As dazzling as Vick had been against the rest of the league, the host Giants were more than holding the key to keeping the Eagles in check -- as they had done four weeks earlier -- while cruising 31-10 in the showdown for NFC East supremacy.
"I had to stay poised," Vick said. "I got a little flustered early in the game after I threw the interception. I was trying to do too much and then I started playing conservative and it kind of took me out of my game. ... They did a good job containing me and a good job with the passing lanes, but we adjusted to them. It got to a point where we were like, "It's not going to be about them. It's going to be about us. ... I just knew we needed three touchdowns to get back into the game.
"You want to make the most of every opportunity. Every possession counts. Every down counts. You just have to go out there and be efficient, block everything else out, forget about the score, keep it in the back of your mind but make plays at the same time."
Vick certainly did that. After a 10-yard toss to receiver Jeremy Maclin, Vick found tight end Brent Celek over the middle in a mismatch against Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. A fairly innocent completion in the context of a 21-point deficit became a 65-yard touchdown. After the Eagles recovered the ensuing onside kick, Vick passed to receiver DeSean Jackson for 13 yards, ripped off a 35-yard run (his longest since 2006) and then scooted up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown. Philadelphia had closed within 31-24 in just 2:49 without New York touching the ball.
When the Giants' next series stalled at the Philadelphia 40 after two first downs, Vick drove New York crazy with scrambles of 33 and 13 yards and also connected with receiver Jason Avant for 13 and Celek for seven before finding Maclin wide-open for the tying touchdown with 76 seconds to play, setting the stage for Jackson's 65-yard score.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first game-winning punt return touchdown on the final play in NFL history. The Eagles had never rallied from a 21-point fourth quarter deficit during their 78 seasons nor scored 28 points in the final quarter.
Until Sunday.
"There was no improvising going on," said Vick, who passed for 121 yards and ran for 94 yards on those three late touchdown marches. "We just ran our offense. I think after we made a couple of plays down the field, I saw the momentum shift and (the Giants) started playing off. ... They give you opportunities to run the football. They play a lot of Cover Zero which is all-out blitz. It can be good at times but it can also hurt you."
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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/20/michael-vick-needed-less-than-eight-minutes-to-rip-new-yorks-he/
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