2002 Giants vs Eagles

Week 17

The Setup

I had previously written about the 2002 Giants and their prospects heading into the last weekend of the regular season as part of the Giants @ Colts game review, so I won't bother rehashing all that here.  Basically, the Giants got lucky in the dual collapses of the Falcons and Saints, which opened the door for them to play what turned out to be a "win and in" game against the Eagles.

In this game, you had the Giants controlling their own destiny, with everything to gain.  If they win, they go to the playoffs.  If they lose or tie, they are out.  Their opponent was the Eagles, a team that was 12-3 entering this game.  What was at stake for them was home field advantage throughout the playoffs and a team record 13 wins.  However, ultimately, that prize was limited by the fact that they were playing a young QB named AJ Feeley, who was in his second season.  By 2002, the Eagles had taken control of the NFC East.  They won the division title in 2001, their first since 1988.  In 2002, they ran away with the division, jumping out to a 7-3 start after beating the Cardinals 38-14.  On the 3rd play of the game, McNabb was nailed on a blitz by safety Adrian Wilson and awkwardly bent his ankle and the team assumed it was sprained.  McNabb would throw for 20-25, 255 yards and 4 TDs.  After the game he would go for x-rays which would reveal a broken bone and he would be lost for the regular season.  The Eagles would play in San Francisco the next week behind Koy Detmer, but he too would get hurt, which put Feeley in off the bench in a big win.  Feeley would go on and rip off wins in the next 4 games as a starter, but this was his first real game against a tough opponent, on the road and in the cold.  Eagles coach Andy Reid, unsure if he would have McNabb for the playoffs or not, didn't want to expose his young QB too much against the Giants.  So the carrot of home field advantage didn't out weigh the risks of hurting Feeley, either physically or confidence wise.

While the primary aspect of this game was about the Giants looking to win and make the playoffs against a rival.  There was a subplot that was involved here.  Overcoming mistakes and frustration to prevail.  And while this applied to the Giants team at large, thanks to several missed opportunities to win this game almost in a runaway, you can mostly put this at the feet of one guy.  Tiki Barber.

Fans today don't have very fond thoughts about Tiki, and much of that stems from his post-playing career.  While he was a bit of a locker room lawyer in his time with the Giants, particularly in clashing with Tom Coughlin, the main venom comes from his time at NBC.  Tiki decided that part of his deal in joining the media was to try to stir the pot and be a little controversial.  So he went after the biggest lightning rod there was, Eli Manning.  But Barber took it a little too far in the minds of Giants fans.  In questioning Eli's leadership ability, he stepped into the realm of mocking him.  That would end up being a rallying point for Eli, who would go on to win the Super Bowl and beat the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

However, in his playing days for the Giants, one can argue that Tiki Barber was the best Giants offensive player in the past 40 years.  Tiki retired as the Giants all time leading rusher, with 10,449 yards, over 3500 yards more than Rodney Hampton.  He rushed for over 1000 yards in 6 of his final 7 seasons.  And his 6 years over 1000 yards was the best of any Giants back (Hampton was 2nd with 5).  Tiki also was a great receiver, hauling in 586 passes over his career, catching over 50 in a season 8 times, and got over 70 catches twice.  He gained over 2000 total yards from scrimmage in each of his 3 final seasons, and led the entire NFL in 2004 and 2005.  Tiki scored over 10 TDs in a season twice, including a career high 13 in 2004.  And to boot, before he became a feature back, Tiki was a punt returner, including returning one for a TD against the Cowboys in 1999 to win the game.

Tiki Barber was a legit all time great NY Giant, there is no question about it.  However, he did have one big problem, he was a fumbler.  He had 53 fumbles in his career and it became one of Coughlin's main points of emphasis that he changed Tiki's running style to the "high and tight" in order to protect the ball better.  And at times, like a home run hitter in baseball, Tiki's fumbles would come in bunches.  In this game in particular, with everything on the line to make the playoffs, the Giants needed Tiki.  And as Giants fans, we got both the best and worst of Tiki Barber all in one game.  And if not for some very late lucky breaks, Tiki Barber might have worn some large goat horns in 2002 and Giants fans would never have thought about the value of a long snapper in the post season.

The Game Highlights

The Giants kicked off with the fans waving their towels and Holmes would kick a shorter pop up that went only to the 19, taken by Damien Douglas and he avoided one tackle before he was tackled at the 32 by Wesley Mallard.  AJ Feeley was under center for the injured Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid would go conservative to start with a draw to Duce Staley, who was met by Michael Strahan and Brandon Short for a 3 yard loss.  2nd and 13, Feeley would try a play action fake, but a whistle blew in the middle of the play and a flag was thrown for a false start on Josh Welbourne that made it now 2nd and 18.  However, the Eagles had a great play call as they set up an underneath screen over the middle to Jeff Tominson who caught it wide open at the 24 yard line, and took off up the field with no one near him as they all came on the zone blitz.  Strahan was left to chase him down at the 45 for a first down as Feeley cheered on behind the play.  First down, it was another short pass, this time a 3 step drop and quick dunk to Staley, who caught it at the 50, Omar Stoutamire missed the tackle and he had to be pushed out at the 21 yard line by Will Allen, as a combination of Giants fans booing and Eagles fans saying “Duce” took over the stadium.  On first down, it would get worse

To quote the famous clip of Vince Lombardi as he stood on the sidelines “what the hell is going on out there?!”  The Eagles would execute a double reverse, first to Freddie Mitchell, running to his right and then he handed off to James Thrash going back to his left, with blockers in front.  The former Redskin would go right by a horrible missed tackle by Shaun Williams and he took it into the end zone for a 21 yard TD run that left the formerly raucus Giants crowd stunned and put Philly up 7-0 with 12:36 to go in the first quarter on a 4 play, 67 yard drive in 2:24.

