Fantasy Football Info For Serious Players
|
|
Login / Signup |
|
Week 18 Game Recap: New York Giants 20, Philadelphia Eagles 23What you need to know
If this game was truly the last for RB Tiki Barber, he put up a solid performance as his final effort. Barber ran for 137 yards and added 12 more receiving, highlighted by a 41 yard run in the second quarter. Barber was the workhorse for the Giants, even in goal line situations, but he could not find his way into the end zone. The 100+ yard effort was his second career 100 yard game in the postseason. QB Eli Manning had a mediocre performance, throwing for two touchdowns offset by one interception. Manning relied heavily on WR Plaxico Burress, who scored both touchdowns on the first and last Giants’ possessions of the game. Burress and TE Jeremy Shockey were the most prominent receivers for New York against the Eagles, picking up six of the Giants’ seven first downs that came via the passing game. Shockey played the game at less than 100%, as he was visibly limping most of the contest. He did show his toughness on one play where he lost his helmet yet fought off tacklers for a few more yards. Penalties were costly for the Giants, as multiple false starts cost them field position. New York had nine penalties for the game.
RB Brian Westbrook put forth his best career effort as a rusher, recording his first ever 100 yard postseason game as a ballcarrier. Westbrook continued to rewrite the record book, as his 49 yard touchdown in the second quarter was the longest rushing touchdown in Eagles’ history. More importantly, Westbrook ran the ball well in the fourth quarter, marching the Eagles into field goal range with four first downs on the ground on the Eagles’ final drive. He also played through stomach cramp issues for much of the second half. QB Jeff Garcia had an average game, but he did not make any costly mistakes. He targeted his two wide receivers the most, looking at WR Reggie Brown (12 targets) and WR Donte Stallworth (six targets) more than half of the time. Stallworth picked up the only Eagles’ touchdown pass against the Giants, while Brown led all Philadelphia receivers with seven catches and 73 yards. Penalties and run blocking were key parts of the game for the Eagles, as all receivers (including WR Hank Baskett and TE LJ Smith) blocked well downfield to help Westbrook break longer runs. The penalties almost cost Philadelphia the game in multiple ways, as they had 77 yards against (highlighted by a 47 yard pass interference penalty) and nearly had OL John Runyan ejected early in the contest. Runyan was significant late in the game as Westbrook ran to his side six consecutive times on the final drive. PK David Akers connected on all three of his field goal attempts, including a long 48 yarder (an Eagles’ postseason record) and the 38 yard game winning kick in the rain as time expired. The Eagles new holder, who was their former holder, backup QB Koy Detmer, was added to the squad just days before the game. Pro Bowl CB Lito Sheppard left the game in the second half with a dislocated elbow and is questionable at this time for the Divisional Playoff game against New Orleans.
What you ought to know
Manning started the NFC Wild Card game against the Eagles well enough, hitting WR Plaxico Burress twice on the opening drive for 29 yards then a 17 yard touchdown. Burress remained his primary target, as he caught five passes in all for 85 yards and both touchdowns, reeling in more than half of Manning’s yardage. The only other receiver that had more than two catches or 15 yards was TE Jeremy Shockey, who caught three balls for 25 yards. Manning struggled at times, as he faced a good deal of pressure despite taking just one sack and throwing one interception. Rather than make too costly a mistake, Manning threw a few passes away to avoid the miscues. Aside from Burress’ catches, which included three consecutive catches for a combined 43 yards and the second Giants’ touchdown, Manning and the Giants did little via the passing game. Only seven first downs came through the air, with Burress picking up four and Shockey two more.
Lorenzen came into the game twice on third and short, running a quarterback sneak for a first down in the first quarter. His second appearance was short lived, as he decided to call a timeout rather than run a play in the fourth quarter.
If this was Tiki Barber’s final game, he we went out with more of a bang than a whimper. Barber ran for over 100 yards for just the second time in his postseason career, and he finished with 152 total yards on 28 touches. He had four carries of ten or more yards, including a lengthy 41 yard run in the second quarter. Barber lost a few more yards from his stat line due to two penalties on two of his receptions, one of which eradicated an 18 yard screen pass. Barber was also used almost exclusively, getting the goal line carries when the Giants were approaching the end zone rather than RB Brandon Jacobs. Unfortunately for both Barber and New York he was unable to punch it in from inside the five in the second quarter. One of his targets was inside the Philadelphia five yard line on an attempted screen pass, but the ball skipped off of Barber’s arms (and almost for an interception by LB Omar Gaither).
