The Philadelphia Eagles faced the New York Giants on Nov. 20 with a dark shadows hanging over them. No matter how the Giants-Eagles game turned out, Philadelphia fans like myself would be unsatisfied in a way. If New York won, it would officially kill the Birds’ season and begin six weeks of the worst calls yet for Andy Reid’s head. But a Philly win would make us wonder why this couldn’t happen all season.
This Giants-Eagles battle didn’t look like the vast majority of Philadelphia’s games – especially since the Birds withstood a fourth quarter rally and got a winning drive from Vince Young(notes). But indeed, the 17-10 win has to make us wonder why the team waited until now to win in this manner.
The first three quarters showed an Eagles club performing as they haven’t for much of the year. For one thing, the Giants couldn’t seem to get a single yard on the ground. For another, DeSean Jackson(notes) actually had a big punt return for the first time since his last visit to Metlife Stadium. But Vince Young’s three interceptions looked more familiar, although it didn’t seem to hurt Philadelphia – at least for three quarters.
The old Birds looked ready to show up right on cue after Eli Manning(notes) brokered a tie for the Giants with two big throws. With the score 10-10, all that was left was to wait for Young to give the ball back and the formerly dominant defense to fall asleep while the Giants won. But somehow, the Giants didn’t get the ball back until Young ran 18 plays, converted six third-down plays and threw a touchdown to Riley Cooper(notes).
A drive such as that, especially in the final minutes, is just not what these Eagles do. That has always been a puzzling thing, yet it is harder to understand than ever at this point. Where was this version of Philadelphia in its previous loss to New York, or during its blown 20-point lead to the San Francisco 49ers, or during the fourth quarters against the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals?
Even when the Eagles actually perform like a real team and win late, it is tainted by an asterisk because it would have been more valuable weeks ago. This type of Philadelphia club could be 6-4 or much better if it had shown up earlier. This type of team that utterly shut down the run, kept a star quarterback at bay throughout, converted big plays and wore the opposing defense down when it counted might have been a “Dream Team” after all.
Fans were already teased when the Eagles won over the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys in October. That turned out to be fool’s gold after their next two defeats, and this victory over the Giants will likely look equally foolish in the long run.
For one night we did see what Philadelphia was supposed to look like all season. But that team only seems capable of showing up for one or maybe two nights at a time.
Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.
Other stories by this contributor
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