David Aikers kick was also short, going to Delvin Joyce at the 14, and he took it up the middle to the 30 yard line, but a flag was thrown on the Eagles for being offsides on the kickoff and they chose to re-kick.  Aikers this time would kick from his 25 and it would go to Joyce at the 13, he cut inside his blocks at the 30 and accelerated to the 48 yard line, stopped by Aikers who dove in to take him down and hurt his shoulder in the process.  So all in all, the decision to re-kick was a smart one.  Kerry Collins, coming off his domination of the Colts the week before, took the Giants offense out and dropped back and threw an out pass towards Jeremy Shockey, who had the ball deflected, but he stayed with it, caught it and took off up the field breaking a few tackles and rumbled to the 31 yard line where he was finally tackled.  On first down, Collins would go back to throw again, but this time he got some pressure from Hugh Douglas and Corey Simon and he flipped the ball out of bounds, towards Tiki Barber.  2nd and 10, the handoff would go to Tiki and he followed Rich Seubert around right end, broke through the line, slipped out of the tackle attempt by Levon Kirkland, and he took off up the sidelines and knocked out of bounds at the 9 by Brian Dawkins.  First and goal at the 9, the Giants would give the ball to Tiki on a pitch running to his right and he dove over the pile to the 6 yard line, stopped by Simon.  However, as it looked like the Giants were in position to answer the Eagles opening TD, things got dicey.

Collins dropped back and had too much faith in his strong arm as he attempted to drill the ball in to Shockey who was double covered.  The ball was a little high and Carlos Emmons batted it in the air with his right hand, it was tipped by Shockey, and it was hit again by Dawkins and then into the arms of Michael Lewis for an interception in the end zone for a touchback that not only killed a potential TD, but also took an easy field goal off the board as well.  

The Eagles would pitch back to Staley running to his right, and after he got some yardage around right end, breaking a tackle by Michael Barrow but was shoved back by Allen after a 4 yard gain.  2nd and 6, play action fake and with time Feeley tried to drill a pass in to Mitchell on a comeback route, but the ball was broken up by Allen.  3rd and 6, with Dorsey Levens in motion, Feeley on a 3 step drop slung a pass in to Thrash, who has beaten Jason Sehorn on an inside route, but the ball was just over thrown and Thrash couldn’t make the one handed catch.  So Philly went three and out and brought on Lee Johnson to kick to Joyce, who took it at the 37 yard line and he was surrounded by 4 Eagles and went out of bounds at the 38.

Collins began with a pass over the middle to Tiki at the 41 and was slung down by Shawn Barber.  2nd and 6, a handoff to Tiki running again to his right, powered to the 45, knocked down by Emmons.  3rd and 3, Collins on a short drop, had no one open and he was forced to check down to Tiki over the middle and into traffic, where Kirkland and the referee helped deflect the pass.  Matt Allen came on to punt after the Giants’ 3 and out and boomed it to Brian Mitchell, who let it go over his head and it bounced at the 2 and crawled into the end zone for a touchback.

Philly at the 20, Feeley back with time to throw, and he was able to fit the ball in to TE Chad Lewis who had sat down in the zone at the 30, caught it and rumbled to the 35 taken down by Stoutamire but a 15 yard gain and a first down.  The ball went to Staley, and he was met by Kenny Holmes and Stoutamire for no gain over the middle.  2nd and 10, Feeley back with a good pocket, threw a strike in the gut of Antonio Freeman, who heard some footsteps and dropped the ball.  3rd and 10, Reid didn’t want to expose his young QB, so he handed the ball off to Levens on a draw and the former Packer got a good gain out to the 42 yard line but was stopped short of the first by Stoutamire.  On came Johnson for his 2nd punt, and it was taken by Joyce at the 12, he juked past a few tackles all the way to the 35 yard line, however a flag on Charles Stackhouse for an illegal block put the ball back to the 15 yard line with 5:36 to go in the first quarter.

First down, the Giants started with a handoff to Tiki, again running to his right, and he got 3 yards to the 18 yard line, chased down by Douglas.  2nd and 7, Collins back, with plenty of time to throw and hit Toomer on a deep pass out at the 40 yard line, and he dragged Dawkins to the 50 for a big gain and a first down.  Another run to Tiki, again to the right side, but this time the Eagles were ready as they strung him out and he was taken down by Douglas and Emmons for a one yard loss, as the bad Giants Stadium field of painted mud had guys slipping all over.  2nd and 11, Collins back, and tried to set up a screen to Tiki, however he was surrounded and forced Collins to just scramble for as much as he could get and he ran out of bounds at the Eagles’ 49.  Back to a 3rd and long 10, Collins in the shotgun, and he botched the snap back to him and just fell on the ball for a loss at the 47 yard line.  On came Allen, and his punt went to Mitchell was let go and it was downed by the Giants at the 15 yard line.  

The Eagles would fake a handoff to Staley and then end up throwing back to him in the flat for a 4 yard gain, tackled immediately by Dhani Jones.  2nd and 6, the ball was carried by Levens up the middle, met by Strahan for just a 1 yard gain.  3rd and 5, Feeley on a quick 3 step drop tried to throw an out pass to Thrash, but the ball was knocked away by Allen.  Another 3 and out by the Eagles, and on came the 41 year old punter Johnson to boot it to the 28 yard line, taken by a backpeddling Joyce, who regained his balance and tried to make his way up the field, but was tackled by Sheldon Brown at the 30 with 1:03 to go in the first quarter.

