Ron Dixon raced 97 yards untouched with the opening kickoff.
Jason Sehorn made a spectacular catch for an interception and TD return.
Michael Strahan came up with 2 sacks.
Donovan McNabb was sacked a total of six times.
Giants held the Eagles to 46 yards rushing.
Giants are on a six-game winning streak.
The Giants will host Minnesota next week for the NFC Championship game.

Did you enjoy this one Gamegirl?
"You bet! I'm glad I made the effort to get there early, or I would have missed Ron Dixon's opening kickoff return. That was really exciting, and a fantastic start for our playoff game. The crowd was really up, and boy, did we have a crowd. Everyone was waving towels to cheer the Giants on, and I only got hit in the face once or twice. It's great to be a Giants fan. You know I don't like the cold games, and I'll be on vacation somewhere warm soon after the Superbowl, but it actually wasn't that bad for a January game and for another Giants win."

Sehorn had that great interception.
"Tell me about it! He's some athlete. He's some man! I thought the refs were going to take it away from him when they decided to review it. It did seem strange the way the ball bounced up like it hit the ground, but it didn't and was a good catch. In fact it was a spectacular catch and it was a nice treat when they reviewed the play because we all got to see it again on the big stadium screen. My Jason really knows how to play."

So you're happy with the results of this game.
"Sure I liked the results because we won, and our defense was very dominant, but when you stop and think, and look back on it, the offense scored no touchdown runs and we had no touchdown passes. In fact there wasn't much passing at all. I guess the offense did a good job keeping Kerry Collins safe but that was it. I guess they decided to win this game on the ground and only pass here and there. When they did, Kerry passed to the receivers for some good gains. Every time Tiki ran with the ball I was worried because of what the Eagles said about going after his arm. I didn't hear a lot of nice talk around me when Ron Dayne got the ball, but later on that changed. There were way too many fumbles of course, and we can't do that next game."

Next up - Minnesota.
"Are you sure? Can't we play Philadelphia just one more time? I really shouldn't get down on the Eagles. I'm sure they'll manage a split with us one year or another. OK, so it's the Vikings. It will be our chance to get even with them for knocking us out of the playoffs a few years ago. Bring em on! I'm feeling real good today!"

Things were looking good from the start of this one.
"Yes, and we have Ron Dixon to thank for that. It was a real bad omen when the Ravens beat Tennessee in the earlier game. That broke the 'home team wins the game streak' that had been going strong throughout this whole playoff season, but the Eagles couldn't break the 'Giants can beat you every time streak'. Ron Dixon got his kickoff return touchdown in front of the biggest audience ever inside Giants Stadium, and the defense couldn't wait to take the field. They really owned that game from start to finish. The offense wasn't nearly as impressive playing to control the ball and to keeping the clock running."

Still, the Giants put the Eagles away.
"Yes, with defense and special teams accounting for both touchdowns. The Giants defense of a year ago would be yelling at the offense for their lack of production, and the Giants will need a good dose of offense to beat the Vikings next week. Using Tiki Barber with his broken left arm in a cast was risky, and the results showed as he ran for only 35 yards on 15 carries for 2.6 yards per rush. Those aren't Tiki numbers. Tiki fumbled the ball once, but so did Ron Dayne and Amani Toomer, two players with good arms and no casts. The Eagles fumbled twice. You would think this was a bad weather game from the stats."

The Giants contained McNabb.
"You said it. In fact, John Madden said it even better. He said, 'The Giants engulfed everything'. I'm sure that's how McNabb felt out there. McNabb led the league's quarterbacks with 629 yards rushing, and even Kerry Collins came up with the same amount of yards McNabb had this game. The Giants aggressive defense forced McNabb to stay in the pocket and only gave him room up the middle to run, and they closed down on him fast when he tried that. It says a lot for the Giants defense. McNabb had a good first full season as the Eagles starter. He threw for 3,365 yards and 21 touchdowns, and had six TDs on the ground. In last week's 21-3 wild-card win over Tampa Bay, McNabb went 24-of-33 for 161 yards and 2 TDs and he rushed for 32 yards and one TD. Despite all this, the Giants had his number."

The Eagles had a good season.
"Against all just about every team except the Giants. Against the rest of the lot, the Eagles were 12-3, and their three losses were by a combined 8 points. Against the Giants they were 0-3, losing by a combined 42 points. It all starts over for them next year. Aside from the 8 games they play home and away against the usuals, Dallas, Redskins, Cards, and Giants, they'll play home games against the Rams, Vikings, Chargers and Raiders. They travel to San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Seattle. I'm sure the Giants wish them the same luck next year."

