Sunday Night Football: Giants come up just short against Eagles

Giants Vs. Eagles, Week 4: 'The Giants are getting closer at least'

New York Giants fans are starting to get tired of their NFC East opponents from Philadelphia, as the Eagles have won eight of the last nine matchups between the two squads. On Sunday, a Lawrence Tynes field goal in the final seconds came up just short in New York's 19-17 loss.

The loss was a tough one to stomach, as the two squads traded scores for most of the second half, but New York couldn't find a way to answer on its final drive when a pass interference call bumped the offense out of field goal range. Jesse Bartolis highlighted a variety of things that went wrong in analyzing five key plays over at Big Blue View, from the team's poor second-half run defense on Lesean McCoy to Eli Manning's unwise red zone interception to start the fourth quarter, but Ramses Barden's penalty obviously found its way under the microscope:

Tynes has been automatic this year and I have no doubt that without the pass interference call, Tynes splits the uprights. The one thing I would not do is blame the play on Barden. Eli threw the ball too far inside on that play and Barden was put in a bad position. If he doesn't climb over [Nnamdi] Asmougha that might be an interception.

Bartolis was quick to move on from the unfortunate result to look at the bigger picture when it came to the rivalry with the Eagles:

It feels like I should make some snarky comment about how the Giants have the most Super Bowl titles in the entire NFL since 1987 and how I have as many Super Bowl victories from my couch as the Eagles have in their franchise history, but that would be lazy, immature analysis. And I'm a mature adult.

The Giants' title defense is off to a shaky start, as they're 2-2 with a pair of losses to NFC East opponents.

Giants vs. Eagles: Philly shows substance against top competition

On Sunday night, the Philadelphia Eagles won a thrilling 19-17 affair against the defending-champion New York Giants to move into first place in the NFC East.

It was a defensive battle early on, with both teams punting the first four times they had the ball. However, Michael Vick and company got rolling, scoring when it had to down the stretch.

As Jason Brewer of Bleeding Green Nation points out, there were some other keys to take out of the offense's performance as well:

There was a lot to celebrate about this win but nothing more than this. ... The Eagles did not turn the ball over once. After a league-leading 12 turnovers over the first three weeks, the Eagles finally played a clean game where they actually came out positive in the turnover battle. The driving force behind that was the same guy who was causing most of the turnovers, Michael Vick.

Philadelphia finally put together a good clean game and needed to against such a quality opponent. With the victory, the Eagles vault themselves to the top of a tough division.

As Brewer states, Andy Reid's team is getting the job done when the chips are on the table.

This is the third time this season that the Eagles have won a game with a fourth-quarter drive. And it's the second time they've done it against a team considered a Super Bowl contender.

The Eagles next game is Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road.

The Sunday Night Football missed field goal: A story in GIFs

The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants on Sunday because of one final play. The Giants were hit with a big offensive pass interference penalty when they seemed destined to be on the express train to Winning Touchdown Junction. In fairness, the pass interference was PRETTTTTY flagrant.

Yep, that's pretty much just a sleeper hold.

With 15 seconds left in the game, New York was looking at a 54-yard field goal attempt on third and 19. Lawrence Tynes came in to kick his little heart out, but shanked it very wide left.

BUT WAIT! It turns out that Andy Reid had called a time out right as the ball was being snapped, because bush league moves die hard.

At least Reid looked sufficiently sheepish about his bungle.

So everyone set up to do it again. This time it was straight as a football-shaped arrow. Did it have the distance, Tynes?

HIPPITY HOP HIP AWWWWW SHURKS

No. No, it did not.

/sad trombone

/even sadder trombone

It all worked out. Hey, stop hitting me.

Giants-Eagles Final Score: Eagles win 19-17 as late field goal falls short

The New York Giants had a chance to win late, but a critical pass interference call pushed them out of field goal range as the Philadelphia Eagles held on in what turned out to be a second-half shootout.

A new twist on pass blocking

Sometimes pass blocking is a simple procedure.

Giants-Eagles 3rd quarter update: Eagles up 13-10 with Giants driving

After the game's first nine possessions ended in punts, the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants have scored on their last five possessions, as the Eagles are up three at the start of the fourth quarter. Lesean McCoy broke things open for the Eagles after his team received the kickoff to start the third quarter, with back-to-back 34- and 22-yard runs that brought the team to the one-yard line. However, that's as far as he got, as the Giants stonewalled him three straight times to force a 20-yard field goal, which Alex Henery drilled with ease.

David Wilson got the Giants started off in good field position with a 45-yard runback on the ensuing kickoff, and Eli Manning completed all three of his passes on the drive that culminated in a Victor Cruz 14-yard touchdown right down the middle of the field. That tied the game up at 10 apiece. The Eagles bounced back, though, with Michael Vick completing a 27-yarder to Brent Celek and running for 18 more of his own with Henery hitting another 48-yarder to move himself to 3-for-3 on the night.