The Giants offense needed to get something going, and tried a run to Tiki up the middle, but he was only able to gain 3 yards, met by Douglas.  2nd and 7, Collins back, threw to Stackhouse at the 35 yard line and he was wrestled out of bounds by Emmons at the 36 for the final play of the first quarter.  The second quarter would begin with a 3rd and 3 by the Giants who would fake the ball to Tiki, and throw the ball right back to him over the middle, where he beat ND Kalu on an option route and took it to the 47 yard line, for a 10 yard gain and a first down.  Tiki would take the pitch on first down that was supposed to go to his left, however, the Eagles stacked it up and Tiki reversed field and came all the way back around to his right and made it to the Eagles 46 yard line, stopped by Lewis.  On 2nd and 4, Collins would drill a slant in to Shockey, who caught it at the 43 yard line, got nailed by Kirkland and fumbled but he was able to fall on the ball to keep possession and made it 3rd and 1.  Tiki tried to run a sweep around the left and he was chased down by Barber from behind and tackled for a loss.  On came Allen again who had a horrible effort trying to pooch the ball deep and it bounced and went out of bounds at the 23 yard line and the fans let him know it with a chorus of boos.

The Eagles offense came back out, and started with a handoff to Staley up the gut for a 3 yard gain, knocked down by Jones.  2nd and 7, Feeley back, again with time, and directed traffic to throw the ball into Fred Ex at the 39, tackled by Stoutamire, but good for a first down.  On first and 10, the Eagles tried razzle dazzle

The Eagles attempt to run the same play the Giants did the week before for an 82 yard TD to Toomer.  This time it was a pitch to Staley running to his right, and Feeley was waiting back at the left for what looked to be a deep shot down field.  But Feeley dropped the pitch back as he was getting read to throw and had to eat it at the 32 yard line, hit by Jones.  For some reason, Donovan McNabb was yelling and laughing at him on the sidelines (well, actually, knowing McNabb, it was easy to see why).  So 2nd and 17, Feeley dropped back and tried to get the ball to Staley, who dropped it when he was wide open over the middle.  On 3rd and 17, and another give up a call, a draw to Levens, who was taken down at the 37 yard line, tackled by Barrow and Williams.  Johnson again on to punt, and he would get it to Joyce at the 18, where he evaded one Eagle and got it back to the 28 yard line, met by several tacklers with 9:17 to go in the 2nd.

The Giants started with a pass over the middle towards Dan Campbell who was double covered and the ball was knocked down and on the play Shawn Barber got hurt and had to be helped off the field.  2nd and 10, the ball went to Tiki, this time running to his left and he was tackled by Emmons after a 4 yard gain.  3rd and 6, Collins back with time, hit Tiki coming out of the backfield at the 37, he ran past the tackle attempt by Bobby Taylor to push him out of bounds and Tiki tip toed up the sidelines and just stepped out at the Giants’ 46.  The ball went back to Tiki, running to his left, gained 3 yards, met by Emmons.  2nd and 7, Collins tried to throw a quick pass to Toomer, but it was covered, so he checked back to Tiki on an outlet however the ball was overthrown.  3rd and 7, Collins in the gun again, this time he held the ball, had time against the blitz and drilled a deep pass to Toomer who came back to jump and catch it at the 35, broke away from Lewis and he was shoved out of bounds by Dawkins at the 29 yard line for a big first down.  Collins would drop back again, but this time Douglas beat Luke Pettitgout and nailed the QB for a big sack back to the 36 yard line for an 8 yard loss.  The Giants would call their first timeout to regroup and come back with Collins in the gun.  Collins gave a hard count and drew the Eagles offsides and they thought they’d have a free play, but contact was made by Simon for an encroachment penalty that gave the Giants 5 yards back.  So now 2nd and 13, Collins faked to Tiki and hit Shockey on a diving catch at the 6 yard line, beating Troy Vincent in coverage, it was his 67th on the year, breaking Mark Bavaro’s record for a TE set in 1986.  A flag on the play was on the Eagles’ for a hold that was declined.  First and goal at the 6, the handoff went to Tiki, smashed down by Whitting after just a yard gain.  

2nd and goal at the 5, Collins would hit Stackhouse in the flat for a would be TD as he dove across the goal line, but a hold on Mike Rosenthal killed the TD, though it was a questionable call as the Eagles DE pretty much lost his footing and Rosenthal would help throw him to the ground.  Anyway, 2nd and goal at the 16, Collins would dump the ball off to Tiki over the middle and he would make his way towards the sidelines, tackled at the 10 yard line.  However, a flag thrown on the Eagles for illegal contact on Emmons, who was matched up with Shockey and he was knocked down after five yards and yelled for the flag and got it.  So the Giants get their first down back at the 11, Collins would go to the little used Daryl Jones over the middle at the 10, evaded Emmons and cut back up where he was tackled at the 3.  2nd and 2 at the 3 yard line, disaster would strike again deep in the red zone

Tiki initially slipped on the bad turf to take the handoff, and was met in the backfield by Kirkland, who bounced off Tiki, but was able to jar the ball free and into a mass of humanity.  In one of the longest unpiles in history, the refs had to dig into that mess to find out who had the ball.  They finally gave the ball to the Eagles, though we never figured out who actually got the ball.

