Divisional Playoff Report Card: Eagles-Giants

Donovan McNabb made some big plays after a slow start against the Giants. Chris McGrath/Getty Images

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Grading out the performances during the Eagles' 23-11 divisional-round win (Recap | Box) over the Giants on Sunday.

Philadelphia Eagles

Quarterbacks: Taking a step back and looking at Donovan McNabb's performance as a whole, I found it to be more miss than hit on Sunday -- his two interceptions and intentional grounding directly led to eight Giants' points. But when it counted, McNabb came through. In addition to his first-quarter TD, McNabb converted a big 3rd and 20, scrambling to find Jason Avant to keep a third-quarter drive alive. And McNabb went 5-of-7 on the game-sealing drive, capped off by a 1-yard pass to tight end Brent Celek. McNabb wasn't perfect, but the Eagles will take it. Grade: B-

Running Backs: Brian Westbrook knew it was going to be a long day when his first two carries were for negative yardage. The Eagles never made much of a dent in the ground game, averaging just 2.1 yards per carry. Westbrook does get high marks, though, for converting a 3rd and 1 on a toss sweep, giving the Eagles first and goal at the 1. Celek's TD came on the next play. Grade: C

Receivers: It was all about redemption for this crew. Celek, a backup tight end, made up for two point-blank drops with his fourth-quarter touchdown. Kevin Curtis, after dropping a beautiful long ball from McNabb, came right back to make three straight first-down catches, two in heavy traffic. Avant and DeSean Jackson caught four balls apiece and were able to shake the Giants DBs fairly consistently. Grade: A-

Offensive Line: A pretty nondescript game for the Eagles offensive line. A costly breakdown up front led to the second-quarter safety and they never provided a considerable surge in the run game. In pass protection, the Eagles allowed some pressure but no sack, a pretty impressive feat against the Giants strong pass rush. Grade: C+

Defensive Line: This unit fared relatively well against the Giants vaunted rushing attack. The tackles did a good job clogging up the middle, pushing Brandon Jacobs to the outside and forcing the Eagles linebackers to make the tackle, which they often did. And although they didn't record a sack of Eli Manning, the Eagles did get pressure on him, most notably inside their own 30, never allowing the Giants to get into the end zone. Grade: B

Linebackers: Two plays stood out with this unit. Stewart Bradley's solid open-field tackle of Derrick Ward saved a TD on the first drive. Chris Gocong shot the gap on the pivotal 4th and inches play in the fourth quarter to stone Manning's sneak attempt. This group did make its share of mistakes - Bradley's hands to the face penalty in the second quarter and later falling down trying to cover Kevin Boss on a long pass play come to mind - but all in all, a solid day. Grade: B+

Defensive Backs: Some pretty big individual plays led to a big day for the Eagles secondary. Asante Samuel's first-quarter interception of Manning set the tone early. Sheldon Brown's shoestring tackle of Jacobs in the second quarter probably saved a touchdown. Quentin Mikell got in on the act with his late INT. And Brian Dawkins made his presence felt with a couple of big hits. Grade: A-

Special Teams: David Akers wasn't bothered by a typically windy day at Giants Stadium as he converted all three field goals he attempted. It gave Akers 18 straight in the postseason, breaking the NFL record of 16 held by Gary Anderson. Akers also saved a touchdown on the opening kickoff by taking a great angle on Domenik Hixon and knocking him out of bounds. Grade: A

Coaching: The Eagles moved the ball better than they had the entire first half when they went into the two-minute drill at the end of the second quarter. Andy Reid and Co. picked up on that, spreading the ball around in the air more in the second half. And Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson deserves credit for keeping the pressure on Manning and forcing him to win it with a somewhat mediocre receiving corps. Grade: A-

New York Giants

Quarterbacks: Manning's day got off to a bad start when he overthrew Hixon and was picked by Samuel. He seemed to find his stride after that -- hitting Kevin Boss and Hixon for long passes, converting on a couple key third downs - but was never able to punch it in the end zone. Manning's final INT was more about the situation than it was about being a bad pass. His lack of weapons will be talked about in the offseason, but hard to put all the blame on that. Grade: C

Running Backs: Jacobs (19 carries, 92 yards) was more effective than Ward (12 carries, 46 yards), and the Giants seemed afraid to give too much of the workload to Jacobs, who was playing in his first game in three weeks. Ward also had a costly drop on third down, turning what would have been a 41- or 42-yard field goal attempt into John Carney's 47-yarder that the wind pushed wide left. Grade: B-

Receivers: They all had their moments -- Steve Smith's big third-down catch in front of Dawkins; Boss' two long receptions in the second quarter; Hixon's 34-yard grab in the third -- but nobody stepped up to make a big play when the Giants needed it. Grade: C

Offensive Line: When it mattered most, this unit didn't get it done. On two fourth-down plays in the fourth quarter, the Giants line was pushed backwards, once on the Manning sneak and again on Jacobs' run on 4th and 2. They did, however, keep Manning sack-free. Grade: C

Defensive Line: As Justin Tuck goes, so goes the Giants defensive line. Case in point: Tuck limps off the field with an injury in the third quarter and the very next play, McNabb has all day to convert on third and 10. Tuck returns and three plays later he forces McNabb into a hurried incompletion on third down, forcing the Eagles to settle for a FG. Earlier in the game, Tuck's pressure led to McNabb's intentional grounding in the end zone. And Fred Robbins was able to live every defensive tackle's dream, picking off a pass and getting to showcase his "speed" during a 17-yard return. Good game, but obviously not enough. Grade: A-

Linebackers: The good? Chase Blackburn's batted pass led to Robbins' INT. The bad? Antonio Pierce had a costly facemask penalty on L.J. Smith during the Eagles second-half touchdown drive. Overall, the LBs played a part in shutting down the Eagles' running game but, like the line, it wasn't enough. Grade: B

Defensive Backs: If the Giants had won this game, the MVP may have been Terrell Thomas. The backup cornerback made plays all over the field, tackling Westbrook for a three-yard loss, blitzing McNabb to cause Derrick Dockery's INT and even diving to down a punt inside the Eagles 5. The Giants secondary, though, allowed too many big plays through the air. Grade: B-

Special Teams: With his counterpart Akers having a perfect day, Carney had a difficult time figuring out the swirling Meadowlands winds, missing both a 46-yarder and a 47-yarder at critical times. Grade: D

Coaching: In a city that loves to second-guess, Tom Coughlin will have to defend his Sunday decisions. It starts with his challenging of the spot of Ward's third-down run in the fourth quarter, which the referees upheld, costing the Giants a critical timeout. The second head-scratcher came on the subsequent 4th and inches play, when the Giants called Manning's number despite having perhaps the best short-yardage back in football in Jacobs. And lastly, there was Coughlin's decision to give the ball to Jacobs on 4th and 2 when everyone in the stadium -- including the Eagles defense -- knew it was going to him. Hard to second-guess a Super Bowl-winning coach, but here's predicting it won't stop the fans. Grade: D