Three Times the Philadelphia Eagles Shocked the New York Giants

Overtime Heroics Editorial

1103 days ago

Recently, fellow Overtime Heroics writer, Cyrus Toosi, wrote about Giants games that fans should re-watch during the quarantine. Throughout history, on several occasions, the Eagles have been able to stun the New York Giants. Sticking to the theme of games to watch while stuck inside, here are three times the Philadelphia Eagles stunned the New York Giants.

3. Jake Elliott Connects from 61

Final Score: Eagles 27, Giants 24

Date: September 24, 2017

This game had a huge impact not only in the short term but also in how it played out the rest of the season. In week three of the 2017 season, the Eagles hosted New York with the Birds coming in at 1-1, and the Giants at 0-2.

Philly got out to a quick 14-0 lead, but New York came back and took the lead at 21-14 in the fourth. After a Corey Clement touchdown tied the game at 21, each team got a field goal to the tie game at 24. The Eagles got a defensive stop and got the ball back with 19 seconds on the clock. Carson Wentz then connected with Alshon Jeffery on a broken coverage play by New York with seven seconds to play.

Enter Jake Elliott. As a rookie, Elliott had lost a preseason battle with Randy Bullock and got cut by Cincinnati. Caleb Sturgis, the Eagles’ week one kicker, hurt his hamstring in week one, and the Eagles signed Elliott a week later. Playing in his second NFL game ever, Elliot, with ice in his veins, nailed a field goal at the horn from 61 yards out.

After this game, the two teams had opposite spiral effects. Elliott’s kick began what would be a nine-game win streak for Philly. The Eagles went on to win Super Bowl 52. Had Elliott missed this kick, and New York won the game, would that still have happened? No one will ever know.

Eli Manning and the Giants dropped to 0-3 following that loss. Odell Beckham Jr. broke his ankle a week later, leaving the G-Men weaponless as they went 3-13 that year.

2. Miracle at the Meadowlands II

Final Score: Eagles 38, Giants 31

Date: December 19, 2010

This game was as close to a must-win as it gets for both teams. With three games left on the schedule, the Eagles and Giants each came into this week 15 matchup at 9-4.

The Giants got off to a red hot start in this game as Eli Manning connected with Mario Manningham twice for touchdowns. A Hakeem Nicks touchdown late in the second quarter made it a 24-3 Giants lead going into the halftime break.

Down 31-10 with eight minutes to play, Michael Vick began the comeback by connecting with Brent Celek on a 65-yard touchdown strike. Philadelphia then recovered the onside kick, and Vick ran it in for a score five plays later. With five minutes left on the clock, the Eagles forced a three and out and got the game-tying score on a Jeremy Maclin touchdown with 1:24 to play.

Philly forced another quick three and out, and the Giants had to punt with 14 seconds left. All punter Matt Dodge had to do was kick it out of bounds, and the game would go to overtime. Dodge booted off a horrible punt, low and line-driven right into the hands of playmaker Desean Jackson. Do I need to explain what happened next? Jackson bobbled the punt, picked up a block, and ran it 65 yards to the house for a miracle win.

What made this moment even better for Eagles fans was the camera crew cutting to head coach Tom Coughlin. Looking like Rudolph the Reindeer with his red nose, Coughlin was berating Dodge, “Kick the ball out of bounds! Kick it out of bounds!” Both the Giants and Eagles went 10-6 that year, but Philly won the division while New York missed the playoffs.

1. Miracle at the Meadowlands I

Final Score: Eagles 19, Giants 17

Date: November 19, 1978

Literally, all the Giants had to do to win this game was take a knee and run out the clock. The Eagles entered this week 12 matchup at 6-5 with New York right behind them in the NFC East at 5-6.

New York got out to a quick 14-0 as quarterback Joe Pisarcik connected with Bobby Hammond and Johnny Perkins for first-quarter scores. Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski had one of the worst games of the season as he threw for three interceptions and no touchdowns.

After the Giants got a fourth-quarter stop, they possessed the ball up 17-12. With 31 seconds left (play clock used to be 30 seconds), all Pisarcik had to do was take a kneel-down, and then run one more play on fourth down with one second left.

Instead, Joe Pisarcik fumbled the snap on a handoff attempt to fullback Larry Csonka. With the Eagles running an all-out blitz, safety Herman Edwards picked up the ball and ran it 26 yards for a game-winning score. A Miracle at the Meadowlands!

New York finished the 1978 season with a 6-10 record and selected Phil Simms in the 1979 draft to replace Pisarcik. The Eagles finished the year with a 9-7 record, earning a wild card spot.