The Eagles avoided disaster again, and had the ball at the 4.  They started with a handoff to Staley who ran to his right and cut back to the 6 yard line, hit down by Lance Legree and Cornelius Griffin.  2nd and 8, Staley again got the ball, running to his left and into a sea of blue, led by Holmes for just a 1 yard gain.  The Giants called a time out with 2:51 to go in the half.  On 3rd and 7, the Eagles tried a quick slant towards Mitchell, but the ball was thrown behind him and was nearly picked by Will Peterson.  The clock stopped at 2:47 with Johnson punting from his own end zone and the veteran had a pretty weak effort, taken by Joyce at the 44 yard line, and he was stopped for no return but only a 33 yard punt.  

The Giants offense would come back out, and Collins would throw a reverse screen to Shockey, which one week before worked for a big gain as Shockey trucked a Colts’ defender.  But this time, the Eagles were ready and Emmons nailed him for a loss back to the 50 which brought the game to the 2 minute warning as Collins couldn’t get the next snap off.  2nd and 16, with Jones in motion, Collins back, had time, and hit Shockey on a crossing route at the 45, but he lost his footing and went down.  3rd and 11, Collins in the shotgun and facing a blitz, did his own variation of Eli breaking out of the sack in the Super Bowl, as he was hit and spun around, but he powered away from Bobby Taylor.  However, instead of setting to throw, the slow footed Collins took off running and got it to the 37, drilled down by Emmons.  The Giants called their final timeout with :55 to go in the half.  4th and 3, Fassel thought it over, and decided to go conservative and punt the ball away.  Allen came on and his pooch attempt bounced at the 15 and was downed at the 12.  The fans booed the Giants coaches for not going for it in that situation, as they should.

With no time outs remaining, all it needed was a kneel down by Feeley and the Eagles went in the locker room up 7-0.  

To start the 2nd half, Aikers came on to kick off and he sent the ball to Joyce at the 2, and he got a nice return out to the 42, however, another flag on the Giants, this time an illegal block on Kevin Lewis sent the Giants back all the way to the 9 yard line.  First and 10, Collins put Shockey in motion and handed off to Tiki who slammed it up the gut to the 11 yard line for a gain of 2, stopped by Kirkland.  2nd and 8, Collins dropped back on a 3 step drop and tried to hit Toomer on a slant, but the Eagles covered it, and he was given enough time to check down to Tiki over the middle and he was able to stretch forward to the 19 yard line, tackled by Reese, about a half yard short of a first down.  3rd and short, Ron Dayne stayed on the bench as the ball went to Tiki, who ran to his left, and was hit in the backfield by Emmons, however he was able to power just far enough ahead across the 20 for a first down.  Collins would drop the snap on the next play and fell on it for a 1 yard loss.  2nd and 11, Collins back, with time, was able to connect with Shockey at the 30 yard line, beating Kirkland in coverage and good for a first down.  1st and 10, Tiki ran to his right and past the safety blitz from Lewis and cut up the field all the way to the 41, stopped by Kirkland.  Just as the Giants felt good about their drive, another disaster

This one kind of caught everyone by surprise, Tiki ran to his left and again got good yardage and as he was being dragged down at the 48 yard line, Lewis came up and stripped the ball out, recovered by Kirkland at the 50.  The Giants and the crowd seemed to think that Tiki was down, and it was very close as he was about to hit the ground, but Lewis stripped it out of there.  Fassel would challenge the call but lose, and he also lost a timeout.  It was the Giants’ 3rd turnover on the day.

So the Eagles got great field position with 11:08 to go in the 3rd and on first down, Feeley tried to throw a deep pass down the sidelines to Thrash, who was well covered by Peterson and the ball fell incomplete, though it was very nearly caught by Thrash.  2nd and 10, Feeley back again, threw a comeback route to Thrash, who caught it at the 42 yard line and was touched down by Peterson.  3rd and 2, Feeley with a play action fake, hit Freddie Mitchell over the middle at the 35, tackled by Barrow.  With Thrash in motion, Feeley rolled out to his right and took a deep shot towards Thrash up the sidelines, however the ball was just out of his reach.  2nd and 10, Feeley threw a quick out to Mitchell at the line of scrimmage and he was tackled after a 3 yard gain by Peterson.  3rd and 7, Feeley hit Thrash over the middle and he was wide open at the 25 yard line and he took it up the middle to the 12 yard line, stopped by Sehorn, but a pass interference call on the Eagles for an illegal pick on Antonio Freeman had set the whole play up.  3rd and 17 at the 42, Feeley would fake the handoff, step up to avoid the rush from Strahan and got drilled by Griffin as he heaved a shot down field that fell incomplete, somewhere in the neighborhood of Thrash and if Stoudamire had not slipped on the bad field, would have had an easy pick.  The Eagles would punt however, with Johnson pooching the ball towards Joyce and it hit at the 9 yard line and bounced backwards where it was downed by the Eagles at the 12.  So the Giants defense did their job.

