PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For 90 years, the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants haven’t exactly liked each other.
This weekend, what might be the biggest installment of the bitter gathering between the guys who fly in green and white, and the men in big blue up the turnpike, will be told.
Saturday night at 8:15 p.m., the top-seeded Eagles will host the up-and-coming sixth-seeded Giants in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. The 14-3 Eagles have had a wonderful season that the 9-7-1 Giants, fresh off their first postseason win in over a decade, will look to spoil.
This series goes back to Oct. 15, 1933, when the Giants annihilated the visiting Eagles 56-0.
But overall, the Eagles lead 91-87-2, including wins in 24 of the last 30 meetings dating back to Dec. 7, 2008.
In postseason action, they each have won twice. Saturday brings the rubber match for now, with a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line.
Here are the top 10 Eagles moments in the history of this matchup in order of descending history, with obvious room for debate.
Sept. 24, 2017, Lincoln Financial Field – Elliott stuns the Giants
When you think about it, kicker Jake Elliott wasn’t supposed to be an Eagle, but this moment set the tone for the Super Bowl LII championship season, and frankly led to him likely becoming a franchise legend.
A loss by the 1-1 Eagles in the home opener might have sent that memorable ride in the wrong direction. But the rookie from the University of Memphis, who had recently been signed from the Bengals practice squad due to an injury to kicker Caleb Sturgis, came through and sent the Giants into a long stretch of failure.
The Eagles led 14-0 going to the fourth quarter but squandered the lead to fall behind. Eventually, the game was tied at 24 after Elliott – who missed a 52-yard field goal in the third quarter – nailed a 46-yarder with less than a minute to go.
Thanks to penalties and bad clock management, the Eagles forced a three-and-out, giving the ball back to the offense with just enough time for quarterback Carson Wentz to find wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and get Elliott in range, so to speak.
Who would have thought Elliott was making a 61-yarder? Few probably did.
But that’s what happened: The longest field goal in Eagles history. Elliott's teammates carried him off the field and the 2017 Eagles went on a Super roll.
Dec. 19, 2010, MetLife Stadium – DeSean walks them off
In a game with major implications in the standings, the Eagles trailed the Giants 31-10 midway through the fourth quarter. New York dominated.
But Michael Vick and the Eagles slowly chipped away at the deficit with a rally that included a 65-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brent Celek.
With 1:24 left in regulation, Vick passed to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin for a 13-yard touchdown to tie the game at 31-all. The Giants subsequently went three-and-out, and had to punt with 14 seconds left.
Evidently, the directives from Giants head coach Tom Coughlin to punter Matt Dodge was to not kick the football to dynamic punt returner and wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
But Dodge did.
Jackson bobbled the punt, which arguably threw the Giants' special teams off, and then he was gone. He sprinted up the sideline with the sound of exasperated Giants fans in the background on that cold December day.
Jackson produced a walk-off punt return touchdown in what Eagles radio analyst and former wide receiver Mike Quick called “Miracle at the Meadowlands Number Two!”
You could make the argument that it was the third installment of “Miracle at the Meadowlands” – which we’ll get into further down the story. Nonetheless, this win help set up the Eagles to earn the 2010 NFC East championship.
Jan. 7, 2007 – Lincoln Financial Field – Akers sends the Giants home
The 2006 Eagles became NFC East champions thanks to a late-season rally from backup quarterback Jeff Garcia, filling-in for the injured Donovan McNabb.
The Giants, who shocked the Eagles with a comeback win at the Linc earlier that season, essentially duplicated that feat during Wild Card weekend – erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game at 20 late in regulation.
But Garcia, and especially running back Brian Westbrook, led the Eagles on a five-minute, four-second drive with effective time management (believe it or not with an Andy Reid-coached team) to set up a David Akers game-winning field goal attempt in the rainy conditions of South Philadelphia.
Akers made a 46-yard field goal to end the Giants’ season.
Sept. 12, 2004, Lincoln Financial Field – Welcome to town, T.O.
Terrell Owens’ stint in Philadelphia was short, effective and full of way too much drama.
But before things became sour with Owens, McNabb and the Eagles, his first regular season game in Eagles green and white went spectacularly.
In major need for a playmaker after three seasons in a row of losing in the NFC Championship Game, the Eagles acquired Owens before the 2004 season.
In the season opener against the Giants at the Linc, Owens caught three touchdown passes and made it clear he was a star, and exactly what that team needed.
The team went on to Super Bowl XXXIX, and arguably would have defeated the Patriots in that game if Owens wasn’t playing fresh off recovering from a significant leg injury. Still, the 2004 opener set the tone for a big year for Owens and McNabb, and one that should have been the first chapter of a long relationship together.
Oct. 19, 2003, Giants Stadium – Westbrook saves the season
Frankly, I’ve always felt Westbrook saved the Andy Reid era when he made the play that some might consider the true second “Miracle at the Meadowlands,” making Jackson’s punt return in 2010 the last part of a trilogy.
The 2003 Eagles were coming off back-to-back seasons of losing in the NFC Championship game, including an absolutely heartbreaking defeat to the Buccaneers to turn the lights out at Veterans Stadium.
