PHILADELPHIA (Sept. 17, 2006) -- Eli Manning withstood relentless pressure, endured a pounding and still delivered the knockout punch in overtime.
Manning brought the Giants back from a 17-point deficit in the fourth-quarter and threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 3:11 left in the extra period for a 30-24 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"It was a huge win," Manning said. "It wasn't the prettiest one. It was downright ugly for us for a while. We couldn't get anything going."
On third-and-11 from the Eagles 31, Manning avoided a blitz and lofted a pass to Burress, who outjumped Sheldon Brown to make the catch and get in the end zone.
"I was tired. I was telling myself, 'One more play,' " Burress said. "There's no place better to get a win than Philadelphia. It's more gratifying to get a win here than anywhere else."
Eagles safety Brian Dawkins appeared to outfight Visanthe Shiancoe for the ball on a second-down pass by Manning to make an interception during the winning drive. But the play was ruled a catch for New York's tight end. Manning quickly ran off a play before the officials could replay it.
"From my vantage point, I had two hands on it and both feet down and then it carried over to his one arm," Dawkins said. "Nothing you can do about it now."
A week after his older brother, Peyton Manning, led Indianapolis to a 26-21 victory against New York, Eli Manning survived eight sacks and threw for 371 yards and three TDs. He completed 31 of 43 passes with one interception.
"This one will be something to remember," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.
Manning tossed a 22-yard TD pass to Amani Toomer with 3:28 left in regulation to cut the deficit to 24-21.
After New York got the ball at its 20 with 56 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, Manning quickly drove the Giants to the Eagles 32. A personal-foul penalty on defensive end Trent Cole moved the Giants 15 yards closer and set up Feely's tying kick.
"After the first half, I never thought in a million years those guys would come back and beat us," Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said. "We have to take advantage of opportunities when we get a team down. We have to put our foot on their throat."
Toomer had 12 catches for 137 yards and two TDs, including a 37-yard score in the first quarter. Burress finished with six catches for 114 yards.
Donovan McNabb passed for 350 yards and two TDs, but the offense was shut down after the first possession of the third quarter.
Donte' Stallworth had a 20-yard TD catch, Reggie Brown had a 23-yard TD reception and L.J. Smith caught seven passes for 111 yards.
The Eagles held Tiki Barber to 51 yards rushing on 21 carries.
"No matter who we play, when you have the game controlled, you want to win," McNabb said. "We have to move on and get ready for next week."
Philadelphia went ahead 14-7 on McNabb's pass to Stallworth early in the second quarter. Stallworth used a simple stutter move to easily get past cornerback Sam Madison, hauled in McNabb's perfectly thrown pass and handed the ball to a fan in the front row of the end zone.
Stallworth, dubbed the anti-T.O. since arriving in Philadelphia and replacing Terrell Owens as McNabb's favorite target, had five catches for 81 yards. He had six receptions for 141 yards and one TD against Houston in his debut with the Eagles only 13 days after being acquired from New Orleans.
McNabb connected with Brown on a straight fade route on the opening possession of the second half to give the Eagles a 24-7 lead.
The Giants got another chance when Will Demps recovered Brian Westbrook's fumble at Philadelphia's 33 with four minutes left. Three plays later, Manning hooked up with Toomer.
Westbrook's 12-yard TD run in the first quarter tied it at 7.
David Akers missed a 49-yard field goal off the right post in the second quarter, but his 37-yarder before halftime gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead.
GAME NOTES:
The Eagles lost DE Jevon Kearse (knee) and CB Rod Hood (heel) to injuries. Both players will be evaluated Sept. 18. ... McNabb became the seventh player in NFL history to pass for 20,000 yards and run for 2,500. ... For the second successive week, the Eagles allowed a TD on the first possession. ... The Eagles already have 13 sacks after getting only 29 last year. The defensive line has 12 of those sacks. ... Manning wasn't sacked last week. ... The Eagles are 3-5 in home openers under Reid. ... It was New York's first victory against Philly with McNabb at quarterback since the 2000 playoffs.