Undeterred by the fumble, Tiki got the ball again, and he ran to his right, cut inside a block by Chris Bober and he got the ball to the 17 for a 5 yard gain, stopped by Simon.  2nd and 5, Collins play action fake to Tiki and was able to hit Shockey over the middle at the 26 yard line, for a first down stopped by Barber.  First down, a draw to Tiki looked to be set up for a huge gain, as he got behind Bober shoved his way forward to the 31, but a great open field tackle by Dawkins kept it from going for much more.  2nd and 3, Collins back, threw to Tiki in the flat, and rather than go down the sidelines, he cut back up the middle and took the ball to the 40 yard line, stopped by Emmons.  Collins on the next play would get drilled by Kalu and the ball would float up in the air and deep down the middle, with 3 Eagles waiting for a pick, but Toomer shifted to defense and knocked it away.  The Giants would go back to Tiki, who running to his left, had a huge hole, cut inside a block on Emmons and broke a tackle attempt by Lewis at the 49 and darted up the sidelines, all the way to the 21, forced out by Barber, putting Tiki over 100 yards for the day.  The Giants would get nailed with a delay of game on the next play, setting them back 5 yards.  1st and 15, Collins would drop back and have a wide open Daryl Jones in the end zone, who beat Taylor by 5 yards but Jones mistimed his jump, and dropped a game tying TD.  Tiki would take the draw running to his right, broke a tackle attempt by Reese, and made it to the 18 where he was shoved out by Taylor.  3rd and 7, Collins would try to throw a quick inside slant to Shockey as he had pressure put on him on the inside from Simon, but the ball hit Sean Barber in the back.  So on came rookie kicker Matt Bryant for a would be gimme from 36 yards out

Unreal, the Giants continued to blow scoring chance after scoring chance.  This time Bryant’s field goal would sail wide to the right, keeping the score at 7-0 with 3:42 to go in the 3rd quarter.

The Giants had doubled the yardage that the Eagles had gained, but still were losing.  Feeley came out at the 26 yard line and handed to Staley, who powered over the right side, taken to the 35, stopped by Dhani Jones.  2nd and 1, the handoff went to Staley running to his right, but this time the Giants stacked him up for no gain.  3rd and 1, Feeley back, with a rush in his face, and he dumped the ball off to Cecil Martin at the 39 and he plowed his way to the  46 yard line, stopped by Short and Barrow for a huge first down.  First down, Feeley back, set up a screen but the rush from Strahan in face happened too quickly, so he hurried a pass towards a wide open Dorsey Levens, who bobbled it and dropped what would have been a huge gain.  2nd and 10, the Eagles would go back to Levens, this time a run around right end, past Strahan and all the way to the Giants’ 49, stopped by Stoutmire.  3rd and 4, the Giants would come on a delayed blitz and Feeley would hit Freeman at the 45 yard line on a comeback route, stopped immediately by Sehorn.  It would have been a great route, but he broke if off a yard too short, a bad play by a veteran WR.  So 4th and 1 at the 45, Reid would send out the punting unit and Johnson’s boot would go over Joyce’s head and into the end zone for a touchback.

The Giants offense began with a pass to Campbell, who was lined up as an H-back, and he snagged it in the flat at the 21 and was driven out of bounds at the 24 by Emmons to end the 3rd quarter.  On 2nd down, Collins dropped back, and slung a sidearm pass to Barber, who was coming across the middle and cut out to the flat at the 25 and he took it up to the 28 yard line, stopped by Kirkland.  3rd and 2, Collins took a quick 3 step drop and hit Shockey on an out pattern at the 30 and was knocked out of bounds by Emmons at the 32, good for a first down.  And then came a play that I have never seen before or since

Well that was interesting.  Fassel went deep into the playbook to try a reverse to a TE (Shockey) and he would set up and would try a pretty deep pass to Toomer at the 45, but the ball was overthrown.  In fairness to Shockey, it was a nice spiral.  However, a penalty on the Giants, a personal foul for a clip on Rosenthal cost them 15 yards and would have wiped out the gain even if it was complete.  So 1st and 25, Collins faked to Barber and stood in and threw a dart to Shockey deep over the middle at the 38.  Shockey hauled it in and took a huge shot from Lewis, but held on to the ball and celebrated just a bit for good measure and a big 20 yard gain to set up 2nd and 5.  Barber took a draw up the middle to the 39 yard line, where he was spun down, however the Eagles got nailed for an illegal hands to the face on Douglas, good for an automatic first down.  Giants ball at the 45, Collins threw out in the flat to Campbell who hauled it in at the 49 and was hogtied out of bounds by Reese.  2nd and 5, Barber would take the handoff, cross into Philly territory at the 48 yard line, and slid under the hit from Lewis.  3rd and 3, Collins would hit Shockey in the flat, just short of a first down, however the hard count brought the Eagles’ Brandon Whitting offsides and gave the Giants another big conversion.  The Giants were at the 43 and moving on the Eagles defense.  And then a heart breaker

Collins took the snap and had time to set up and heave a beautiful deep pass to Toomer, who had gotten behind Dawkins to haul it in for an apparent game tying TD.  But, keeping with the frustration of the game, a flag was thrown and a hold on Rich Seubert for taking down Darwin Walker was called, however upon a closer look at the replay, it should have been a no call and took a second TD away from NY.  So first and 20, Collins back, under heat, threw a middle screen to Dayne at the 45 and he bulled his way the Eagles 44, taken down by Kirkland, who was shaken up making the tackle.  2nd and 12, with Toomer in motion, Collins dropped back, hit Tiki out in the flat where he caught it at the 45, got around Taylor and took off up the field and out of bounds at the 26 yard line by Dawkins.  With a flag on the ground, the crowd groaned, until the call went against Philly for a hands to the face on Simon.  A huge first down for the Giants, and the ball went to Tiki, followed a pulling Seubert who made a block on the edge and he bounced it all the way to the 20 yard line, pushed out of bounds.  2nd and 3, Tiki took a draw up the middle, made a quick cut to his left and burrowed his way to the 9 yard line, stopped by Lewis and Taylor.  First and goal, with Dayne in the backfield, and he thundered into a pile and went down at the 7.  On 2nd and goal came one of Shockey’s signature plays

Collins would face a blitz by the Eagles and would throw the ball up to Shockey in a jump ball situation against Dawkins.  Both went up for hit, both got their hands on it, but only Shockey ripped it away and fell down in the end zone for a TD.  Shockey would give it a little bit of mustard on the hot dog by shaking his head and a bit of jawing at Dawkins (though he still helped him up after the play).  Shockey would throw the ball in the stands in celebration as the crowd was going nuts.  Bryant would make the extra point interesting as he doinked it off the upright and tied the game at 7-7 with 8:08 to go in the game capping a massive 13 play, 80 yard drive in 6:59.

