We have passed another year in the sports universe, and another month, which means it is now time for the game of the month. December did not provide too much as far as memorable games, except for one. The one which will forever haunt New York Giants fans and will forever make Philadelphia Eagles fans gloat over the Giants. The game which I am speaking of occurred week 15 in the regular season. This game always presents itself as a rivalry game, and it doesn't matter how good or bad each team is, it is always intense. This game was no different.
The first three plus quarters were completely dominated by the Giants. As with 8:00 to go in the game, the Giants were winning 31-10. Most, if not all Eagles fans decided to turn the game off, as a three touchdown lead with 8:00 left is pretty much safe. Not so fast my friend, as Lee Corso would say. The Eagles then slowly mounted a comeback. With 7::28 left in the fourth, the Eagles scored on a long 65 yard pass play, to make the score 31-17 New York. Most fans are still saying that a comeback is not looking good, especially when the Eagles offense was looking so lethargic throughout the day.
The Eagles then pull a surprise onside kick out of their hat and recover it. That was probably the turning point in the entire game. The Eagles then score on the ensuing possession to make the score now 31-24. Everyone now is starting to believe in the Eagles and the team responds on the next Giants possession. On the next Giants drive, the Eagles only allow one first down, and force the Giants to punt the ball back to the Eagles.
Philadelphia gets the ball back and it only takes them 1:45 to tie the game up. But, now Philadelphia fans are worried that they may have given the Giants a bit too much time to regain the lead. However, momentum is squarely on the Eagles side. The following drive by the Giants results in two incomplete passes and a sack. The Giants made two fatal mistakes after the sack. The first is that they took a timeout instead of sending the game into overtime. The second was that they kicked the ball directly to one of the top three returners in the NFL, DeSean Jackson. Jackson made a mistake when he received the ball by initially fumbling it. However, the fumble may have been good, as it then bought a few more seconds of time for Jackson to maneuver his way through the field and run out the last few seconds of time for the Eagles victory.
This game was special, and not only because I am an Eagles fan. It is also special because it is only the fifth time a team has come back to win in regulation from a deficit of 21 points or more in the fourth quarter. Jackson also tied for the longest touchdown play at the end of regulation since 1960. Overall, it was a great day to be an Eagles fan. Now, please look for the game of the year column, coming soon.
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