Finn caught three passes on four targets, all for short yardage. All of the passes were of the short dump off variety, either to the flat or on a short pattern just beyond the line of scrimmage. Finn could not reel in his first quarter target, but he caught all three in the second half for a combined 14 yards.
Jacobs was used very sparingly, getting just a five yard carry in the final minute before halftime and a short three yard run in the fourth quarter. He was not utilized in a goal line situation, as RB Tiki Barber stayed in at tailback.
Burress was a huge part of the Giants’ passing game. He was the most targeted receiver against the Eagles, getting eight chances to make a play. Burress started strong with a 29 yard reception down the right sideline, where he had to leap and wrestle the ball away from CB Lito Sheppard. His next catch was a 17 yard touchdown on a post pattern where he was left wide open to score the first points of the game. His final first quarter target was a 40+ yard pass to the end zone where he was well covered by S Brian Dawkins. Burress’ last target of the first half was a pass that should never have been thrown, as he was double covered and the ball was intercepted by CB Sheldon Brown. Burress continued to stretch the field in the second half, going deep in the third quarter, and he drew a 47 yard pass interference call to set up the Giants at the Eagles 14. Burress scored the second and final touchdown for the Giants on a drive where he caught three consecutive passes for 18, 14 and finally the 11 yard score.
Carter caught a short three yard catch in the first quarter, but fumbled the ball out of bounds for a three yard loss on the play. He later added a 14 yard catch for a first down on a third and four situation in the fourth quarter. His final target was a throwaway pass by QB Eli Manning as Carter had no chance to make a play on it.
Moss had one pass thrown to him in the fourth quarter, but it would have been a big play if he caught it. QB Eli Manning threw at him in the front left corner of the end zone on third and goal, but the ball went off of Moss’ arm and fell incomplete. Moss did return four kickoffs for a total of 72 yards.
Tyree had one ball thrown in his general direction in the first quarter but it was uncatchable. That was his only target for the game.
Shockey showed why he is such a formidable competitor in the Wild Card game against the Eagles. He was limping and gimpy all game on a weak ankle, yet he toughed out the entire game to catch three of six targets for a combined 25 yards. All three of his catches (and all his targets) came in the first half. Shockey showed his true grit when he caught a pass over the middle, took two hits and lost his helmet, yet fought forward for a few more yards before getting finally tackled to the ground.
Shiancoe caught a short four yard pass in the second quarter on his only target of the game.
Feely made all of his kicks, connecting on two short field goals to go along with his two extra points. Feely scored three points from 20 yards away in the second quarter and another field goal of 24 yards in the fourth quarter as the Giants stalled twice in the red zone.
RB Brian Westbrook ran for 141 yards, including a 49 yard touchdown, and also pounded out key first downs in the fourth quarter. With the Giants unable to stop Westbrook, Philadelphia was able to run out the clock such that the game winning field goal left New York with no time to mount a comeback effort.
The Giants held the Eagles to just 138 net yards, sacking QB Jeff Garcia twice. Garcia did hit WR Donte Stallworth for a touchdown and did not turn the ball over, but the Giants did make sure that the Philadelphia passing game was kept in check.
Garcia spread the ball amongst eight different receivers, keeping everyone involved in the passing game. He did have a few favorites, as Garcia targeted WR Reggie Brown 12 times and WR Donte Stallworth for six more. Both receivers combined for 10 catches and 114 yards, including a 28 yard touchdown to Stallworth in the second quarter. Garcia rolled to his right often, something to note going forward as defenses may see this tendency and roll defensive coverage accordingly in future contests. Garcia bought more time by rolling or stepping up in the pocket, allowing his receivers to work more to get open and present themselves as targets. Garcia did not win this game for Philadelphia, but he also did not lose it, as he took just two sacks and did not turn the ball over. He also added four carries for 14 yards including a seven yard run for a first down in the second quarter.