Bryant would get to kickoff and squibbed a line drive to the 25 by Selecta and he popped his way to the 37, stopped by Mallard.  Reid would keep it conservative, handing off to Staley running to his right, and he would be hit at the 37 by Legree and would keep his legs moving all the way to the 42.  2nd and 6, Feeley back and he would rifle a pass to Tominson at the 47, narrowly avoiding an interception by Brandon Short, and the TE would pull away with the ball to the 42 yard line, knocked forward by Barrow.  A hold on the Giants’ Short was declined.  First down, Feeley would put the ball in Staley’s gut but he was hit in the backfield by Strahan and Holmes for a 1 yard loss.  2nd and 11, Feeley would try a play action fake and then a screen back to Staley with blockers in front.  However, Dhani Jones read the play and came in low to take down Staley at the 43 for no gain.  3rd and 11, Feeley again back and tried to fire a pass over the middle to Freeman, but Cornelius Griffin, the DT, had dropped into coverage in a zone blitz and tipped the pass and it fell incomplete.  On came Johnson to punt and he did a masterful job, hitting it at the 3 and it bounced back to the 7 where it was downed with 5:17 to go.

Deep in their own end, Collins dropped back in his end zone, dumped the ball off to Barber over the middle at the 10, and Tiki took it to the 13, knocked down by Kirkland.  On 2nd and 3, disaster.

Tiki took the handoff running to his left and followed Whittle in the hole.  As he accelerated around the block and past a first down, Tiki was tripped by Emmons and fell forward.  As he was going down, Dawkins jumped on him and pulled the ball free, which bounced forward to the 26 yard line where Adams fell on it just before the Giants offensive line could get there.  The crowd was stunned and Barber was inconsolable.  Replays showed that Tiki lost control just before his knee hit the ground.  Fassel decided on a desperation challenge, that he would lose and cost the Giants a time out, leaving them with just 1 more, and no more replays.

The Eagles got the ball with 4:34 to go on the 26 yard line.  Staley took the handoff around right end, followed a good edge block by Martin on Barrow and got the ball all the way out to the 20 yard line, stopped by Stoutmire making sure he didn’t go out of bounds.  2nd and 3, with the clock running, Staley plowed up the gut and into the heart of the Giants defense, stopped by Barrow at the 18.  On a huge 3rd and 1, Staley ran around left end, and ducked forward just shy of the 15 but clearly a first down.  First down and the Eagles kept conservative, a hand off to Staley, stacked up at the line of scrimmage for no gain.  Fassel would call the Giants final time out with 2:23 to go.  2nd and 10, the Eagles faked an end around to Thrash and gave it to Staley running to his right, but he was tripped up in the backfield by Barrow for no gain as the clock wound down to the 2 minute warning.  3rd and 10, Reid continued to not want to expose Feeley, gave it on a delay to Staley, who was met for a 2 yard loss by Legree and Barrow.  The Eagles let the clock run down all the way to 1:16 to go in the game when they called a time out.  Standing ready to come into the game was the Pro Bowl kicker David Aikers, a man who was 23 of 24 on field goals inside 40 yards, and this one was 35 yards out.  Barber looked like the goat, almost in tears on the sidelines despite a career high 158 yards because of 3 fumbles.  And then...a miracle.

The crowd was pretty silent, trying to muster up cheers out of defiance and hope.  Aikers, lined up on the right hash, with no pressure in front of him, just simply hooked the field goal, having it go wide to the right as the crowd roared as if the Giants had scored themselves.  The Giants were reinvigorated.  The Eagles looked shocked.  

So the Giants, with 1:12 to go and new life, began with a draw to Tiki up the middle, who jumped over the pile and out to the 32 yard line.  2nd and 3, with the clock running, the Giants brought on 4 WRs, and Collins in the gun tried to hit Shockey on a corner pattern, but the ball sailed on him and out of bounds.  3rd and 3, with :41 to go, Collins again in the gun, gave it to Barber on a draw, and Tiki ran to the right, and nearly had the ball pulled out by Kalu at the 42 yard line, but Tiki went down without coughing it up.  While good for a first down, the Giants had no time outs and the clock running, Collins fired the ball in the ground to stop the clock.  However, a flag on the Giants’ Luke Pettitgout for not being set as the ball was snapped, would cost the Giants 5 yards and a 10 second run off.  The clock began as soon as the ref set the ball and Collins in the gun took a deep shot to Derek Dorris, but out of bounds.  :08 to go in the game, Fassel decided to quit screwing around, had Collins take a knee and get ready for OT.

