East Rutherford, N.J. — Michael Vick made the second major comeback of his career on Sunday. This time, Philadelphia Eagles fans were cheering for him.
The Eagles quarterback led a 28-point fourth quarter rally to put his team over the New York Giants, 38-31, at New Meadowlands Stadium.
“Greatest game in Eagles history that I’ve been a part of,” said Eagles 12-year veteran kicker David Akers. “By far.”
The revival began with the Eagles trailing 31-10 entering the fourth quarter. Vick tossed a touchdown pass to tight end Brent Celek, ran one in from four yards out and then hit wideout Jeremy Maclin for a third consecutive scoring drive.
“Up until the time it was 31-10, I thought our defense, even though there were some moments on their one touchdown, was doing a good job,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “From that point on, we obviously had difficulty.”
The game winner came with 14 seconds left in regulation. Coughlin called on punter Matt Dodge to kick the ball out of bounds on fourth down, but a high snap didn’t allow for a clean boot. Instead, the ball was line-drived into the arms of DeSean Jackson, whom the Giants were trying to avoid. At first, Jackson dropped the ball, but picked it up and ran 65 yards to the end zone as the clock expired.
“I probably don’t realize how big it is right now,” said Jackson, who became the first player to win a game on a punt return as time ran out. “This was a huge game, man.”
The Eagles improved to 10-4 and now sit in sole possession of first place in the NFC East. They also own the tiebreaker with 9-5 New York, whom they also defeated in Week 11, 27-17. Philadelphia has now knocked off the Giants in their last six meetings.
“Everybody counted us out. Everybody said we weren’t going to be able to beat them,” Jackson said. “We beat them the last five times and (people thought) they aren’t going to let that happen again.”
The Giants looked well on their way to victory with a dominating first half on both ends of the field. Offensively, Eli Manning hit Mario Manningham (eight catches, 113 yards) twice for the third-year wideout’s first career multi-touchdown game. Following a Lawrence Tynes field goal, Manning found Hakeem Nicks in the end zone late in the second quarter to extend New York’s lead to 24-3.
New York’s defense held Philadelphia to 74 total yards of offense in the opening half, which featured two sacks (Justin Tuck, Rocky Bernard), an interception (Corey Webster) and fumble recovery (Kenny Phillips). Both turnovers resulted in touchdowns for New York.
“I got a little flustered early in the game after I threw that interception,” said Vick. “I felt like I was trying to do too much. Then I started to play conservative and it kind of took me off my game.
“I’ll be the first to admit the coaches kept telling me to stay aggressive, stay aggressive.”
The Eagles first touchdown took place following a costly mistake by Manningham with 5:17 remaining in the third quarter. Manningham was headed out of bounds but fumbled as he stuck his arm out with the ball in it. The ball was recovered by Eagles cornerback Dimitri Patterson on the Giants 25. Vick took advantage of the short field position and once again found Maclin wide open to his right for the score.
New York ran their lead to 31-10 at the start of the fourth quarter. Manning (23-for-39, 289 yards) hit tight end Kevin Boss in the back of the end zone for his fourth touchdown pass on the afternoon. The drive was set up by a questionable call that ruled Jackson fumbled before being touched by a Giants defender. Replay, however, showed Giants linebacker Jonathan Goff got his fingers on Jackson’s fanny pack, but coach Andy Reid decided against throwing the challenge flag.
Vick took charge on the Eagles’ next possession and the rest is history. The NFL MVP candidate finished 21-for-35 with 242 yards in the air, three touchdowns and a pick. On the ground, Vick ran 10 times for 130 yards and a score. That total was more than the Giants’ top backs, Brandon Jacobs (34 yards) and Ahmad Bradshaw (66 yards), combined.
“I believe in myself, I believe in my teammates, I believe in the guys around me,” Vick said. “The offensive line did a great job of stepping up despite the adversity. Receivers hung in there. Our defense was resilient throughout the game and we were able to make plays when we needed to. Those are great characteristics of a good football team. I’m just proud.”
Proud cannot being to describe how the Eagles feel about Jackson, who was held to just three catches for 52 yards and two fumbles. Jackson said afterwards he was surprised the Giants even kicked to him, a sentiment echoed by Vick. Coughlin took full responsibility, saying he should have never put Dodge out there.
Sunday’s game was likely the last home contest of the 2010-11 NFL season for the Giants. Their remaining two matchup, against Green Bay and Washington, are on the road, and the loss all but shuts the door on a home playoff game. New York isn’t out of postseason contention, but their road there is anything but easy and needs to be paved with luck.
The Eagles, on the other hand, don’t need luck. They just need Vick and Jackson.