Vince Young was the unorthodox, polarizing running quarterback that “just wins” before it was all the rage.
For one drive Sunday night, VY reminded everyone what made him so special when he was ripping off victories in Tennessee as a rookie.
The Giants tied the Eagles 10-10 early in the fourth quarter. Young hadn’t moved the ball well all night. It looked like the Eagles were set for another collapse.
18 plays, eight minutes, 51 seconds, and six third down conversions later, Philadelphia was back in front to stay.
Young kept one third down play alive by evading the rush, then finding an open man. On another, he threw as he was being hit by a flying Mark Herzlich. Another conversion came on a QB sneak, and finally Young topped off the drive with an eight-yard game-winning score to Riley Cooper. 17-10, Eagles.
Let’s not get carried away. Until that last drive, Young was not high on the list of reasons Philadelphia was controlling the game. He threw three interceptions to go with 258 passing yards and two touchdowns.
DeSean Jackson had a big punt return to set up the Eagles’ first touchdown. Philly played great defense, dominating the line of scrimmage. They absolutely stuffed New York’s running game and got pressure on Eli Manning.
Jason Babin’s strip sack of Manning eventually preserved the win.
“We’re going to go back and watch that tape, we’re going to figure out [what we did], we’re going to bottle it, and we’re not going to sell it,” Babin told NBC’s Michele Tafoya after the game. “We’re going to keep it, because the chemistry and what we had going on defense was something special today.”
Somewhere, the Cowboys were watching this game and smiling. The NFC East is all tied up. The Giants face the Saints and Packers the next two weeks, and their lead in the division has already eroded.
We highly doubt the Eagles can really pull off a long winning streak to get back in the playoff mix — they face the Patriots next — but this result certainly changes the division race.
If Philly is going to play the role of spoiler, they might as well do it in style.
Vince Young’s drive was the closest thing to a dream that the Eagles have managed all season.
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