The Eagles called heads at midfield and the coin came up heads.  Philly got the ball to start OT.  The Giants needed a win, a tie would put Atlanta in the playoffs.  A tie was as good as a loss.  Bryant on to kickoff, slipped as he booted it and it went to Mitchell at the 12, and he took off up the left sideline and got the ball all the way out to 45 yard line, stopped by Marcellus Rivers, but put the Eagles in great field position.  Philly began with a drop back and tried to go deep, but with no one open, held the ball too long and Holmes grabbed him by the back of the jersey (might have been a horse collar if it happened today) and slung him down for a huge sack back at the 36.  2nd and 16, with 4 WRs, he threw an out to Freddie Mitchell at the 46, and Fred Ex got the ball to the 50, stopped by Allen.  On 3rd and 5, Feeley would finally make a mistake.

Feeley dropped back, with plenty of time to throw in the pocket, and threw one in the direction of Chad Lewis, who was well covered by Short.  The ball was defected as the TE and LB got tangled and bounced into the arms of Shaun Williams at the 37 yard line.  Feeley thought that pass interference should have been called, but no flag came.  Perhaps the refs felt that they kept the Eagles in the game long enough and it was time to let this go.  

So the Giants got the ball with a chance to win it.  Barber took the handoff running to his right and stutter stepped his way towards the sidelines, taken down by Adams at the 42 yard line.  However, behind the play, Daryl Jones got shoved by Troy Vincent on the sidelines and gave the Giants a huge 15 yard penalty that moved the ball all the way to the Eagles 41.  Tiki took the handoff up the middle, to the 36, and Tiki had both hands on the football and into a pile for a  5 yard gain.  At the 35, Collins again gave the ball to Tiki on a draw, who made a cut up the middle and all the way down to the 26, stopped by Dawkins for another big first down.  Tiki got it again, was hit in the backfield by Simon, broke free of him and again put his head down and ran it up the middle to the 21 yard line.  On 2nd and 4, a moment the Giants' heart was in their throats.

The crowd said it all, a scream of horror as Barber dropped the handoff from Collins and the ball sat there for a moment at the 23 yard line all alone.  Tiki fell down on it before Dawkins got there to save the day, and himself.  Incidentally, the ref should have called a spear on Dawkins, who remains one of the dirtiest players that I have seen.  I hated that guy.  3rd and 7, Barber took a toss, running to his right, got the ball back to the 21, stopped by Emmons.  At this point, it was Bryant coming back out to win the game from 39 yards out.  The Eagles apparently tried to challenge something, but were reminded that only the replay booth can do that in OT.  So either Reid forgot the rules or it was gamesmanship to ice Bryant without taking a time out.  Whatever the walrus tried to do, it didn’t work.

Bryant would come on the field, and bury the field goal right down the middle.  The Giants celebrated as Jim Fassel was hugged by his son John.  The players came out on the field to congratulate each other and the Giants had made the playoffs for the first time since 2000.  Tiki was vindicated, rushing for over 200 yards in a must win game, and surviving a bunch of near killer fumbles.  But there was something else that happened here that would get lost a bit.  The snap back to the holder Matt Allen was low and towards him, right by his hip.  He did a good job to grab it and put it down for Bryant.  The long snapper was Chris Bober, who struggled throughout the season with this duty.  The Giants decided that his poor snaps were a risk and they needed to go and find a professional long snapper for a playoff run.  So after this game, the Giants reached out to a retired veteran of 19 NFL seasons who was a long snapping specialist.  A player who never won a championship ring in his career.  A guy who decided that the Giants were worth coming out of retirement to try to get that one missing piece that every player wants.  Trey Junkin would sign with the Giants to fill this long snapping need and get ready for a Wild Card game in San Francisco the next week.  Most Giants fans never heard of him before, and that would end up changing forever just one week later.

