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Distractions, Eagles Catch Up With Giants

The Associated Press

Published: December 8, 2008

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The New York Giants finally found a bigger distraction than Plaxico Burress: Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and the desperate Philadelphia Eagles.

Westbrook ran 30 yards for a touchdown, caught another 40-yarder from McNabb, and the Eagles defense limited the Giants to 211 total yards in a 20-14 victory Sunday that ended the Super Bowl champions' seven-game winning streak. The Giants (11-2) still won the NFC East title when Pittsburgh beat Dallas 20-13 later Sunday.

"I just think we kind of beat them," Eagles tight end L.J. Smith said. "It's tough to say. That's one of those: 'How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll?' Who knows if the distractions hurt them and helped us? I don't know."

McNabb finished 19 of 30 for 191 yards on a windy day that the Eagles controlled the ball for almost 35 minutes. Westbrook was the workhorse, gaining 131 yards on 33 carries and catching six passes for 72 yards.

The Eagles (7-5-1) are back in the playoff hunt after winning their second straight.

However, this is going to remembered as the game the Giants came up empty after a week of scrutiny and media hype following the suspension of Burress for the rest of the season and an investigation into the role of middle linebacker Antonio Pierce in the aftermath of the incident in which Burress shot himself in a Manhattan nightclub.

Pierce, who talked to investigators in the office of the Manhattan district attorney Friday, was nowhere to be found on Westbrook's 30-yard run. He also was three steps behind on a crossing pattern on the clinching TD in the fourth quarter.

"It was just a bad game," said Pierce, who had a game-high 15 tackles.

Burress, who faces illegal weapons charges, also was missed. Domenik Hixon, his replacement, dropped a 50-yard pass right in his hands with New York trailing 3-0 in the first half.

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