Eagles-Giants Live Blogging: Fourth Quarter

Play action pass to Celek in the end zone is the perfect play call and execution, and we are Camping Happily here in the Man Space. After the Akers PAT, the Eagles lead 20-11, a two-possession game, and the Giants are playing into the wind in the fourth quarter. The home team is in trouble, folks!

Bradshaw gets it to the 24 before he's eaten. Can the defense make this one drama-free? Not with easy 11-yard runs to Jacobs on first down, no. From the 35, he gets another 5, as he's clearly been the Giants' best offensive player today. From the 40, Eli from the gun, and this time he gives to Jacobs for 2 on a draw that didn't fool many. With 13 minutes left, getting off the field here would be huge... and from the gun, they keep it on the ground with Ward. He's just short, and from the Giants 45, you'd have to think they are going for it, needing just six inches. Coughlin is challenging the spot, and I am dreaming hard of a lost timeout, but given that this is an Eagles game, in New York, and Coughlin has been able to use the power of anger to get pass interference calls overturned, the hopes aren't high. After commerce, even Joe and Troy think the challenge isn't going to work, and the refs stiff Coughlin. Beautiful. Giants have just one timeout left, and the Giants go for it on fourth and inches against a rested defense. Manning sneaks doesn't look good for the home team at all, and PHILLY TAKES OVER. WOW, WOW, WOW.

Troy is aghast at Eli's failure to get three inches. He has betrayed him!

From the Giants 45, Don from the gun gives to Dub for three, and The Clock Is Running. Second and seven from the gun is Don to Curtis on a play where he gets two and nearly loses his head. Third and five is huge for the possible field goal and clock, and Don from the gun finds Dub in the flat, but Webster stops him a yard short of the first. If this was a power team, you'd think about the kill shot go, or maybe even the fake, but instead, Rocca just punts it to the 11, and it will be back on the defense. 10:22 left. Damn, a first down would have taken a lot of air out of this game.

Even Fox is down on Eli now. From the 11, he gives to Ward, who gets through some shoddy tackling for 14. Not useful. His first good carry of the day is followed by his second, for 8. Giants still huddling; Ward now with 10 for 40. Another nice middle hole for him gets the first down, and for some reason, the clock stops at 9:09. Why? Because it's broken now. Eli to Toomer gets five, and it's followed by Jacobs for a yard. The clock is back up now, and running to 7:30 on a third and three. Giants are 2 for 11 on third down. From the gun, the direct snap is to Ward, who is swallowed by Parker for no gain. The Giants are going for it on fourth again, with under seven minutes left and only one timeout in the bag. A play here might end it, and the give to Jacobs should not get the first... and the measurement backs me up. The Eagles hold on fourth on back to back series, and with 6:28 left, you couldn't ask for more.

From the gun, Don gives to Buck, who loses two to the right; Giants are in Big Desperate Defense mode now. Don then administers what could be a kill shot with a perfect deep ball to DJ, who toasts Corey Webster and nearly scores. Wow. Yes, world, we do enjoy our rookie wideout, who doesn't seem very gassed at all.

Dub to the 1 and the clock runs. A touchdown makes it a three possession game. Giants Fan sounds like they want to leave. Dub loses a yard in the middle as the Eagles show that, even in a game they are winning, they still can't run in short yardage. Clock down to 4:10. Don can't find Baskett on a roll out, and the clock stops with 4:02 left. Akers to try a PAT to make it a 12-point game, which isn't a bad thing, but not a perfect kill shot, either.

Akers to the end zone, and Bradshaw to the 27, which is a worry that didn't materialize. We are 3:51 away from the weirdest second round weekend ever. Joe talks up Plax Burress. Ha ha! A quick out to Hixon isn't very helpful. Toomer is open on the left for way too much as Sheldon Brown misreads it. 3:24 left, Giants ball at midfield, and Eli ends it with another awful pick, an overthrow that Mikell settles under at the Eagles 32. That should empty the stadium, and do very little for his jersey sales. Welcome back to the Real Eli, Giants Fan! Last year's playoffs were a very long time ago!

Don is 22 of 40 for 217, one touchdown, two picks, and I'll take all of it in this wind and against that defense. Of course, it helps tons that Eli went Delhomme there. A two yard gain on first is followed by an unnecessary Don run that gets yards but also stops the clock; let's not have any injuries, please. Don hotdogs on the Giants bench by picking up the phone, and draws a 15 yard flag that makes it 3rd and 16. WTF, Don? But we're into the confetti bucket stage of this one as Rocca lines up to punt. Hixon is downed at the 20 with 2:04 left, and Don's phone wackiness has led to more work for the defense. I suspect they won't mind too much.

Clemons almost picks Eli again, and we're at the 2-minute mark. For those of you keeping track of such things, that would have been his third, and he's now 12 of 26 for 150 with, of course, no touchdowns. On second, with Giants Fan sounding drunk and angry, Ward is kept in bounds with a 7 yard gain. Ward again on second can't get out of bounds, and Steve Smith ends things with a wacky fumble that nicely symbolized the Giants' futility today. Don sits on it, and for the first time ever, an NFL game will end with a 23-11 score and all three top seeds losing. Wow.

In the last eight quarters against the Eagles, all at home, NY scored two touchdowns: one special teams touchdown, one garbage time touchdown, one safety and three field goals. And that, more than anything else, is why they are gone.

And that, my friends, is that: the Eagles are going to Arizona to play for the right to go for the third Super Bowl in their existence, against a 4 seed that they destroyed to save their season in late November. And for the record, Andy Reid still has to resign. You clearly don't respond to any other motivation, so Die, Fat Man, Die.

But in the meantime, won't you sing with me?



(And no, I don't care what you think. I'm singing, bitches!)