The Giants are currently driving, as their final play of the half appeared like they would simply line up to draw the Eagles offsides, but they shifted into a shotgun set that saw Manning complete a 30-yard gainer over the middle against an Eagles team expecting a run up the gut.

Sunday Night Football producers get clever with Victor Cruz TD celebration

Victor Cruz and salsa music go together. At least, that's what the producers of Sunday Night Football think.

Philly loves Brian Dawkins

Eagles fans went wild for Brian Dawkins on Sunday night.

Nnamdi Asomugha injury: Eagles CB back on sidelines after eye injury

Nnamdi Asomugha's eye injury may be more serious than immediately imagined, as the Philadelphia Eagles star cornerback was taken to the hospital to have the injury - perhaps a concussion - more closely examined.

Asomugha, now in his tenth year with four all-Pro nods and three Pro Bowl appearances under his belt, looked like he had simply been poked in the eye while jostling with New York Giants wide out Ramses Barden in the second quarter of their Sunday night matchup, but it became clear the injury was more disconcerting quickly. After trainers performed some tests on the sideline, Asomugha was taken to the locker room for further examination. By the time the team emerged from the huddle for the second half, Asomugha had been taken to the hospital. However, he was back on the Eagles' sideline by the time the Eagles took the field for their first defensive series of the half.

Its unclear whether or not Asomugha is capable of playing again in this game. Some of the tests administered to Asomugha after the injury, such as shining a flashlight into the affected eye, seemed to indicate a potential concussion.

Brandon Hughes broke up a pair of passes in his stead, although he's given up some receptions and could have had an interception on a third down lob to the end zone late in the first half, but was unable to hold on, allowing New York to tag on a field goal.

Edit: Although the Eagles had initially reported Asomugha would head to the hospital, they later corrected themselves via Twitter. Asomugha remained at the stadium throughout halftime.

Eagles-Giants halftime update: Philadelphia leads 7-3 in defensive showdown

It took until after the two-minute warning for any offense to happen, but the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants traded scores late in the second quarter to enter halftime with Philadelphia leading 7-3.

Eli Manning and Michael Vick spent most of the first half having completed under 50 percent of their passes, but led their team to points on their final drives of the half. Vick is 11-for-19 for 132 yards after a 32-yard bomb to a wide-open DeSean Jackson was the game's first score, while Manning is now 14-for-26 with 151 yards after a two-minute drill got his team in range for a 25-yard field goal.

The Giants almost came away without any points, as Manning's last throw of the half could have been an easy pick for Brandon Hughes, but the corner - who is replacing Nnamdi Asomugha, who is out with an eye injury - dropped the third-down toss and gave Lawrence Tynes the opportunity to drill a chip shot field goal.

Both teams have been stout up front: New York has held Lesean McCoy to two yards on six carries, while the Giants as a team have only 26 yards on 10 carries. Neither team has turned the ball over, so the punters have gotten a workout with a combined nine punts as the squads jockeyed for field position before Philadelphia finally found paydirt.

Eagles vs. Giants score update: Vick connects with Jackson to put Eagles up 7-0

Just before the half of tonight's Sunday Night Football contest, Michael Vick connects with DeSean Jackson on a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Nnamdi Asomugha injury: Eagles CB leaves game with poked eye

Star cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha left the Philadelphia Eagles' Sunday night matchup in the second quarter with an apparent eye injury.

Asomugha came out of the game after it appeared New York Giants' receiver Ramses Barden poked him in the eye. Trainers immediately began to inspect his right eye, giving him drops and shining a light into it, raising some questions about whether or not the four-time All-Pro might have suffered a concussion. Asomugha was taken to the locker room, where his eye is currently still being evaluated.

Asomugha had been playing a great game, jamming Giants' receivers at the line and playing a key part in an Eagles' defensive outing that held New York scoreless until shortly before halftime. He was replaced by Brandon Hughes, a fourth-year corner who made an immediate impact by breaking up a pass on his first series.

It's unclear whether or not Asomugha will be able to return for Philadelphia.

Kenny Phillips injury: Giants safety exits with knee injury

Giants safety Kenny Phillips sprained his knee in the first quarter of his team's Sunday night matchup, and his return to the game is doubtful.

Will Beatty with the super hold

Will Beatty put a little clothesline into his holding penalty.

Will Beatty's facemask has a lot going on

Sunday Night Football has gotten off to a

Whoa hey what am I looking at here? Easy there, Will Beatty. Just settle down with that facemask there. We know you loved The Dark Knight Rises but that's no reason to wear Rob Liefeld's approximation of what he thinks a football facemask would look like.

How would you even ask for something like that from Riddell or whoever? "YEAH JUST MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A CAGE. HUH? NO AS MANY BARS AS YOU CAN. AND LIKE A VISOR TOO. CAN YOU PUT KNIVES ON IT? MANNNN, NOT EVEN ONE? WELL OKAY BUT JUST MAKE IT LOOK LIKE SNAKE-EYES' FACE THANKS."

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