For the Eagles, a boot that fits the season
If one kick can serve as a microcosm for an entire football season, David Akers' 57-yard field goal attempt today was it.
If one kick can serve as a microcosm for an entire football season, David Akers' 57-yard field goal attempt today was it.
Just like this exercise in frustration being conducted on a weekly basis by the 2007 Eagles, Akers' kick looked good at liftoff.
"As soon as he hit it, it sounded like he hit it pretty good," holder/punter Sav Rocca said. "As soon as I stood up, it looked like it was going straight and I kept thinking it was going to go through."
It was so, so, so close and then it made that agonizing sound of football clanging against goal post.
Just like this Eagles season, it was no good.
A chance to go into overtime was gone and the Eagles' hopes of returning to the playoffs were reduced from slim to as close as you can get to none. Only mathematics and a weak NFC allow them to still be alive after their 16-13 loss to the New York Giants that included the return of quarterback Donovan McNabb and the reappearance of a lackluster offense unable to take advantage of scoring opportunities.
"I thought it was good," linebacker Takeo Spikes said when asked about Akers' bid to tie the game in the final seconds. "That play kind of sums up how this season has gone for us up until this point: close, but yet so far away."
The Eagles lost for the third straight time and slipped to 5-8 with three games left to play. The three losses to three teams with a combined record of 31-8 have come by a combined total of 10 points.
So, so, so close.
"We have too much talent on this team to be in the position where we're at," Spikes said. "How do we fix it? We continue to work. That's the only thing you can do, but this is disappointing."
The Eagles' frustration level peaked on their final two possessions.
On their penultimate offensive series, the Eagles went from their own 5-yard line to the Giants' 43, but consecutive runs by Westbrook resulted in the loss of one yard and left McNabb and the offense facing a fourth-and-six situation from the 44 following the two-minute warning.
McNabb threw to Jason Avant over the middle and it was obvious to everyone with eyes except referee Ron Winter's officiating crew that Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce hit the Eagles' receiver early.
Instead of a penalty and a first down, the Eagles turned the football over on downs.
"I can't get into it," Eagles coach Andy Reid said when asked about the call. "You could tell by my reaction. Go back and look at it. It's on film."
Avant and even Pierce confirmed the botched no call.
"I don't have the words to describe it," Avant said. "I was pretty hot about it because I didn't have a chance to catch it. He hit me and the ball came. That's what happened."
Said Pierce: "I really don't care. It didn't get called. It's irrelevant. It's one of those plays like Franco Harris' [Immaculate Reception] catch. Did he catch it or not? We got the win and that's all that matters."
The win mattered a lot for the Giants, too. They improved to 9-4 and clinched a wildcard playoff berth.
More controversy ensued on the Eagles' final possession. McNabb connected on consecutive passes to Reggie Brown and Greg Lewis to get the Eagles from their own 11-yard line to the 48. After the second completion, however, precious seconds ticked off while Westbrook was deliberately prevented to getting lined up for the next play by Giants cornerback Sam Madison.
"I thought he had his shirt caught in my helmet or something, but that wasn't the case," Westbrook said. "He continued to try to press his elbow in my neck. The ref shouldn't allow that type of thing to happen at the end of the game, but they were trying to slow me down from getting to the line. He was right there. He saw it. He had the opportunity to make the call. He just didn't do it at that time."
After Westbrook finally got set up, McNabb spiked the football with just 12 seconds remaining. The quarterback had time for only one more play and completed a 13-yard pass to Brown, who also managed to get out of bounds at the Giants' 39, setting up Akers' field goal attempt.
The kicker missed what would have tied the longest field goal of his career, but nobody blamed Akers for this defeat. Nobody blamed the officials either.
"It's one of those things that if you don't execute early, you don't want to let the games fall into the hands of the officials," Avant said. "That play was huge, but we had a lot of opportunities that we didn't capitalize on. It's a classic example of not executing early."
For the fourth time this season, the Eagles scored a touchdown on their opening drive, going 68 yards on six plays with McNabb completing all three of his passes, including an 18-yard touchdown to Westbrook.
And then the offense went into hibernation.
"We ended up shooting ourselves in the foot on a number of occasions in the first half," Reid said.
The Eagles' offense kept right on shooting at that same target early in the second half.
On the Giants' first series of the second half, middle linebacker Omar Gaither forced a fumble by Brandon Jacobs that was recovered and returned to the New York 8-yard line by defensive tackle Mike Patterson.
Guard Todd Herremans was flagged for a false start on first down, moving the ball back to the 13. McNabb was then sacked by defensive Osi Umenyiora for a 6-yard loss, leaving the Eagles in a second-and-goal situation from the 19-yard line. The Eagles settled for a 29-yard field goal by Akers that gave them a 10-6 lead.
Three series later, Giants defensive end Justin Tuck stripped the football from Westbrook and Madison recovered at the Eagles' 37-yard line.
Four plays later, quarterback Eli Manning beat a cornerback blitz with a quick release to Plaxico Burress, who easily beat the loose coverage of cornerback Sheldon Brown for a 20-yard touchdown, giving the Giants their first lead of the day.
New York never lost that lead either even though Akers' 57-yard field goal with one second remaining was so, so, so close to being good.
Instead, it was just like the Eagles - no good.