NY Giants Fall to Philadelphia Eagles: Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object

It's a question that's long been asked and evaluated in science. A question that has eluded even the most brilliant minds in the world.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

Well, the Giants' offense and Eagles' defense gave the world their answer: the immovable object wins.

The Philadelphia Eagles came into their Sunday afternoon game against the New York Giants as heavy underdogs, and rightfully so.

The New York Giants had won seven consecutive games coming into their showdown with the talented but inconsistent Eagles, and were looking to extend that streak to eight.

The Eagles had defeated the Arizona Cardinals on Thanksgiving day in a game that was a bounce-back to an embarrassing tie with Cincinnati and a blowout loss to Baltimore.

These were two teams having two completely different seasons, as evidenced by the Giants' win over the Eagles a month before by the score of 36-31, including over 200 yards rushing by the Giants' offense.

This game, however, was not what many expected.

Outside of the Philly faithful, the thought was that this game would be a small bump in the road to a repeat for the G-men.

The thought is that the Giants may have overlooked the Eagles. I don't believe that's the case. The other school of thought is that the Giants just missed Plaxico Burress and all the distractions brought them down. While that may hold a kernel of truth, I don't believe that's the case either.

How about the third option?

The Eagles flat-out beat the G-men.

Regardless of what the score says, the Eagles were dominant on this Sunday afternoon.

It all started with...

A six-play drive that ended with a 51-yard boot from David Akers. The Eagles had put together a modest drive but stumbled at the end. So on a windy day, Andy Reid pulled a fantastic coaching move by calling a timeout with four seconds left in the first quarter. Why is that such a great move? It kept the wind at Akers' back and gave the ball the extra push it needed. Had he let the quarter tick down, the teams would have switched sides and he would have been kicking into the wind. Good move by Andy.

Eagles lead 3-0

Run, Westbrook, Run!

After frustrating the Giants offense, the Eagles got the ball back. They were able to put together a 10-play drive that took 4:21 off of the clock and ended with a 30-yard Westbrook scamper right up the middle for a touchdown.

This drive was all Westbrook as the Eagles made him their workhorse. He finished the game with a season-high 33 carries.

Eagles lead 10-0

San Fran Deja Vu

Again the Giants had the ball, and again they relinquished it to the tough Eagles' defense.

The Eagles marched the ball down the field, seemingly at will. Their only adversary: the clock. Time was ticking away in the half, and that's when the Eagles made their only mistake of the game.

Rather than throwing towards the end zone, the Eagles were content to kick a 32-yard field goal to end out the half.

Not if Justin Tuck had anything to say about it.

Tuck got only minor penetration but was able to stretch himself high into the air and block the Akers kick. Kevin Dockery was right in position to scoop up the now-live ball. After shaking a Todd Herremans tackle and getting a block on L.J. Smith, Dockery was off to the races in what looked to be a possible momentum shift going into halftime.

Eagles lead 10-7

Who said the Eagles are quick-strike?

This was the most important drive for the Eagles. They had to do well on this drive to either A) swing the momentum, or at the very least B) keep it in check.

They took option A.

The Eagles showed they can control the ball with their running game, but score through the air. However, air or ground, the focal point never changed.

Brian Westbrook skipped and scampered through the Giants' defense to help sustain an 11-play, six-minute drive that went 86 yards. The dagger in the heart of the Giants' defense was when a blown coverage by their safeties left Antonio Pierce one-on-one with Brian Westbrook out of the backfield.

Westbrook took a short slant pattern to the house 40 yards by simply catching the ball and outrunning Pierce to the end zone. With no safety help, Pierce had no shot.

Eagles lead 17-7

More greedy Eagles' offense

After having a drive in which another field goal was blocked (at least only tipped this time), the Eagles' offense was once again handed a gift by the defense. They again stifled any Giants' threat and got the ball in the hands of McNabb and Co.

They took advantage of the gift they were given by holding onto the ball for 14 plays, over seven minutes, and 46 yards.

The drive ended with a second Akers' field goal.

Eagles lead 20-7

But no one in the Philly faithful was comfortable yet

The Giants got the ball with a little over two minutes left in the game, and the Eagles went into a Prevent defense.

"The only thing the prevent does, is prevent you from winning."

This was made evident when the Giants marched their way 70 yards down the field in only six plays. Every yard coming from Eli Manning who went 6-6 for 70 yards and capped it off with a one yard pass to Darci Johnson with 15 seconds remaining in the game.

Eagles lead 20-14

And it all comes down to this...

The onside kick.

Everyone knew it was coming, and everyone, Eagles and Giants fans alike, were holding their breath and hoping to see their respective team come out of the pile holding the ball.

Carney kicks the ball into the dirt, sends it flying into the air, there's a mass of bodies, the ball is flying around and...

Eagles' ball.

The victory formation. Courtesy of the post "Miracle at the Meadowlands" Giants

The best formation in football, when it's your team of course.

Donovan McNabb took one snap, dropped to a knee, and the game was over.

The Eagles beat the New York Giants, handing them only their second loss of the season.

The Good:

The Eagles start a streak now by beating the Cardinals and Giants. They seem to understand that this is playoff time for them. If they lose, they'll be going through the motions for the last couple of games. I know that can't sit well with the players who had to go through that last year. They're having flashes of 2006 now.

The Eagles seem poised to make a run here at the end of the season. They got some help by the losses of the Falcons, Redskins, and Cowboys to move up only a half-game out of a wild-card spot.

I'm not here to make predictions, but aren't the Eagles scary when they run the ball efficiently?

The Bad:

While the defense only gave up 88 yards on the ground, they still allowed Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward to average five yards per carry collectively. I feel like the only reason we gave up so few yards was because the offense hopped out to an early lead and the Giants were forced to abandon the run and play catch-up. Still needs some work, defense.

The Ugly:

In 153 career games, David Akers only ever had two of his field goals blocked.

In one afternoon against the New York Giants, he matched that total.

Work on it ST, I'm just sayin'.

Overall:

The Eagles played well. They played well enough to beat the best team in the league. So common sense tells me that if they continue to play this well, they can beat anybody.

They hung around with the NFL's bully and came out on top. If they hope to take over as one of the more feared teams in the league, the key is to keep the running game going, and give Donovan a chance to make plays. The defense will play well as always, they just need to offense to be able to consistently run and set up the pass.

Also, Reid, I think it's about time to scrap the "trick" section on your play card.

7-5-1 and more to come! Let's Go Eagles!