Michael Vick & the Philadelphia Eagles Top Giants On Sunday Night
Fresh off a virtuoso performance in which he embarrassed Donovan McNabb and the Washington Redskins, Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants, 27-17, on Sunday Night Football.
Although Vick's performance was not another all-time great, game-worn jersey being sent to Canton type of deal like Week 10's victory in Washington, this victory might have been even bigger. It came against the Giants, who are the Eagles' top competition for the NFC East crown.
Here's how the Eagles won this week without Michael Vick scoring six touchdowns.
Game Recap: First Half
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The Eagles and Micheal Vick kicked off the scoring on the fourth drive by either team after trading off three-and-outs in the first three drives of the game.
The 13-play, 68-yard drive ended with a 4-yard touchdown scamper from Vick, his first and only touchdown of this game.
The Giants responded immediately, pulling off a 14-play, 74-yard drive of their own that resulted in a field goal.
Those two drives ate up over 15 minutes of clock time and constituted the first story of the first half.
The second story of the first half was consecutive Giants turnovers that put them behind by 10 points.
After sacking Michael Vick immediately after their own scoring drive, the Giants defense seemed to be doing what everybody was claiming could not be done: Stop Michael Vick and the Eagles' high-octane offense.
But then Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled the ball in Giants territory, and Eli Manning threw an interception in Giants territory, giving the Eagles good enough field position to settle for two straight field goals.
The Giants couldn't get on the scoreboard again. But they did stop an Eagles' drive late in the second quarter when they blocked a field goal as time expired.
Going into the halftime, the Eagles were up 13-3.
Game Recap: Second Half
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The Eagles came out of the half with a 14-play, 82 yard drive that took over eight minutes.
Unfortunately, the drive ended in a field goal when the Giants stopped the Eagles on third-and-11 from their own 18-yard line.
The kickoff return to start the quarter featured a harrowing collision between Ellis Hobbs and Dave Tollefson. While a clean play, it was also pretty much the definition of a helmet-to-helmet hit.
At the point, the Giants regained some momentum, driving 68 yards on nine plays on their ensuing drive to answer the Eagles' field goal with a touchdown of their own. Eli Manning found Travis Beckum on the left side of the end zone out of a short crossing route for a two-yard touchdown pass.
Those two drives took up nearly the whole third quarter. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Giants sacked Vick on the ensuing drive and forced the MVP candidate to commit a turnover for the first time this season.
The fumble, which occurred on the Eagles' own 32-yard line, proved costly. After Brandon Jacobs rumbled for 22 yards, Eli Manning threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Derek Hagan.
After that, Vick fumbled the ball on the very next drive, but recovered the ball.
The teams then traded punts before LeSean McCoy scored what would be the decisive 50-yard touchdown run off a botched snap on a fourth-and-one play that Vick was barely able to pitch to his running back before being engulfed by a Giants' defender.
A successful two-point conversion attempt made it 24-17. Eli Manning turned the ball over on the Giants' final two drives.
A tacked-on field goal made it 27-17, and that was all she wrote from Lincoln Financial Field.
Did the Eagles Win, or Did the Giants Lose?
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It's a fair question.
The New York Giants played pretty well on defense until they allowed 50 and 40-yard runs to McCoy in the fourth quarter. And to their credit, the 50-yard touchdown run was half an inch on the pitch or half a second on the rush away from being a blown play that gives the Giants the ball with a 17-16 lead and just over 4:30 left on the clock.
However, Eli Manning handed the Eagles the game with turnovers.
Heading into the game, the major difference between these two teams was that the Giants routinely turned the ball over. The Eagles rarely turn the ball over.
The series of plays that most accurately depicts Manning and the Giants' play throughout this game came late in the fourth quarter, following the McCoy touchdown run.
Manning threw an interception, only to have Asante Samuel fumble the ball back to the Giants on the return. Three plays later, Manning scrambled on a fourth-down play (pictured) and fumbled the ball as he hit the ground.
It will probably be a play that runs through Manning's mind all week until he can get on the field again. But it was just a very awkward, goofy-looking run that featured Manning diving head-first for an extra couple of yards after he had gotten the first down.
All Eli needed to do was slide, and that drive is still alive.
As it is, he managed to turn it over twice on the same drive.
Not only did Manning and Ahmad Bradshaw, who combined for five turnovers, hand the Eagles no less than six points, they constantly took themselves off the field and handed the Eagles the game.
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Michael Vick is Apparently Not Unstoppable
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In the days leading up to the rematch between these two teams on Dec. 19, Michael Vick is going to have nightmares about facing Justin Tuck and the Giants defense a second time.
