Down 24-3 at halftime, it looked like all was lost for the Philadelphia Eagles. They had a huge deficit, had missed several opportunities, and, quite frankly, had gotten hosed on a blown call right at the half.
But with Michael Vick under center, who was really worried?
See, I can say that now because I saw the game.
The reality of it is that the Eagles could not have played a worst first half, or a better second half. The way Vick put that team on his shoulders was absolutely astounding and is something that will be talked about 50 years from now.
With the implications this game had on the season for both teams, this has to go down as one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.
Or, if you’re a Giants fan, one of the greatest collapses.
For Eagles fans, it brings back memories of Herman Edwards and Brian Westbrook. They did it at the old Meadowlands, but apparently the magic for Philadelphia has carried over into the new facility as well.
Vick led the Eagles 88 yards on the final drive to tie the game up at 31. The Eagles’ defense gave up two first downs and nearly allowed the Giants to get into a rhythm and into field goal range. But a couple off-target Eli Manning throws meant the Giants had to punt to DeSean Jackson — something no one ever really wants to do.
And with 14 seconds left in the game, they actually punted it to him. Why not kick the ball out of bounds? Why give him a shot to have a return?
If the ball is put out of bounds, the Eagles likely toss a Hail Mary and head to overtime. And from there, anything can happen.
Punting to Jackson, whether he returned it or not, was an awful call. The question is where does the fault lie? Was the punter told to kick it out of bounds? Tom Coughlin’s reaction certainly made it seem that way.
But either way, the Giants must now win out in two games against the Green Bay Packers and then the Washington Redskins and hope that the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys are able to stop an Eagles team that has to have more confidence than anyone in the league at this point if they’re going to win the NFC East.
The Giants better mail their letters to Santa right now if they want any shot of that happening.