Eagles-Giants rivalry

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This article relates to the National Football League rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants.

The Eagles-Giants rivalry dates back to 1933, however the rivalry began to heat up when both teams came to relative prominence in the 1940s and 1950s. The rivalry is mainly based on the two teams being in the same division in the NFL since 1933 and the geographic New York-Philadelphia rivalry that extends to other sports, most famously the Turnpike Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets in National League baseball. However, the geographic rivalry between the Eagles and Giants is well known in football circles, meriting mention on ESPN.com. (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3086647&type=Columnist&imagesPrint=off)

• The Giants/Eagles rivalry is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating all the way back to 1933.
• In a 1960 game, the Eagles' Chuck Bednarik cleanly blindsided Giants running back Frank Gifford, sending Gifford into an 18-month retirement due to a severe concussion.
• On November 19, 1978 at Giants Stadium, the Giants were leading the Eagles 17-12 with 20 seconds remaining. Offenseive coordinator Bob Gibson called for a running play when all that was needed was for the Giants to take a knee. The handoff between quarterback Joe Pisarcik and Larry Csonka was fumbled and Eagles cornerback Herman Edwards grabbed the loose ball and returned it for the winning score. This play is commonly referred to as The Miracle at the Meadowlands by Eagles fans and just "The Fumble" by Giants fans.
• On January 7, 2001 in a divisional playoff game, the Giants defeated the Eagles 20-10 thanks to Ron Dixon's 97-yard kickoff return and Jason Sehorn's acrobatic 32-yard interception return. This win would help propel the Giants to Super Bowl XXXV which they ultimately lost to the Baltimore Ravens 34-7.
• In the two teams' first meeting of the 2006 season, Philadelphia held a 17-point lead going into the fourth quarter. However, the Giants rallied to tie the game, and go into overtime. In overtime, Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw a game winning touchdown pass to WR Plaxico Burress, and the Giants won 30-24. In the second meeting, the Eagles behind quarterback Jeff Garcia (who had replaced Donovan McNabb due to injury to McNabb a few weeks earlier) would get some payback in a 36-22 victory, which was capped with DE Trent Cole intercepting a pass from Manning (who was getting hit and he ended up throwing the ball up in the air) and returning it for a touchdown. They would meet for a third time in the 2006-2007 playoffs, where the Giants rallied to tie the game at 20 in a late fourth quarter drive marred by repeated penalties by linesman Chris Snee; the Eagles then executed a textbook late-game rush-oriented drive and won on a game-ending field goal, 23-20.