Westbrook posted his first ever 100 yard game as a rusher in the postseason, highlighted by the longest rushing touchdown in Eagles’ history. Westbrook broke a 49 yard touchdown early in the second period to tie the game at 7-7, but his overall performance was more telling about how far Westbrook has come as a rusher. With the Eagles needing a tying score in the fourth quarter and also wanting to run out the clock, Westbrook ran six times for four first downs on the final drive, accumulating 33 of his 141 yards rushing late in the game. Westbrook contributed eight first downs, seven on the ground, and topped 150 all-purpose yards despite having to play through stomach cramp issues for much of the second half. HC Andy Reid decided to use his best offensive player in a role he rarely takes on since his first years in the NFL, which was to run back kicks. Westbrook ran back two punts and he broke a 65 yard return for a touchdown, but it was called back to due a penalty.
Buckhalter was used sparingly against the Giants in the Wild Card game, running the ball mostly in the second quarter, where he picked up 15 yards and a first down on four of his six carries. Buckhalter later added a short catch of three yards on his second target of the game in the third quarter. The first pass that came his way was a throw of about 20 yards after the Eagles showed a reverse action, but Buckhalter was well covered.
Tapeh caught one short pass for five yards in the fourth quarter on his only target of the game.
Brown had a busy day against the Giants, collecting seven receptions and 73 yards on 12 targets. Brown was the most targeted receiver by QB Jeff Garcia, as Brown had at least two passes thrown his way in every quarter of the NFC Wild Card game against New York, catching at least one in every period. Brown was used mostly as a possession receiver, picking up four first downs but getting no further than 15 yards downfield on any reception. His final target did stretch the field for about 35 yards on a tightly defended pass where the crowd wanted a flag, but none was thrown. Brown also added 13 yards rushing on an end around in the third quarter that picked up a fresh set of downs for the Eagles.
Stallworth caught three passes, all in the second quarter, for 41 yards and two first downs. His final catch was the longest pass play for the Eagles on the day, a 28 yard strike for a touchdown from QB Jeff Garcia to put Philadelphia ahead 17-10. Stallworth was the intended receiver on a deep (40+) yard pass in the third quarter that fell incomplete in the end zone. As this was Stallworth’s first ever playoff game, all of his statistics represented postseason firsts and career bests, highlighted of course by his first playoff game touchdown.
Baskett had one short catch for five yards on third and long (11) in the third quarter. He was targeted four times, including a second quarter end zone target that was more of a throwaway by QB Jeff Garcia who was rolling away from onrushing Giants. Baskett was later open for a 20 yards pickup in the third period but the pass was batted away by SS Gibril Wilson at the last moment.
Smith caught one pass in the second quarter for eight yards and a first down. He finished with two targets, nearly scoring a touchdown earlier in the second period on a short pass from QB Jeff Garcia but the ball was batted away at the last possible moment by SS Gibril Wilson.
Schobel caught one short pass for six yards in the fourth quarter on his only target of the contest.
Akers connected on all five of his kicks, including three field goals. The first three pointer came in the second quarter from in close (19 yards), but the level of difficulty went up in the second half. Akers hit from 48 yards in the third quarter and then the game winning 38 yard kick in the rain as time expired in the fourth quarter. The 48 yarder was the longest in Eagles playoff history. It should also be noted that the Eagles brought in free agent QB Koy Detmer to reunite him with Akers as his holder, a job Detmer had for many previous seasons when he was previously on the Eagles’ roster.
RB Tiki Barber topped the 100 yard mark but could not get into the end zone. The Eagles bent but did not break on the ground, allowing Barber four runs of 10+ yards but just eight first downs and no touchdowns.
The Eagles limited the Giants to just seven first downs through the air, but they did give up two touchdowns to WR Plaxico Burress. They picked up one sack (DE Juqua Thomas) and one interception (CB Sheldon Brown) and pressured QB Eli Manning to throw the ball away at times. Philadelphia kept everyone but Burress from beating them, but Burress almost did the job on his own.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Forums |
News |
Football stats |
Login / Signup |
Contact
Us |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||