Why Matt Dodge Shouldn't Be Solely Blamed for the Giants' Loss

DeSean Jackson capped off one of the most remarkable comebacks in Philadelphia Eagles history Sunday by returning a Matt Dodge punt 65 yards for a touchdown as time expired to beat the New York Giants, 38-31.  The win nearly clinches the NFC East title for the Eagles. 

Immediately after the play had ended, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin confronted the rookie punter about kicking to Jackson.  While Dodge clearly messed up the play and sent a line drive directly to Jackson, the blame should not be placed directly on his shoulders.

Let's wind back the clock a little bit...

With 8:17 left in the fourth quarter, the Giants extended their lead to 21 points.  Just 49 seconds later, Michael Vick hooked up with tight end Brent Celek for a 65-yard touchdown.  On that play, safety Kenny Phillips missed a tackle that allowed Celek to break free for the score. 

On the ensuing kickoff, the Eagles caught everybody off guard by running an onside kick that was recovered by rookie Riley Cooper.  Everyone on the Giants' kickoff team immediately turned their back to the kickoff and let Cooper recover the high bounce uncontested. 

Two minutes and a 35-yard scramble later, Vick took a quarterback keeper four yards for the score to help bring Philly to within 31-24 with 5:28 left on the clock.

Again, let's rewind the clock...

The Eagles had just picked up a first down to get into Giants territory.  On first down, Vick dropped back to pass.  Deon Grant broke through the line and had a clean shot at a sack.  Grant, however, tried hitting Vick high.  As soon as Grant dove, Vick ducked under the tackle and took off for a 35-yard gain down to the Giants' seven-yard line, thus setting up the four-yard keeper. 

Just to recap: the Giants have two missed tackles that led to touchdowns.  But they still had a seven-point lead.  After going three-and-out, the Eagles got the ball back and again drove down the field to set up a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin to help tie the game at 31.  A closer look at the play shows that after the catch, Terrell Thomas again missed a tackle that allowed Maclin to walk into the end zone. 

That's 21 points set up by three missed tackles by the Giants. 

After again going three-and-out, Dodge came on to punt with 12 seconds left in regulation.  A simple pooch out of bounds would conceivably send the game into overtime.  Instead, Dodge sent a line drive directly to Jackson, who, after originally dropping the kick, recovered and weaved his way 65 yards before showboating across the goal line to score the game-winning touchdown and cap a remarkable comeback. 

During the last eight minutes of the game, the Giants gave up 28 points and blew a 21-point lead to lose the game. 

Let's take a closer look at what else went wrong...

In the first half, the Eagles managed just 102 yards of offense.  The Giants defense was giving Vick fits, bringing pressure and getting hits on the quarterback on nearly every drop back. 

It was a different story in the second half. 

In the third and fourth quarter, the Giants dropped back into coverage more often and allowed Vick to pick apart coverages and drive the Eagles down the field time and time again.  When the Giants did bring pressure, they were unable to contain Vick and allowed him to escape for big runs in key situations. 

The offense wasn't much better for New York in the second half.  Aside from a Kevin Boss touchdown off of a Jackson fumble, the Giants were unable to put together any meaningful drives to put the game away.  In the first Philadelphia cornerback, Dimitri Patterson was targeted on many pass attempts, leading to three touchdowns.  In the second half, the offensive line was unable to pick up pressure brought by the Eagles and did not allow Eli Manning to have time to deliver any deep passes. 

The Giants did not lose the game because of a botched punt by Matt Dodge.  The Giants lost because of missed tackles, not putting pressure on Vick and allowing the Eagles to put too much pressure on Manning in the second half. 

No matter how you look at it though, the Eagles performed one of the greatest comebacks in recent history, and this game will be remembered for years to come.