The Eagles were 2-3 to begin this season and not playing particularly well. However, when trailing 10-7 to the Giants on the road very late in the fourth quarter, Giants punter Jeff Feagles botted the ball to then-second-year returner/running back Westbrook, who sprinted down the field for 85 yards to put the Eagles in front 14-10.
That ended up being the final score and the first of nine wins in a row, en route to another NFC East title and birth in the conference championship game – only to lose again.
Nonetheless, if the Eagles dropped that game, they would have fallen to 2-4 instead of 3-3, and the frustration in Philadelphia would have been mounting.
Oct. 22, 2001, Giants Stadium – McNabb breaks the Giant curse
The Eagles had lost nine in a row to the Giants dating back to Aug. 31, 1997. That included a loss in the divisional round of the previous postseason. The Giants, led by Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan, simply had the Eagles' number.
That was until McNabb and the Eagles persevered through a low-scoring Monday Night Football affair, with McNabb finding wide receiver James Thrash in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown late to win the game 10-9.
Later in the season, on Dec. 30 at Veterans Stadium, McNabb and the Eagles came back on the defending NFC champion Giants late to go up 24-21, seconds away from their first NFC East title since 1988.
Then, using a nearly-successful trick play, Ron Dixon almost dashed the hearts of the Delaware Valley by falling yards short of a game-winning touchdown. He was stopped at the four-yard-line, and everyone at the Vet could take a deep breath and celebrate what was the first of four division titles in a row.
Nov. 22, 1992, Giants Stadium – Vai knocks out Big Blue
Vai Sikahema was not only a popular television news and sports anchor in Philadelphia, but a running back and returner on the Eagles in the early 1990s.
In 1992, Sikahema returned an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown to go up 40-20 in what turned into a 47-34 drubbing of New York. He subsequently punched the goal post, which had “Giants” written on it, like a punching bag.
A small, yet symbolic moment of this rivalry.
Oct. 10, 1988, Veterans Stadium – Randall dazzles in Eagles’ return to Monday Night Football
Buddy Ryan’s Eagles were coming into their own in the late 1980s, led by “the Ultimate Weapon” Randall Cunningham on offense and a tenacious defense featuring forces like Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Seth Joyner, Clyde Simmons, and Eric Allen – to name a handful.
It was the first time in seven years the Eagles played on Monday Night Football – a marquee game of the week.
Cunningham made a lot of spectacular plays in his career, but one that sticks out to many is one he made in the second quarter of this game against Bill Parcells’ Giants.
While in Giants territory, Cunningham was rolling to his right looking to pass toward the end zone. Giants linebacker Carl Banks tried to tackle him and appeared to be in the process of knocking Cunningham down.
Cunningham amazingly gathered his balance while falling, kept his knees of the turf and fired the football towards tight end Jimmie Giles for a touchdown.
They didn’t call Cunningham “the Ultimate Weapon” for nothing.
The Eagles won the game 24-13.
Nov. 19, 1978, Giants Stadium – The “Miracle at the Meadowlands”
So, how did the phrase “Miracle at the Meadowlands” start?
The 1978 Eagles, under the maturation of head coach Dick Vermeil, were trying to ascend in the NFL. On that afternoon, they were seconds from enduring a disappointing 17-12 loss to the Giants.
But instead of New York quarterback Joe Pisarcik safely kneeling down after the snap, he attempted to hand the ball to running back Larry Czonka.
Pisarcik fumbled it, and Eagles defensive back Herman Edwards scooped it up and ran it into the end zone for a 26-yard game winning touchdown to create a most-improbable 19-17 win that improved their record to 7-5.
They finished the season 9-7 – their first winning season since 1966, an accomplishment they clinched against the Giants at Veterans Stadium in the regular season finale.
Vermeil led the Eagles to postseason play for the first time since their 1960 NFL Championship, which leads to the final installment of this list.
Nov. 20, 1960, Yankee Stadium – ”This bleeping game is over!”
Chuck Bednarik, “Concrete Charlie,” is one of the most iconic Eagles of all time, whom some called the perfect Eagle. He played on both offense and defense, and was vicious.
Bednarik was an instrumental member of the 1960 NFL Championship Eagles team. In the final seconds of the NFL Title Game the day after Christmas at Franklin Field, with the Packers driving to a potential clinching touchdown, he made the final tackle as the clock ran out to give the Eagles their last championship until 2017.
During that 1960 season, while on the road at the Giants, Bednarik was part of a play that to this day is seen on posters, pictures, paintings and many YouTube videos about NFL history.
Again during an opponent’s drive that could have eliminated an Eagles lead late in the fourth quarter, Bednarik absolutely leveled Giants halfback Frank Gifford and forced a fumble that Chuck Weber recovered to clinch a 17-10 win over New York.
Bednarik’s hit knocked Gifford unconscious, out of the game, and out of football for a season.
In celebrating the tackle, Bednarik raised his fist and shouted, “This [expletive] game is over!” He happened to be standing close to Gifford at the time, so the legendary photo looks like he’s gloating over his injured body while celebrating. Bednarik explained he had no clue where Gifford was.
Nonetheless, Gifford recovered to play again while Bednarik led his team to a title. The play remains a staple of football history, and a signature moment in Eagles lore.