough to stop," Celek said. "I think a lot of people were looking at the Giants in regards to one of the better teams in the league. This proves we can be one of the best."
As November rolls in, it looks like the Eagles are.
Joseph Santoliquito is an Emmy Award-nominated sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area.
