Adrian Fedkiw
Donovan McNabb was struggling, the wide receivers were dropping passes and the Philadelphia Eagles defense wasn’t getting after the quarterback and forcing turnovers like they were accustomed of doing.
At 2-3, the Eagles needed a spark.
Brian Westbrook provided it.
Westbrook fielded a wobbling, bouncing punt at the 16-yard line and returned it 84 yards down the left sideline for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:16 left, lifting the Eagles to a 14-10 win over the New York Giants.
The Giants drove into Eagles territory on their ensuing drive, but Bobby Taylor jumped in front of Jeremy Shockey on a 4th-and-4 and broke up the pass to seal the outcome.
Philadelphia had gone three-and-out on seven of its last nine possessions, recorded just 23 yards in the second half and 134 in all before Westbrook took that punt to the house.
It was a miracle.
The return jump-started a nine-game winning streak. The Eagles finished the season 12-4 and earned the NFC’s top seed, but lost to the Carolina Panthers 14-3 in the NFC Championship Game. Westbrook finished with 67 yards rushing on 15 carries and added three receptions for 11 yards.
McNabb, who was dealing with a thumb injury, was 9-of-23 for 64 yards and an interception. He had just two touchdowns and six interceptions on the year at that point. The Eagles wide receivers dropped six passes.
Tiki Barber carried the ball 19 times for 79 yards and former Eagle Dorsey Levens added 64 yards on 16 totes for the Giants, who outgained the Eagles 339-134 in yards. They fell to 2-4 on the season.
The Eagles opened the scoring on their second possession of the game. Giants cornerback Ralph Brown was whistled for a pass interference on Todd Pinkston, despite a severely underthrown pass by McNabb, to put the ball into enemy territory at the 33-yard line. Rookie L.J. Smith hauled in a 25-yard reception later in the drive on a 2nd-and-18 before Westbrook scampered into the end zone from six yards out to cap the 10-play, 89-yard march.
New York was in Eagles territory during four of its five first half touches, but tallied just three points and that came after a crazy sequence of plays.
Linebacker Nate Wayne forced a Shockey fumble when the tight end attempted to fight for extra yardage inside the Eagles’ 20, but McNabb tossed an interception to cornerback Will Allen three plays later when he threw behind James Thrash along the right sideline on an out route. Brett Conway nailed a 39-yard field with 27 ticks on the first half clock to get the Giants on the board.
The Giants went ahead in the third, using a long and methodical 12-play, 62-yard trek to find paydirt. Tight end Marcellus Rivers picked up 12 on a tight end screen and Barber ran for 11 on back-to-back plays to move the ball into Philadelphia’s side of the field. Kerry Collins scrambled for 11 yards on a 3rd-and-10 and found Shockey for a 1-yard score to conclude the drive and stake the Giants to a 10-7 lead at the 5:24 mark of the frame.
New York had an opportunity of expanding its lead midway through the fourth, but linebacker Mark Simoneau strip-sacked Collins and defensive tackle Corey Simon made the recovery for the Eagles at the 10.