BY PAUL SCHWARTZ
A look back at the Giants 36-31 victory over the Eagles:
PLAY OF THE GAME: With 6:25 remaining in the third quarter and the Giants trailing 24-20 Eli Manning found tight end Kevin Boss on a 17-yard completion to the Eagles 3-yard line, but even before the catch was made penalty flags hit the grass. It was third-and-10 and Manning was flushed out of the pocket and, with room to maneuver, thought about trying to run for the long first down. At the last moment he stopped, planted his right foot and made the throw but at first glance it appeared as if he stepped over the line of scrimmage before releasing the ball. Manning was called for an illegal forward pass and the five-yard penalty set the stage for John Carney to come onto the field to attempt a 43-yard field goal. Manning immediately pointed to the sideline chains and reminded Tom Coughlin of the rule that the entire body of the quarterback had to be over the line. “I just know that rule where your entire body has to be across the line of scrimmage, if you have one toe on the line of scrimmage then it’s a legal pass,” Manning said. Manning asked Coughlin to challenge the ruling on the field and, after consulting with assistants Chris Palmer and Mike Sullivan up in the booth, Coughlin was convinced it would be a worthwhile gamble. Sure enough, the replay challenge determined that Manning had indeed dragged his right foot at the line of scrimmage – the 20-yard line – and the call was reversed. Two plays later, Brandon Jacobss scored on a 3-yard run, the Giants led 27-24 and never trailed again.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I think it was a statement game for the division,” Amani Toomer said. “We let everybody know we went through it one time, beat everybody pretty handily and we’re a team to be reckoned with.”
BREAKDOWN: This was the game the rest of the NFC East needed the Giants to lose in order to maintain hope that the frontrunners could be brought back to the pack. It didn’t happen, and the Giants (8-1) now have a two-game lead over the Redskins (6-3) and a three-game lead over the Eagles (5-4) and Cowboys (5-4). In addition, the Giants are 3-0 in the division with victories over all three of their division rivals, setting themselves up beautifully for the NFC East title.
UP NEXT: It’s back home for the Giants, who are 5-0 this season at Giants Stadium after struggling there (6-10) the past two years. The Giants in their final game against an AFC opponent face the Ravens (6-3), who are one of the hottest teams in the league, riding a four-game winning streak behind surprising rookie quarterback Joe Flacco.