This was a sweet victory for Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb.
Here they are back in the NFC Championship game for the fifth time in eight years. You've got to acknowledge that regardless of whatever you disagree with either one of them about. They have something and they're doing something right.
They outplayed the Giants. Reid and the short-passing game, which he has McNabb operating in, picked up the yardage needed for the Eagles to get the lead in the third quarter.
it was Reid's dink-and-dunk offense which disarmed the Giants pass rush and kept New York's defense off balance.
It was all settled at the end of the second quarter and throughout the third quarter. McNabb drove them down for a go-ahead field goal before halftime.
He then came out and controlled the game throughout the third quarter with third down conversions.
He made a memorable great play on third and 20, when he bought time while scrambling to his right and then uncorked an across-the-body throw to Jason Avant for a first down.
We all have to acknowledge that Reid and Mornhinweg stayed with the running game again when it wasn't yielding much. They even got Correll Buckhalter on the field to make some plays.
This has to mean a lot for both Reid and McNabb. They weren't playing just any old team. They outplayed a Giants team which had the best record in the NFC and won the Super Bowl a year ago.
Not only did they beat the Giants, they beat them for the second time in a row at their place.
That's impressive.
Some srong stats for Reid:
The Eagles are advancing to the NFC Championship game for the fifth time since 1999, Andy Reid’s first year as a head coach. During that 10-year span, only the New England Patriots (5) have accrued as many appearances in the conference title game. Pittsburgh has three (pending this afternoon’s contest vs. San Diego) and no other team has appeared more than twice … The Eagles have earned five championship game appearances in an eight-year span, becoming the first NFC team to do so since the San Francisco 49ers appeared in five (1990, 1992-94, 1997) from 1990-1997.
Andy Reid became the 14th coach in NFL history to register 10 playoff wins, joining Tom Landry (20), Don Shula (19), Joe Gibbs (17), Chuck Noll (16), Bill Belichick (15), Mike Holmgren (13), Bill Cowher (12), Dan Reeves (11), Bill Parcells (11), Marv Levy (11), Bud Grant (10), George Seifert (10), and Bill Walsh (10) … Of those 14 coaches with double-digit postseason wins, only Belichick (.789), Walsh (.714), Gibbs (.708), Noll (.667), and Seifert (.667) have amassed a higher winning percentage in the postseason than Reid’s .625 (10-6).
Some strong stats for McNabb:
Only four QBs in NFL history have started more than five Conference Championship Games. They are Joe Montana (7), Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, and John Elway (6 each) – all Hall of Famers. Donovan McNabb will start his fifth on Sunday joining Tom Brady and Jim Kelly.
Only seven QBs have started in more playoff victories than Donovan McNabb’s nine. They are Montana (15); Bradshaw, Brady, and Elway (14); Brett Favre and Staubach (12); and Troy Aikman (11).
In all six years in which McNabb started the season healthy and finished the season intact, he has led the Eagles to the playoffs (1999 he was not the opening day starter, 2005-06 his season ended with an injury, and 2007 he was the opening day starter but was still recovering from offseason knee surgery).
McNabb has led the Eagles to their 5th NFC Championship Game in the past eight seasons. Entering the 2008 season, some people dismissed his last three seasons limited by injuries. Those same people would have to acknowledge that a healthy Donovan McNabb has been to five straight NFC Championship Games.
