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EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- New year, same story. Rookie Ron Dixon returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and cornerback Jason Sehorn scored on an acrobatic 32-yard interception to lead the New York Giants to a 20-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in a divisional playoff game between NFC East rivals. The Giants (13-4) have dominated the rivalry, winning all nine meetings since Jim Fassel took over as coach in 1997, and reached the NFC championship game for the first time since January 1991 en route to their last Super Bowl title. They will host the Minnesota Vikings (12-5) in the NFC championship on January 14. It didn't take long for the Eagles (12-6) to realize it would be a difficult chore to break the Giants' mystique on Sunday. Dixon, who was suspended for the regular season finale two weeks ago for missing a team meeting, opened the game with the first kickoff return for a touchdown in the franchise's 34-game postseason history and the first of his career. "I guess after that they had to say 'here we go again,'" Fassel said. "We were basically going backwards from there," said Eagles cornerback Bobby Taylor. Sehorn's interception was one for the highlight reel. He dove to his left in front of Torrance Small near the sideline and attempted to cradle the ball with both arms. As Sehorn rolled over, he lost control but managed to bat the ball up in the air with his right arm. He sprung to his feet, grabbed the ball with both hands and raced into the end zone, increasing New York's lead to 17-0 with 1:40 left in the half. "I told him (Sehorn) I've never seen a play like that," Fassel said. "That shows what kind of athleticism he has and also how hungry he is." "It was just one of those situations where I was able to break on it," Sehorn said. "I think it was just laying there and I didn't want it to hit the ground so I just batted it up. It's not something you can practice." Fassel and defensive coordinator John Fox again devised a game plan which confused NFL MVP runnerup Donovan McNabb, who accounted for 76 percent of the Eagles offense this season. McNabb endured his worst game of the season here on October 29, completing just 10-of-31 passes for 129 yards with an interception in a 24-7 loss. On Sunday, he threw his only touchdown -- a 10-yarder to Small -- with just 1:56 left in the game and completed 20-of-41 passes for 181 yards. And that came after James Bostic blocked a punt and returned it 13 yards to the New York 8. New York's defensive schemes -- a clever mixture of blitzes, man-to-man defense and various zones along with the employment of a "spy" to monitor McNabb -- shackled the Eagles and forced three turnovers. "We man-upped, we blitzed, I think we just confused him at times," Giants linebacker Jessie Armstead said. "Coach Fox comes with a lot of different defenses and schemes, but it's up to the players to execute. He puts us in a lot of situations where we can make plays." With middle linebacker Mike Barrow playing the role of "spy" and a strong pass rush led by end Michael Strahan, the Giants sacked McNabb six times and restricted his mobility. Strahan had two of the sacks and McNabb was held to 17 yards on five carries. "We forced him to be a pocket passer and that's not their scheme," Sehorn said. "Their scheme is move him around and do a lot of different things." "They did a lot of things," McNabb said. "They blitzed on first, second and third downs, put us back in a hole on third and long," McNabb said. "Whenever you get caught in that situation, the defense can do what they want to do." The Giants held the Eagles to 11 first downs and 186 total yards. "They dominated us, particularly defensively," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "We obviously had too many mistakes to go along with that. With the turnovers and the two big plays we allowed, you can't afford to do that. Our offense just couldn't get it started." New York did not fare much better offensively with 15 first downs and 237 total yards and also committed three turnovers. Brad Daluiso kicked field goals of 37 and 25 yards to account for the only scoring from the Giants offense. New York's Kerry Collins completed 12-of-19 passes for 125 yards. Top receivers Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard combined for just five catches for 58 yards. Playing with a broken bone in his left forearm, Tiki Barber rushed for just 35 yards on 15 carries and fumbled once, resulting in a turnover, and caught three passes for 13 yards. Rookie Ron Dayne had 53 yards on 17 carries. "I wasn't apprehensive," Barber said. "I couldn't tell if I was favoring it or anything. I felt fine." Before a Giants Stadium record crowd of 78,765, Dixon fielded the opening kickoff at his 3, moved from his left to the middle, raced through a crease with the help of a block by Pete Monty and easily ran by kicker David Akers near midfield and cruised into the end zone. "Once I broke through the hole I saw the kicker and I said I'm not going to let anyone catch me," Dixon said. "Once I broke through that hole, it was over." The last player to start a postseason game with a kickoff return for a touchdown was Nat Moore of Miami in a December 1974 divisional playoff against Oakland. "It's rough being down seven before the defense even touches the field," Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said. "But they made the plays, we didn't. Their defense scored, our defense should've scored. And that's the way the ball bounced." After the disastrous start, the Eagles did little offensively with four three-and-outs and three turnovers in their first eight first-half possessions. New York's first field goal, a 37-yarder by Daluiso five seconds into the second quarter, was set up by a turnover. Giants safety Shaun Williams hit Small after a nine-yard catch, jarring the ball loose and cornerback Dave Thomas picked it out of the air for New York at the Philadelphia 34. "Shaun Williams did a really good job of coming in," Thomas said. "We had inside out coverage and Shaun basically just hit and knocked the ball out and it was up in the air for me to get." A 12-yard pass from Collins to Barber moved the Giants to the 21. Four plays later, Daluiso increased New York's lead to 10-0. The Giants forced another turnover when McNabb fumbled after being sacked by Strahan and end Cedric Jones recovered at the Eagles 26 with 4:09 left in the half. But three plays later, Barber had the ball stripped away by safety Damon Moore, who also recovered the fumble at the Philadelphia 14 After Sehorn's interception opened a 17-0 lead, Brian Mitchell returned the ensuing kickoff 34 yards to midfield. After a 12-yard pass to Small and two completions for 24 yards to Charles Johnson, David Akers kicked a 28-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the half. Philadelphia went three-and-out on its first two second-half possessions, but received a turnover when Toomer fumbled a punt return after being hit by Moore and Mike Bartrum recovered for the Eagles at the New York 32. However, after a 13-yard pass by McNabb to running back Chris Warren and seven-yard pass to tight end Chad Lewis, the drive stalled at the 12 and Akers missed wide right on a 30-yard field goal attempt with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter. The Giants put together a 13-play, 88-yard drive which consumed more than eight minutes and resulted in Daluiso's second field goal -- a 25-yarder with 8:41 left. Collins hit tight end Pete Mitchell with passes of 33 and 14 yards to key the drive. |
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