The Giants were caught by the inevitable last Sunday and could be the victims of an unstoppable moving object seven days later.
It was only a matter of when the Dallas Cowboys would finally come back to life. It happened against the Giants on Sunday in a 33-20 win. Likewise, the rebirth of quarterback Michael Vick as the most potent offensive force in football could be ominous for the Giants’ aspirations of winning the NFC East division title.
They will take the short trip to Philadelphia to face Vick’s Eagles this Sunday night (8:20 P.M. kickoff) in a game that will decide who rises to take hold of first place in the division. The longtime rivals are tied for the lead at 6-3 and the Eagles will be fresh off a 59-28 torturing of the Washington Redskins on Monday in which Vick rewrote the history book.
He became the first player in NFL lore to account for at least 300 yards passing, 50 yards rushing, four touchdown passes and two rushing scores in a single game. .
The Giants and the Eagles will be connecting for the first time this season and will meet again at the Meadowlands on December 19 in what will be a critical game in deciding the eventual division champion.
The Dallas Cowboys, a 1-7 mess prior to defeating the Giants, were ultimately going to display the promise that had them as a Super Bowl pick by many heading into this season. And their somewhat surprising victory reaffirmed the thin line between success and failure in the National Football League and the narrow gap that separates wins and loses on a weekly basis.
“We’ve got to re-establish who we are, sink our feet into the sand a little bit and come out swinging,” said Giants head coach Tom Coughlin subsequnet to his team’s setback.
“We’ve got a lot of issues that have got to be straightened out…Regardless of how we figure the chemistry of the groups on either side of the ball or with special teams, that’s all got to get cleaned up and cleaned up fast.”
With wide receivers Steve Smith (possibly out until December with a torn pectoral muscle) and Ramses Barden (likely done for the season with a fractured ankle) unavailble for the Eagles game, the Giants’ defense will have added pressure to slow down Vick.
Good luck!