| | | Monday, January 8 Strahan's sacks set the tone Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- First, Michael Strahan leveled
Donovan McNabb for a big loss. Then, just to prove it was no fluke,
he did it again. The two sacks resulted in 19 lost yards for Philadelphia on
Sunday in a playoff game when the Eagles needed all the yards they
could get against the New York Giants. All day long, Strahan and his teammates on the New York defense
harassed McNabb, forcing the Philadelphia quarterback to hurry his
throws and molding what became a 20-10 Giants victory in the NFC
divisional playoff. There were six sacks that cost 41 yards, a
recovered fumble that led to a field goal, and an interception that
turned into a touchdown. "We get the job done," Strahan said. "We try to make
something happen on every play." The Giants' defenders knew all about what a threat McNabb could
be, his ability to run the ball and throw it. So he was the
centerpiece of their attention and it made for a long day for the
second-year quarterback. He couldn't get Philadelphia into the end zone until the final
two minutes, and then only after a blocked punt gave the Eagles the
ball on the 10. With linebacker Michael Barrow waving a towel to fire up the
crowd of 78,765, largest in Giants Stadium history, the New York
defense led McNabb on a merry chase. They covered his receivers
tenaciously and cut off rushing lanes efficiently, rarely giving
the Eagles offense any room to operate. And when McNabb forced the issue, cornerback Jason Sehorn made
him pay dearly. Frustrated, the Eagles quarterback tried to make something
positive happen in the last two minutes of the first half, throwing
for Torrance Small. Sehorn, who had returned an onsides kickoff for a decisive
touchdown against Jacksonville two weeks ago, cut in front of
Small. He deflected the ball as he went down, tapping the ball to
himself like a basketball player going after a loose rebound. The ball popped into the air and came down in Sehorn's hands. He
bounced up with it and sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown. Dave Thomas' recovered fumble set up the first of Brad Daluiso's
field goals and then Sehorn's interception provided an exclamation
point for a proud defense. New York contained McNabb almost all afternoon, rarely losing
contact with him. He never got loose, never threatened to turn this
game Philadelphia's way. Besides Strahan's two first-half sacks, Keith Hamilton and
Cornelius Griffin nailed him in the first quarter, and Jessie
Armstead and Emmanuel McDaniel shared another in the third quarter.
In the fourth, McNabb sidestepped two tackles only to be leveled by
Ryan Hale for one more sack. They were reminders that there was danger for McNabb from all
sides of the Giants' defense.
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