Headed To New Orleans: Birds Post Giant Win

With the memory of Tony Romo’s infamous field goal gaffe still fresh in their minds. David Akers took a rainy field, along with newly re-acquired holder Koy Detmer, in an attempt to kick the Philadelphia Eagles to a place deemed unimaginable a month prior. Unlike the Dallas game the night before, the ball was snapped and held to perfection. Akers’ kick was dead on — sending the Eagles to the second round of the playoffs as well as concluding another chapter in their fairytale season.

The New York Giants came out flying in the first half, capitalizing on the Eagles’ over pursuit and jitteriness with a first possession score. They also made a big first stop on defense which was reminiscent of the Eagles’ awful midseason form. The momentum changed on the Giants’ second possession when Eli Manning made a poor decision throwing into coverage which resulted in an interception by Sheldon Brown. The rest of the half was controlled by the Eagles, who scored two touchdowns and added a field goal to make the game 17-10. The second half was much more of a back alley brawl as both teams grinded for field position. The Giants eventually wore down the Eagles’ defense, and tied the game with a Plaxico Burress touchdown pass with five minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. With overtime looming the Eagles took control and Brian Westbrook gashed the Giants defense, eating up the remaining five minutes, and giving David Akers a chance to win the game with a field goal. Akers made the field goal with no remaining seconds to give the Eagles the 23-20 win over the New York Giants.

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Brian Westbrook
Having cramps and feeling sick through out the game did not hinder Brian Westbrook in posting career postseason rushing highs. Westbrook out dueled Tiki Barber in a run fest that totaled 278 rushing yards between the two. Westbrook, who is one of the more underrated backs in the NFL, made his case in front of the nation by running for 141 yards and one touchdown. He was the backbone of the Eagles offense that struggled to find consistency through out the game. Many sources believe that the Eagles’ turnaround this season has much to do with the role Westbrook has played as leader on the field as well as off. With the injury to Donovan McNabb, the leadership door had opened for Westbrook, who has embraced it, and helped this team turn around.

Secondary Blocking
The Eagles were extremely successful in their running game once the ball was carried past the line of scrimmage and into the secondary. Players like Donte’ Stallworth, Reggie Brown, and LJ Smith, made key blocks on multiple plays that allowed Westbrook to gain large chunks of yardage once he hit the open hole. This was most noticeable in Brian Westbrook’s 49 yard touchdown run in the second quarter. The run was a result of Westbrook’s talent to make tacklers miss, but the touchdown would not have been possible without the key blocks down the field.

David Akers
After an injury plagued 2005 season, David Akers did not return to the ‘lights out’ form he was known for. Though he was not below average in the 2006 season, Akers was not as reliable as he was in the past. This all changed with the re-signing of Akers’ long time holder Koy Detmer. Detmer’s familiarity with Akers gives David the confidence he needs to return his game to where it was just in time for a playoff run. This was proved when Akers and Detmer combined for three field goals, including a 48-yarder, and a 38 yard game winning kick in the rain.

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Defensive Line
The best way to get Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning off his game is to get pressure on him consistently. Though that can be said for most quarterbacks in the league, Eli is especially known for making colossal mistakes at the hands of pressure. On a day when the Eagles played a mediocre game overall, the defensive line were below average. The defensive line spent the first half getting pushed around, letting Tiki Barber slip through big holes. They also achieved little to no pressure on Manning in the first half, allowing him time in the pocket to make plays. It was not until the second half that the Eagles defense started to collapse around Eli, but they could have had the game locked up if they had forced pressure early.

League Schedule
Before the game ended against the Giants, it was announced by FOX that if the Eagles were to continue to the next around against the New Orleans Saints, they would be playing at 8pm on Saturday. This started a rumble in the Eagles’ community because a game on Saturday would mean a short week for the birds to prepare for the Saints. With Friday as a travel day to New Orleans, the Eagles would only have four days to prepare themselves for the Divisional playoffs, against a team that had an earned BYE week — giving them ample time to be ready. Though it may appear juvenile to be concerned with the results of one extra days preparation. It irked Eagles’ faithful who see this poor scheduling as making an already tough road to the Superbowl, an even more difficult one.

(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)