Eagles–Giants Rivalry - Notable Rivalry Moments

Notable Rivalry Moments

• The Eagles–Giants rivalry is the oldest rivalry in the NFC East, dating back to 1933. It is considered the best rivalry in the NFL in the 21st century.
• Ernie Accorsi, general manager of the Giants from 1998 until his retirement after the 2006 season, saw his first NFL game between the teams back in 1951 in his native Hershey, Pa., and grew up as an Eagles fan.
• In a 1960 game, the Eagles' Chuck Bednarik cleanly blindsided Giants running back Frank Gifford, sending Gifford into an 18-month retirement due to a severe concussion.
• On November 19, 1978 at Giants Stadium, the Giants were leading the Eagles 17-12 with 20 seconds remaining. Offensive coordinator Bob Gibson called for a running play when all that was needed was for the Giants to take a knee. The handoff between quarterback Joe Pisarcik and Larry Csonka was fumbled and Eagles cornerback Herman Edwards grabbed the loose ball and returned it for the winning score. This play is commonly referred to as The Miracle at the Meadowlands by Eagles fans and just "The Fumble" by Giants fans.
• In 1981, both the Giants and the defending NFC champion Eagles qualified for a playoff berth. The Eagles hosted the Giants on December 27 in a Wild Card game. The Giants, led by quarterback Scott Brunner and head coach Ray Perkins, took a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. The Eagles rallied but never led and the Giants held on to win 27-21. The game ended with Scott Brunner kneeling down on the ball, which was a fitting revenge for the Joe Pisarcik game some 3 years earlier. The Giants would go on to lose to the San Francisco 49ers, the eventual Super Bowl XVI champions, 38-24.
• The 1988 NFL Season saw both teams competing for the NFC East title. On November 20, 1988, the Giants hosted the Eagles with both teams in the running for control over their division. The Eagles, led by head coach Buddy Ryan and quarterback Randall Cunningham, fought a tough match to bring the game into overtime with the score tied at 17-17. In overtime, Eagles lineman Clyde Simmons carried the ball 15 yards for the game-winning touchdown, completing the Eagles' season sweep of the Giants. Both teams finished with identical 10-6 records, but the Eagles won the NFC East due to their head-to-head victory. The Eagles would lose to the Chicago Bears in a game famously known as the Fog Bowl.
• On January 7, 2001, the Giants defeated the Eagles 20-10 in a Divisional Playoff game due to Ron Dixon's 97-yard kickoff return and Jason Sehorn's acrobatic 32-yard interception return. This win would help propel the Giants to Super Bowl XXXV which they ultimately lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 34-7.
• In the two teams' first meeting of the 2006 season, Philadelphia held a 17-point lead going into the fourth quarter. However, the Giants rallied to tie the game, and go into overtime. In overtime, Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw a game winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Plaxico Burress, and the Giants won 30-24. In the second meeting, the Eagles, led by backup quarterback Jeff Garcia (who had replaced starter Donovan McNabb due to an injury to McNabb a few weeks earlier) enacted their revenge with a 36-22 victory, which was capped with DE Trent Cole intercepting a pass from Manning (who was getting hit and he ended up throwing the ball up in the air) and returning it for a touchdown. They would meet for a third time in the 2006-2007 playoffs, where the Giants rallied to tie the game at 20 in a late fourth quarter drive; the Eagles then executed a textbook late-game rush-oriented drive and won on a game-ending field goal, 23-20.
• The two teams split their 2008 meetings. The Giants rallied to edge the Eagles in Philly 36-31, then the Eagles stymied New York's offense en route to a 20-14 win at Giants Stadium. They met again on January 11, 2009 in the 2008 NFC Divisional Playoffs at Giants Stadium, the fourth career playoff matchup between the two as #6 seed Philadelphia Eagles defeated the top-seeded New York Giants 23-11, leaving the series tied 2-2 in the playoffs; it was also the 11th time in the 2000s that the road team won.
• On December 19, 2010, the Giants led the Eagles 31-10 with 7:28 left in the first game between the teams at New Meadowlands Stadium where first place in the NFC East was on the line. But the Eagles would rally to tie the score, then win the game on DeSean Jackson's 65 yard punt return for a touchdown with no time left on the clock for a shocking 38-31 victory. The Elias Sports Bureau also believes that this is the first walk-off punt return in NFL history. The Giants went on to miss the playoffs, despite finishing tied for first with the Eagles at 10-6, and the Eagles lost their last two games.
• In 2011, the Eagles and Giants appeared to be heading in opposite directions. The Eagles had signed many high-profile free agents in the offseason, including Cullen Jenkins from the Green Bay Packers, Nnamdi Asomugha from the Oakland Raiders, and Vince Young from the Tennessee Titans. The Giants, meanwhile, lost tight end Kevin Boss and wide receiver Steve Smith to free agency. Steve Smith eventually signed with the Eagles. To make matters worse, the Giants began the 2011 season with eight players on injury reserve, including starters Terrell Thomas (CB) and Jonathan Goff (MLB). Prior to their Week 4 match-up in Philadelphia on September 25, the Giants lost Domenik Hixon (WR) for the season and Mario Manningham, Prince Amukamara and Osi Umenyiora ruled out for the game as well. As such, the Eagles were heavily favored to win the game. However, the Giants victimized the Eagles defense with two huge plays (a 40 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs, and a 74 yard touchdown pass to second year man Victor Cruz) to finish the 1st quarter with a stunning 14-0 lead. The Eagles bounced back in the 3rd quarter to lead the Giants 16-14, but the Giants rallied to take a 22-16 lead and knocked Eagles quarterback Michael Vick out of the game with a broken hand. With Eagles back-up quarterback Mike Kafka entering the game the Giants intercepted two passes in the 4th quarter to ultimately win 29-16, stunning the Eagles faithful. This was the Giants' first victory against the Eagles since the 2008 regular season. The Eagles finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs, while the Giants won the NFC East with a 9-7 record, and went on to win Super Bowl XLVI.
• Giants and Eagles played on Sunday night of week 3 of the 2012-13 season. The game was at 0-0 by the first two minute warning. Giants and Eagles both picked up on offense since then and Eagles gained a 19-17 lead with little time remaining for Manning and the Giants to lead a late fourth quarter drive which they'd seemed to master. Giants failed to get to great field goal range, and so Lawrence Tynes attempted a 52 yard field goal. He missed it but the play was ruled off as Andy Reid called time out. He gave it another shot and hit it dead in the middle, but not far enough.
• In the December 30, 2012 game with the third largest point spread (35 points) between these two teams, Eli Manning set two new personal records. Having been known for producing most of his points in the 4th quarter of his games played, he scored 21 points in the first quarter and 28 points in the first half during this game. Both new records for Eli Manning. He also set a season high 5 touchdowns, giving Rueben Randle his first 2 touchdown game, and fullback Henry Hynoski his first NFL touchdown.