Justin Tuck had three sacks and two forced fumbles. But the Giants' defense, as a whole, hit Vick early and often, showing that the quarterback who looked unstoppable last Monday against the Washington Redskins isn't so invincible.
Vick completed 24-of-38 passes for 258 yards and ran for 34 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. While Vick totaled 292 yards, the Giants' defense did a phenomenal job of containing him by forcing him to roll out to his right, where he is less comfortable, and allowing their tenacious and athletic defensive line chase Vick down.
The scary thing about Vick's near-300-yard game is that the Giants might be the best-equipped team to stop him.
If he can do that to the Giants' defense, what chance does the rest of the league stand of stopping him?
On the other hand, if Vick continues to take beatings like this, is it not fair to ask if his body will hold up?
But the Eagles' Offense is Lethal outside of Vick
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It's safe to say that the Eagles have some of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the NFL.
Forget about Michael Vick for a moment and how unique a talent he is.
22-year-old LeSean McCoy has 1,107 total yards of offense this season and seven total touchdowns.
23-year-old DeSean Jackson averages 19.8 yards per catch and has 747 yards of total offense and six total touchdowns.
22-year-old Jeremy Maclin has 47 catches, 705 yards and seven touchdowns.
Speed kills.
And the Eagles' young offensive weapons, combined with Michael Vick, are deadly because they're arguably the fastest team in the league.
The NFC East Picture
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The Eagles now stand alone atop the NFC East at 7-3.
More importantly, this latest win gives the Eagles the tiebreaker over the Giants, who drop one game below the Eagles at 6-4.
However, the season is not over. As previously mentioned, the Eagles still have to travel to New Jersey to play the Giants at the New Meadowlands Stadium.
If the Giants showed us anything last night, it's that they can run with the Eagles as long as they don't step on their own toes.
This battle in the season-long war for the NFC East crown goes to the Eagles.
But the war is far from won.
Are the Eagles the Best Team in the NFC?
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Atlanta, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Chicago and Green Bay can all stake a claim in the title, "Best team in the NFC."
After last night, the Eagles have certainly staked their own claim in that title.
However, is it a large-enough claim to give them the nod over the other contenders in the NFC? Their offense is second to none, but is their defense good enough to put them over the top?
They're ranked ninth in the NFL in yards allowed, with 313.3 yards per game. However, they are a lousy 20th in scoring defense, allowing 22.6 points per game.
It's tough to say they're better than any of the teams listed above. Other than maybe the Bears and Buccaneers.
What's not tough to say is that early-season talk about the NFC being the weaker conference is now obviously silliness. The NFC has teams that are just as good, if not better, than the best teams in the AFC.
The Philadelphia Eagles are a big part of that.
The Bottom Line
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Michael Vick takes a cool picture.
Just kidding, that's not the bottom line. But Vick does take some pretty sweet pictures.
The real bottom line is that the Eagles can beat any team in the league with Michael Vick at quarterback. It's not a shot at Kevin Kolb, as the Eagles would be a pretty good team with him at quarterback.
But they wouldn't be anywhere near this dangerous. They wouldn't be able to walk out onto the field each and every Sunday knowing they can beat any team because their quarterback is Michael Vick.
Next Week
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In Week 12, the Eagles will take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
If Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and the New York Giants' front seven were Vick's toughest test to date, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Julius Peppers and the Bears front seven might be his toughest test of the entire season.
The Bears have the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL, allowing just 14.6 points per game. They are coming off a road shutout against the Miami Dolphins.
If Vick wants to make a statement, this would be a great game to do so.
Many feel the Bears are overrated and a team unbecoming of their 7-3 record because, quite honestly, who have the Bears played?
Other than a win against Green Bay in Week 3, the Bears have beaten all teams with a below-.500 record and have uninspiring losses to the Giants, Redskins and Seahawks. They need to prove they're for real, and a win against the Eagles is a good way to do just that.
But if they had trouble with the Giants and Redskins, what are the chances they'll fare any better against the Philadelphia Eagles, the cream of the crop in the NFC East?
Ellis Hobbs Update
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If you watched the clip posted early in this piece, you know how devastating that hit on Ellis Hobbs was.
The game was delayed for 11 minutes, as Hobbs was placed a stretcher and removed from the stadium.
He gave two thumbs up while being carried off the field, which was a welcome sign.
Reports say Hobbs had full use of his extremities and his X-Rays were negative. Thankfully, Hobbs walked out of the X-Ray room wearing a neck brace.
In what was another scary moment for the NFL.
Hobbs' injury only serves as another reminder that, regardless of what you think about the way in which the NFL is going about trying to protect their players, something must be done to make sure the next time a player suffers a hit like Ellis Hobbs did last night, it doesn't end with the player paralyzed.
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