Interesting Tidbits/ Post Mortem

• Tiki had those 3 critical turnovers, but also had a huge day.  He would rush 32 times for 203 yards, and catch 8 balls for 73 more yards.  He personally outgained the entire Eagles offense, who put up only 209 yards.
• It would be Tiki’s first 200 yard rushing game, but he would go on to do the same trick 4 other times in his career
• 28 carries for 203 yards in their season finale and division clinching win vs. the Raiders in 2005
• 26 carries for 206 yards in their 36-0 win over the Redskins in 2005, the first game after the death of Giants owner Wellington Mara
• 29 carries for 220 yards in a 27-17 win over a KC team that would finish 10-6
• 23 carries for 234 yards and 3 TDs in the season finale at Washington in 2006, a game the Giants won 34-28 to finish the season at 8-8 and make the playoffs and saved Tom Coughlin’s job.
• Of course, when you have a guy as talented and productive as Barber, you want to find a way to solve the fumbling issue and get the most out of him. Coughlin's change to make Barber alter the style that he held the ball, but not sap any of his elusiveness or speed was to hold it "high and tight". Here were the numbers from 1997-2003, under Fassel
• 1997 (136 carries/511 yards and 34 catches/299 yards)- 170 touches and 3 fumbles
• 1998 (52 carries/166 yards and 42 catches/348 yards)- 94 touches and 1 fumble
• 1999 (62 carries/258 yards and 66 catches/609 yards)- 128 touches and 5 fumbles
• 2000 (213 carries/1006 yards and 70 catches/719 yards)- 283 touches and 9 fumbles
• 2001 (166 carries/865 yards and 72 catches/577 yards)- 238 touches and 8 fumbles
• 2002 (304 carries/1387 yards and 69 catches/597 yards)- 373 touches and 9 fumbles
• 2003 (278 carries/1216 yards and 69 catches/461 yards)- 347 touches and 9 fumbles.
• Coughlin, from the Parcells' coaching tree, and like Bill Belichick, will not play guys who fumble. Before David Wilson was lost due to injury, he was doomed to the doghouse for 2 fumbles at Dallas in the 2013 season opener. So he had to do something to make this work. And the results were staggering in looking at Tiki's productivity in 3 seasons under Coughlin
• 2004 (322 carries/1518 yards and 52 catches/578 yards)- 374 touches and 5 fumbles (his first Pro Bowl)
• 2005 (357 carries/1860 yards and 54 catches/530 yards)- 411 touches and 1 fumble (his 2nd Pro Bowl)
• 2006 (327 carries/1662 yards and 58 catches/465 yards)- 385 touches and 3 fumbles (his 3rd and final Pro Bowl)
• If Tiki was the lead dog, Shockey was not too far behind.  He did catch the game tying TD over Pro Bowl Safety Brian Dawkins.  In all he caught 10 passes for 98 yards.  But that was not his best output as a TE in his rookie year.  His best numbers in 2002 came against the Redskins in the 19-17 win, catching 11 passes for 111 yards.
• Shockey's career best catches in 1 game?  2007 in a loss to the Cowboys, netting 12 catches for 129 yards and a TD as he made it a point to pretty much own Dallas safety/Pro Bowl regular Roy Williams.  In all, Shockey would register 10 or more catches 6 times in his career with the Giants.  How did that match up with the Giants previous starting tight ends?
• Zeke Mowatt- 0 times (best game- 7 catches for 126 yards vs. Chiefs in 1984)
• Mark Bavaro- 2 times (best game- 12 catches for 176 yards in a loss at Cincinnati in his rookie season of 1985)
• Howard Cross- 0 times (best game- 6 catches for 77 yards in a loss vs Dallas in 1992)
• Derek Brown- 0 times (best game- 2 catches, 14 yards in a win at Washington in 1992.  Man, he was terrible)
• Aaron Pierce- 0 times (best game- 5 catches, 49 yards in a loss vs Detroit in 1994)
• Pete Mitchell- 0 times (best game- 9 catches for 62 yards in a loss to the Colts in 1999)
• Dan Campbell- 0 times (best game- 4 catches for 35 yards in a win at Minnesota in 2002)
• Kevin Boss- 0 times (best game- 7 catches for 70 yards in a loss to the Eagles in 2009)
• Jake Ballard- 0 times (best game- 5 catches for 81 yards in a win over the Bills in 2011)
• Martellus Bennett- 0 times (best game- 6 catches for 73 yards in a win at Carolina in 2012)
• Brandon Myers- 0 times (best game- 7 catches for 66 yards in the season opening loss at Dallas in 2013)
• Larry Donnell- 0 times (best game- 7 catches for 54 yards and 3 TDs in a Thursday Night game at Washington in 2014.  He also had 7 catches in losses to the Cardinals and Cowboys, including a critical fumble against Dallas)
• Collins would end up with 4,073 yards, breaking the Giants single season record held by Phil Simms, with 4,044 in 1984.
• Collins would hold the record until 2011, when Eli broke it with 4,933 yards.
• Eli also holds the 2nd most yardage in a season, 4,410 in 2014 as Odell Beckham Jr. exploded on the scene. There are high hopes for 2015 that might see Eli top 5,000 yards if he and his receivers stay healthy.
• The Giants learned from both this game with Chris Bober as long snapper, and then the whole Trey Junkin affair, that they better take care of the long snapper situation. So in the 2003 offseason, they signed a specialist, Ryan Kuehl, a defensive lineman by trade, but basically purely a long snapper, from the Cleveland Browns to the hefty sum of a 5 year, $3.6 million deal. Kuehl would hold the job down from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, an elbow injury would shelve him for the year as the Giants went with Carson Dach as their long snapper. Kuehl would be re-signed in 2007, but would lose his job to a draft pick named Zak DeOssie, who has held the job ever since.
• The Giants win over the Eagles was their first since the 2000 Divisional Playoffs
• The Giants woudn't beat the Eagles again until 2005, when they won 27-17 at Giants Stadium. The Giants were clinging to a 20-17 lead against former Rutgers QB Mike McMahon, but were able to put it away on a late 61 yard TD pass from Eli to Plaxico Burress.
• James Thrash's rushing TD was not his first one of the season. He had a 4 yard TD run against the Cardinals earlier in the season, in the game in which McNabb got hurt
• Aikers' missed field goal near the end of regulation wasn't the only one had against the Giants in his career. In 2007, Aikers missed a 57 yard field goal attempt to tie the game at 16-16, when the ball clunked off the goal post.
• One of the most annoying aspects about the McNabb injury, and then Koy Detmer injury, was that little used 3rd QB AJ Feeley got more playing time. Playing with a very talented team, the Eagles were able to pretty much mask what Feeley's talent level was. So Feeley, a 5th round pick in 2001 out of Oregon, who would only top out as a backup to McNabb, was able to increase his trade value. Teams, as they always are, were looking for QB help. After a season of sitting on the bench in 2003, the Eagles decided to pull the trigger. In 2004, Feeley was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a 2nd round pick in 2005. The Eagles would use that pick on Reggie Brown, a WR out of Georgia who turned into a decent #2/ #3 receiver from 2005- 2009.
• The Eagles offense had a heavy Green Bay Packer look to it, which makes sense considering that is where Andy Reid came from. Though past their prime, the Eagles had Dorsey Levens and Antonio Freeman playing big roles. Jeff Tominson was a backup TE for them via the Packers as well. Dorsey Levens would actually have a cup of coffee with the Giants in 2003.