Eagles-Giants Moments That Are Often Forgotten…Part One

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

Everyone in Philadelphia likes to point to the Dallas Cowboys as the Eagles primary rival but the Eagles-New York Football Giants rivalry is more historic and filled with better moments.  In fact, the Eagles-Giants rivalry is so good it deserves its own list of moments. We all know the moments of the rivalry, Concrete Charlie annihilates Frank Gifford, Herm Edwards and the “Miracle in the Meadowlands,” Randall’s scramble on Monday Night Football, and D-Jax’s new miracle. 

List done, right? Wrong. 

That’s what this list is about, the Eagles-Giants moments, the moments that make this THE rivalry.  The moments are often forgotten because of the one’s listed above.  Enjoy and debate part one and check back in a few weeks for part two.

December 2, 1934- Eagles Win 6-0

They say that you never forget your first.  After being outscored 93-14 in their first three meetings ever, the Eagles finally defeated the pesky New York Giants.  Jim Leonard’s two-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was all the Eagles needed to get into the win column.  A crowd of 12,471 was able to leave the Baker Bowl in jubilation.

November 20, 1988- Clyde Simmons’ Overtime Miracle

Clyde Simmons, a lynchpin of the “Gang Green” defense, delivered the second “miracle in the meadowlands” in the fall of 1988 and the win helped propel the Eagles to the NFC East division title.  Tied at 17 in overtime, the Eagles Luis Zendejas attempted a game winning field goal only to have it blocked.  The ball bounced directly into the arms of Simmons, and he rumbled 15-yards for a game winning touchdown.  The win would prove crucial, both the Eagles and Giants ended up with 10-6 records and this game would be the tiebreaker that gave the Eagles their first NFC East title in nearly a decade.

October 22, 2001- McNabb to Thrash Ends the Giants Dominance

In the waning moments of a classic Monday Night Football matchup, Donovan McNabb connected with James Thrash from 18-yards out to give the Eagles a 10-9 lead over the Giants.  The Eagles would hold on to win and snap the Giants 9-game win streak over the Bird that dated back to August 1997.  While many watching didn’t know at the time, the win would prove to the be the catalyst for the Eagles run of dominance in the decade.

December 30, 2001- Damon Moore Stops Ron Dixon and the Eagles Win the NFC East

The previous game parlays right into this one.  The Eagles and Giants exchanged haymakers in the 2001 season finale at Veterans Stadium.  The Giants needed to win to stay in playoff contention while an Eagles victory would give them their first NFC East division title in thirteen seasons. 

The Eagles rallied with 10-points, a McNabb to Chad Lewis touchdown and a 35-yard David Akers field goal, in the final 2:49 to take the lead.  The Giants had one last play with :07, Kerry Collins connect with Tiki Barber who executed a near perfect hook ‘n’ lateral to speedster Ron Dixon.  Damon Moore saved the day, and potentially the season, tackling Dixon inside of the five-yard line. 

And the finale for part one of the list…

October 19, 2003: Brian Westbrook Saves the Eagles Season

The Eagles were scuffling to start the 2003 season, the Birds had lost three of five and their two wins were anything but impressive when they traveled to the Meadowlands to take on the Giants.  Led by Michael Strahan, the Giants were able to stymie the Eagles offense and it looked like the Birds were going to continue their tailspin and lose their second straight divisional game and third in the conference.  And then Brian Westbrook saved the season. 

Westbrook let the Jeff Feagles punt bounce and then proceeded to take it 84-yards for an improbable Eagles touchdown.  The win would propel the Eagles to nine consecutive wins, ten out of eleven, and another trip to the NFC Championship game. 

For whatever reason, maybe it’s 4^th and 26 in the same year, Westbrook’s return gets lost in the all-time great moments in Eagles-Giants history.  It deserves to be remembered more fondly than it is.

Stay tuned for part two coming before the next Birds-Giant game.