Sam Donnellon: Eagles win over Giants far from a work of art

LAST WEEK, the Eagles teased their fans and the nation into believing they were a Super Bowl-worthy team.

Last night's messy, 27-17 victory over the Giants suggested there's still more faith to that than fact.

Wasted chances, dumb and costly penalties, challenges reversed and upheld - this was a game that had all the artistic beauty of a game among friends and family members after a Thanksgiving Day meal.

You know that line about it being a shame that somebody had to lose?

Not applicable here.

The shame was that eight men in striped shirts had to officiate it.

"Things happen sometimes,'' said DeSean Jackson, who had a couple of drops. "There are times when everything clicks like last week. And there are going to be times when it's not going to go as well as we want it to go. And we just have to find a way to win.''

At halftime against Washington last Monday, the Eagles bounced into their locker room ahead by 31 points. Their execution was nearly flawless, especially near the end zone, and after putting some second-half touch-ups to their one-sided victory over the Redskins, they and their second-chance quarterback created an instant Super Bowl buzz throughout this great land.

Last night, the Eagles stumbled into their locker room at halftime - with a 13-3 lead. Execution was awful, especially in the end zone, where three catchable passes were dropped by three different receivers, erasing the chance for the same type of intimidating lead they had enjoyed 6 days earlier.

After a Giants fumble gave the Eagles the ball on New York's 23, DeSean Jackson dropped Michael Vick's pass 2 yards into the end zone. Later, after Vick bought time against the unyielding Giants defense, Jason Avant dropped a pass as he stood all alone at the back of the end zone. Falling backwards, Avant lost the handle on the ball and clutched his helmet in agony.

The sellout crowd at Lincoln Financial Field mimicked his reaction.

Combined, the two catches would have left the Eagles with a 21-3 lead. Throw in a tough grab in the final minute of the first half that Jeremy Maclin extended for, got both hands on, but could not bring in, and you're talking 28-3, a margin nearly as oppressive as Monday night's 45-14 halftime lead. Instead, after Terrell Thomas blocked David Akers' 42-yard field-goal try and Corey Webster nearly returned it for a touchdown - save, Sav Rocca - the Giants staggered to their locker room with more than a puncher's chance to re-establish themselves.

They did via two touchdowns, the second after the first of Michael Vick's two second-half fumbles teed the ball up on Philadelphia's 27. Two plays later, the Giants led, 17-16.

"You get nervous a little bit then," rookie defensive end Brandon Graham said. "But the veterans kept saying, 'We've been through this before. We just need to step it up.' "

Two observations here: New York entered this game with the NFL's top defense and the one-sidedness, or near one-sidedness, of the first half had much more to do with the sudden ineptitude of New York's offense, not to mention its continued propensity to turn the ball over. The Eagles would not have had those opportunities to squander if Asante Samuel did not intercept Eli Manning deep in Giants territory, or Ahmad Bradshaw did not put the ball on the ground for the sixth time this season, again deep in New York's end.

The other is that beyond his obvious talents, Vick is Philly tough. New York's approach was to make him pay for every dash, every long pass, and the Giants pretty much did. They blitzed him, often banged him good as he passed, as he finished his aborted runs. But he showed no trepidation to take off when the opportunity presented itself. And down by a point late in the game, after bobbling the snap, he kept his poise, delivered the ball to LeSean McCoy and initiated the 50-yard touchdown run that altered a pending disaster into an unsightly but huge victory.

"You know what? That was an important game for him,'' Andy Reid said. "To battle through when things aren't going well. That's the only part we haven't seen. You guys were asking me about it. Now we know.''

Vick was a perpetrator himself, fumbling twice. The Eagles added to their league-leading penalty total with 10 more. Samuel picked off a pass late in the game then fumbled it away while juking his way upfield. Twice Todd Herremans picked up personal-foul penalties, once for a clip, the other for a chop block. Both were costly, but the second, coming on a fourth-quarter completion to the Giants' 30 that Vick took a huge hit to complete, was particularly disheartening.

And yet here they sit this morning, alone atop the NFC East with a 7-3 record, winners of three straight and five of their last six. Like those old Raiders teams of yesteryear, they leave you numb at the end, thrilled by the potency, maddened by the mistakes and just a little uneasy about some of the characters your heart has invested in.

Vick seems to be moving down on that list.

Your faith tells you that's a good thing. The facts, as presented last night, are less clear.

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donnels@phillynews.com.

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