PHILADELPHIA – In a season that has given us Matt Cassel instead of Tom Brady, the deterioration of the Cowboys without Tony Romo, and mediocrity and backup quarterbacks everywhere you turn, we are treated tonight to The Game of the Year in the NFL.
The perfect storm for a Broad Street Brawl, or Turnpike Tussle, or whatever you prefer to call it, always is in place when the Giants and Eagles knock heads, all these years after Bednarik and Gifford, but never more than tonight, on NBC, in prime time.
The Eagles show up tonight at the Lincoln Financial Field as the football equivalent of the Mets, who just endured the sickening feeling of watching Jimmy Rollins and the hated Phillies win the World Series and then taunt them during the parade. Never forget that the Andy Reid-Donovan McNabb-Brian Westbrook Eagles have never won a Super Bowl. Never forget that the Tom Coughlin-Eli Manning Giants just did, and are damn serious about becoming the first Giants team to defend that Lombardi Trophy.
It means the Eagles feel like second-class citizens in their own city, as well as in their own division.
This is their chance to earn some Brotherly Love in a game that only will define their season.
It means the 2008 Giants will be the hunted tonight more than they have ever been the hunted.
Giants-Steelers two weeks ago may or may not prove to be a preview of Super Bowl XLIII, pending the health of Ben Roethlisberger and whether Kerry Collins and the Titans can continue to put together a fairy-tale season.
Giants-Eagles very well could prove to be a preview of the NFC Championship game.
It is the Game of the Year tonight because there is nothing better than watching 7-1 defending champions with NY on their helmets, swagger fearlessly with their road warrior mentality into battle against a desperate 5-3 blood rival, fueled by its bloodthirsty fans. Desperate because if they lose this one, and show enough character and toughness to make it to any NFC Championship game, they will not be playing it at home, and very well might be playing it at Giants Stadium.
It is the Game of the Year because it is a clash between the philosophies of “talk is cheap and play the game,” and “silence isn’t golden and talk the game.”
“We’re going to learn a lot from this game,” Eagles defensive end Trent Cole said. “I’m not saying this is the only big game, but this game I’m counting on winning. We’re going to win. I refuse to lose. We refuse to lose. Losing is not in our vocabulary, and it won’t be in our vocabulary. I don’t even know why I’m saying the word losing.”
It is the Game of the Year because McNabb, no longer inhibited by his surgical knee, is an elite quarterback again. This means he will not get knock-kneed at the mere sight of Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka or the waves of blitzers coordinator Steve Spagnuolo sends at him, the way most quarterbacks have. Because McNabb, behind an offensive line (13 sacks) that will not be surrendering 12 sacks to the Giants, now spreads the wealth to wideouts Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson and even tight end Brent Celek and/or L.J. Smith.
“We’ve got to show them who the big dog is,” Cole said.
It is the Game of the Year because Westbrook gives Big Blue the kind of stress that Tiki Barber used to give Jim Johnson’s Eagles defense.
It is The Game of the Year because Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward think they can wear the Eagles down by the fourth quarter on their way to twin 1,000-yard seasons, except the Eagles – eighth against the run – don’t think they can.
It is The Game of the Year because Eli Manning needs Plaxico Burress to awaken from his slumber and start dominating again, and veteran cornerback Asante Samuel was signed as a free agent to shut down any and all go-to guys that Sheldon Brown could not.
“This is putting us in a position on the road to where we want to go,” Cole said. “This is the road to the top – win the division and the Super Bowl and getting to wear that big ring we’ve always wanted.”
Game of the Year.