No 4th quarter collapse this time: Eagles knock off Giants

The Eagles unpredictable season continues.  Without Michael Vick at the helm, the Eagles went into the Meadowlands and knocked off the Giants, 17-10, and kept their slim playoff hopes alive.  Here are a few of my thoughts on the game:

-Vince Young was pretty much what we thought he would be tonight.  He wasn't terribly accurate, wasn't always in sync with his receivers and showed very little arm strength.  None of that mattered, though, as Young showed quite a bit of poise in the pocket and made the right decisions and the correct throws when it mattered the most.  He looked most impressive on the 18 play, 80 yard game-winning drive as he made several 3rd down conversions look easy.  While there certainly won't be a quarterback controversy when Michael Vick gets healthy, Young showed that 4th quarter poise he has been famous for his entire career.

-The defense finally made a big stop with the game on the line.  After the Eagles took the lead late in the 4th, everything looked set up for a back-breaking Eli Manning-led touchdown drive.  The defense made the big play, however, as Jason Babin strip-sacked Manning and the Eagles sealed their victory.  It's going to take a lot more than one good defensive performance to make me believe in Juan Castillo but allowing the Giants to only score 10 points is quite an accomplishment.

-What are the Eagles going to do with DeSean Jackson?  He went from a huge goat for his taunting to a hero for his big punt return.  The Eagles have quite a decision to make about Jackson when it comes to his contract.  Do you pay him and live with the boneheaded mistakes knowing that you will still get the home run plays?  My answer to this question literally changes from play to play.

-LeSean McCoy got 26 touches but didn't bust out until a 60 yard game-icing run late in the 4th.  He's still the Eagles best offensive weapon and kept the Giants defense honest throughout the game.

-Why can't anyone on the Eagles cover Victor Cruz?  Seriously, come on, Nnamdi.

-The Eagles have almost no chance of making the playoffs (they would basically have to run the table), but at least this win allowed us to keep dreaming about that possibility.  With the Patriots on tap next week, it will at least be fun to see the Eagles play spoiler against teams ahead of them in the standings.  If the defense plays like they did tonight, perhaps they can pull off a miracle...