Eagles   Team Page   Schedule   Stats

Giants   Team Page   Schedule   Stats

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Brian Mitchell got a first-hand look at his replacement with the Philadelphia Eagles .

Brian Westbrook returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown with 1:16 remaining, lifting the Eagles to a 14-10 victory over the New York Giants in a matchup of sputtering NFC East teams.

The NFL's all-time leading punt and kickoff returner, Mitchell spent the last three seasons with the Eagles before leaving for the Giants as a free agent. The loss was considered a major blow to the Eagles' special teams.

Westbrook, who is in his second season, had been unspectacular through five games as Mitchell's replacement before coming up with the biggest play of his young career.

After the Giants failed to pick up a first down which would have run out the clock, Westbrook made the play of the game.

The fastest player on the Eagles, Westbrook fielded Jeff Feagles ' punt on a bounce at his 16 and raced up the left sideline. He avoided David Tyree , outran Feagles to the sideline, then avoided a diving Marcellus Rivers on his way to the end zone.

"I didn't want the ball to bounce all the way down to the 5, 6, 7-yard line, so I was trying to catch it," Westbrook said. "The guys on that team did a great job blocking it and all I had to do was make one man miss and that was the end of it."

"He's been so close on so many here that you just knew he was going to break one and what a great time to do it," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.

Tyree thought a penalty should have been called on the play.

"To me personally, I felt like I got clipped," Tyree said. "Obviously, there are some things that need to be looked at, but after he passed me, he took off and had a clear sideline."

Giants coach Jim Fassel obviously was upset at the coverage.

"What we did was not unsound; I have to look to see where we are," Fassel said. "I would be more inclined to say that if we don't practice that or if we are disorganized or whatever - we protected , we kicked it, you have to cover the damn thing when you kick it and tackle the guy.'

Feagles said the punt was supposed to go out of bounds.

"Yes, I wanted to get it out of bounds because if I get it out of bounds, what happens, doesn't happen," Feagles said. "It's the end of the story."

It was the first career punt return for a score for Westbrook and yet another special teams blunder by the Giants.

In addition to botching a snap in last season's playoff loss at San Francisco, the Giants also blew a game at home in Week Two against Dallas when Matt Bryant had a kickoff go out of bounds with 11 seconds remaining. Dallas eventually got into field goal range before winning in overtime.

"We had another game earlier in the season, the thing with the kick but with a lot less time," Fassel said. "It is unbelieveable - never in my life has this gone on like this."

Westbrook's return also was another "Miracle at the Meadowlands" for the Eagles. In 1978, quarterback Joe Pisarcik fumbled as the Giants were running out the clock. Herman Edwards picked up the ball to give Philadelphia an unexpected win

Westbrook's return also helped overshadow an abysmal day by Donovan McNabb , who completed just 9-of-23 passes for 64 yards and an interception.

In the second half, McNabb completed just 2-of-7 passes for 10 yards and guided the Eagles to one first down. The Eagles finished with 134 total yards and nine first downs.

"The confidence is definitely there," he said. "Statistically, we are not where we want to be but when you go 3-3 and put yourself in position to continue this thing on and compete for the top, you can't worry about what statistics say."

Reid admitted he thought of benching McNabb.

"I thought about that at halftime," Reid said. "I talked to him and he came out and he just made some great throws in the second half that we didn't come up with."

Despite McNabb's ineffectiveness, the Eagles (3-3) avoided falling into last place in the division.

Kerry Collins tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey in the third quarter for the Giants (2-4), who committed two turnovers in falling into the basement in the division.

After Westbrook's return, Collins drove the Giants to the Eagles 38. But on 4th-and-4, his pass intended for Shockey was knocked away by cornerback Bobby Taylor .

Coming into the game with just one offensive touchdowns and nine turnovers in their last two games, the Giants moved the ball at times and looked to be in control of the contest.

Holding a 10-7 lead, the Giants reached the Eagles 5 with just over eight minutes remaining in the contest. But on 3rd-and-goal, linebacker Mark Simoneau came untouched on a blitz and knocked the ball away from Collins. Defensive tackle Corey Simon recovered at the 10.

"That's completely my fault," Collins said. "They brought a dog (blitz) and we had it blocked but it's a tough blocking scheme. We knew they were going to get the penetration."

Collins was sacked three times. He lost one of his best linemen in the first quarter when left guard Rich Seubert suffered a fractured right leg.

After directing just one scoring drive in the first half, Collins drove the Giants 62 yards in 12 plays on their second possession of the third quarter.

Collins had a 12-yard completion to Rivers and 11-yard run on a 3rd-and-10 play to the Eagles 12. But it was holding penalty on Troy Vincent on 3rd-and-goal from the 4 that kept the drive alive.

One play after Vincent's penalty, Collins used a play-action pass to find Shockey across the middle for a one-yard score. Shockey celebrated his second touchdown of the season by kicking the ball into the stands.

It was the Giants' first touchdown in their last 26 possessions and Collins' initial TD pass in his last 147 attempts. Collins completed 22-of-36 passes for 174 yards.

The Giants found more success on the ground. Tiki Barber carried 19 times for 79 yards and former Eagle Dorsey Levens had 64 on 16 attempts.

McNabb - the NFL's highest paid quarterback - has struggled the entire season. He came into the contest battling a sprained right thumb, but started by completing his first five passes.

On the Eagles' second possession of the first quarter, McNabb directed a 10-play, 89-yard march. The drive was aided by a 41-yard pass interference penalty on Ralph Brown , who was replacing the injured Will Peterson, to the Giants 33.

Five plays later, McNabb hit rookie tight end L.J. Smith over the middle for 25 yards to the 6. After an incompletion, Westbrook ran around the right side and dove in for a six-yard touchdown, giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead 3:14 left in the first quarter.

Westbrook carried 15 times for 67 yards. He also finished as the club's leading receiver with three catches for 11 yards and accounted for 78 of the team's 134 yards.

With the Giants driving for the tying score late in the second quarter, Shockey was hit by linebacker Nate Wayne and fumbled. Defensive end Brandon Whiting recovered at his own 17.

But three plays later, McNabb was intercepted by cornerback Will Allen at his own 21. The miscue led to a 39-yard field goal by Brett Conway with 22 seconds left in the half, pulling the Giants within 7-3.