NFL Recap (NY Giants-Philadelphia)
Posted: Sun December 7, 1997 at 8:53 p.m. EST
NY GIANTS 31, EAGLES 21
The New York Giants, getting a huge lift from their
opportunistic defense, turned three first-half turnovers into 21
points en route to a critical 31-21 victory over the
Philadelphia Eagles.
Tiki Barber rushed for 114 yards on 21 carries for the Giants
(8-5-1), who snapped a two-game winless streak to maintain their
hold on first place in the NFC East. They can clinch the
division by beating the Washington Redskins next week. The
Eagles (6-7-1) lost for the first time in four games to fall two
games off the pace and were left with feint playoff hopes.
"I just told the players that if this week was important to us,
next week is even more important," Giants coach Jim Fassel said.
"I'm giving them tomorrow off and we'll go to work on Tuesday
against Washigton."
Bobby Hoying had led the Eagles to a tie and two wins in his
first three starts, but enjoyed little success against the
Giants, who sacked him four times. Hoying, who made it close
with a 72-yard touchdown pass to Irving Fryar in the final three
minutes, faced constant pressure and completed only 16-of-35 for
209 yards with two fumbles and three interceptions.
After the teams traded turnovers for scores in the first
quarter, Danny Kanell jump-started the struggling Giants'
offense by throwing three TD passes, including a pair in a
58-second span late in the second quarter.
"I thought coming here was going to take a lot of mental
toughness," Fassel said. "We hit a slump and we needed to win
again. There was a lot of pressure on us to win because
Philadelphia was back in the playoff race again. I thought
Philadelphia played well but we had them matched."
New York's leading rusher Tyrone Wheatley left the game in the
second quarter with a severely sprained ankle and did not
return, but Barber picked up the slack, as the Giants wore down
the Eagles with a dominant running game.
"It's really disappointing," Eagles coach Ray Rhodes said. "I
don't think there's a guy in the locker room who didn't realize
what we had at stake and how important the game was to
everybody. We got caught up in a situation where a good team
outplayed us physically and it hurts."
Charles Way added 76 yards on 18 carries for the Giants, who
rushed for 203 yards while holding the Eagles to just 70 yards
on the ground. Kanell completed 14-of-26 for 153 yards.
"We'll enjoy the day off, then get ready for next week," Kanell
said. "A lot of people were starting to doubt us and say that it
was the old Giants but maybe we earned a little bit more respect
from the fans and our critics. We've always believed in
ourselves."
The Eagles, who gained 477 yards in the first meeting with the
Giants, were held to 256 yards. Ricky Watters was limited to 39
yards on 12 carries.
After an 18-yard punt gave the Eagles a first down at the
Giants' 46, Hoying fired his second pass right into the arms of
linebacker Jesse Armstead, who returned the interception 57
yards for his first touchdown of the season to give the Giants a
7-0 lead just 2:41 into the game.
"We try to turn the ball over and get the offense good field
position," said Armstead, who led the Giants' defensive charge
with two interceptions, eight tackles and one sack. "I just
told Danny before the game you're the king around here. Don't
let any media, don't let any coach tell you different."
Two series later, the Giants returned the favor when the ball
slipped out of Kanell's hands as he dropped back to pass.
Cornerback Charles Dimry scooped up the fumble and raced 40
yards to give the Eagles a 1st-and-goal at the 3 and set up
Watters' game-tying one-yard TD run with 6:51 remaining in the
first quarter.
But the Giants forced their second turnover when linebacker
Scott Galyon jarred the ball loose while sacking Hoying. Keith
Hamilton recovered at the Eagles' 33, and five plays later the
Giants took advantage to go up 14-7 on Kanell's 11-yard TD pass
to Barber with 5:15 left in the first half.
"Everyone is going to say it was rookie mistakes and
inexperience but I don't think that was the case today," Hoying
said. "I saw enough out there that I could have got it done and
I didn't."
"I think more than anything, it was the pressure that was put on
him and the lack of escape lanes," Rhodes said. "Some of the
mistakes that were made were pressure mistakes. He was trying to
make things happen but there was a lot of pressure on him."
It was an especially satisfying win for Kanell, who endured a
difficult week after Fassel hinted that another bad performance
might land the Giants' quarterback back on the bench.
"It was one of those weeks when you didn't want to pick up a
newspaper or see what the critics were saying about you," said
Kanell. "I struggled in the third quarter a little and I wasn't
throwing the ball with authority but Jim came over to me and
told me that I was his guy and he was sticking with me."
Hoying fumbled again on the Eagles' next series when he was
sacked by defensive end Bernard Holsey, with defensive end
Michael Strahan recovering at the Eagles' 40.
"It seemed like our secondary was all over the place," Strahan
said. "We wanted to hit Hoying as much as we could. I thought
the turnovers were a key. They have been for us all season."
The Giants wasted no time, as Kanell fired a 40-yard TD pass to
David Patten on first down to make it 21-7 with 4:17 left.
The five turnovers gave the Giants 35 takeaways for the season,
second only to the San Francisco 49ers, who entered Sunday with
36 takeaways.
"A couple times today, instead of taking a sack I was trying to
throw the ball away and made a bad decision," Hoying said. "It's
just really frustrating to be in a position to tie for the lead
and then go out there and play poorly on offense."
Five of the game's seven touchdowns were set up by turnovers.
The Eagles also got a defensive score when safety Brian Dawkins'
64-yard interception return pulled Philadelphia within 21-14
with 7:45 left in the third period.
But the Giants put the game away in the fourth quarter on
Kanell's five-yard TD pass to Chris Calloway and Brad Daluiso's
19-yard field goal.
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