Pete Mitchell is still a mystery.
"He was used sparingly for only two catches, and still came away with the most receiving yards this game. The first catch was for an important first down, and the other was big too. I still don't get it. Even if he somehow doesn't figure in your plans for next year, you're still allowed to use him while you got him. I guess the same holds true for Joe Montgomery, who never got a handoff even with Tiki trying to play while protecting his broken arm."

Do the Giants get respect now?
"I don't think the nay-sayers will consider beating the Eagles every game we play them, as much of a big accomplishment. The way we keep teams in the game doesn't help. We gave the Eagles every chance to come back in that game, including a blocked punt. It will take a well played, well balanced game and a win against Minnesota to get all the respect we need on the way to the Superbowl."

Stats

Passing
Giants - Kerry Collins 12-19 for 125 yards, 0 INT, 0 TD 1 sack.
Eagles - Donovan Mcnabb 20-41 for 181 yards, 1 INT, 1 TD 6 sacks.

Rushing
Giants - Ron Dayne 17-53, Tiki Barber 15-35, Kerry Collins 8-17, Amani Toomer 1-6, Greg Comella 1-2, Ike Hilliard 1-minus 1.
Eagles - Brian Mitchell 3-18, Donovan Mcnabb 5-17, Chris Warren 6-11.

Receiving
Giants - Ike Hilliard 3-35, Tiki Barber 3-13, Pete Mitchell 2-47, Amani Toomer 2-23, Ron Dayne 1-4, Greg Comella 1-3.
Eagles - Charles Johnson 5-53, Torrance Small 4-39, Brian Mitchell 3-27, Chad Lewis 3-27, Chris Warren 2-14, Luther Broughton 1-13, Na Brown 1-4, Cecil Martin 1-4.

Interceptions
Giants - Jason Sehorn 1 for 32 yards.

Kickoff Returns
Giants - Ron Dixon 2 for 119, Ike Hilliard 1 for 0.
Eagles - Brian Mitchell 5 for 125.

Punt Returns
Giants - Amani Toomer 5 for 34, Ike Hilliard 1 for 2.
Eagles - Brian Mitchell 1 for 2.

Missed field goals
Eagles - David Akers 30.

Fumbles lost
Giants - Tiki Barber, Ron Dayne, Amani Toomer.
Eagles - Torrance Small, Donovan Mcnabb.

Opponent's fumbles recovered
Giants - Cedric Jones, Dave Thomas.
Eagles - Damon Moore, Hollis Thomas, Mike Bartrum.

Tackles-assists-sacks (unofficial)
Giants - Michael Barrow 10-1-0, Jessie Armstead 6-3-0.5, Cornelius Griffin 4-0-1.5, Jason Sehorn 4-0-0, Michael Strahan 3-1-2, Sam Garnes 2-2-0, Shaun Williams 3-0-0, Emmanuel Mcdaniel 2-1-0.5, Dave Thomas 2-0-0, Ryan Phillips 1-1-0, Cedric Jones 0-2-0, Keith Hamilton 0-2-0.5, Ryan Hale 1-0-1, Brandon Short 1-0-0.
Eagles - Jeremiah Trotter 8-4-1, Barry Gardner 8-2-0, Carlos Emmons 5-4-0, Troy Vincent 6-2-0, Damon Moore 5-1-0, Bobby Taylor 4-0-0, Mike Caldwell 3-1-0, Corey Simon 3-1-0, Hollis Thomas 3-0-0, Bryan Dawkins 2-1-0, Paul Grasmanis 2-1-0, Mike Mamula 1-0-0, Brandon Whiting 1-0-0.

Net yards rushing
Giants - 112
Eagles - 46

Net yards passing
Giants - 125
Eagles - 140

Time of Possession
Giants - 36:09
Eagles - 23:51

Scoring:

1ST QUARTER:
NYG - TD, RON DIXON 97 YD KICK RETURN (BRAD DALUISO KICK), 14:43. New York 7-0.
2ND QUARTER:
NYG - FG, BRAD DALUISO 37 YD FG, 14:55. New York 10-0
NYG - TD, JASON SEHORN 32 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (BRAD DALUISO KICK), 1:40. New York 17-0
PHI - FG, DAVID AKERS 28 YD FG, 0:26. New York 17-3.
3RD QUARTER:
NONE.
4TH QUARTER:
NYG - FG, BRAD DALUISO 25 YD FG, 8:41. New York 20-3
PHI - TD, TORRANCE SMALL 10 YD PASS FROM DONOVAN MCNABB (DAVID AKERS KICK), 1:56. New York 20-10.

Notes

Head coach Jim Fassel wins his first playoff game.

The Giants are 9-0 against the Eagles under head coach Jim Fassel.

The last time the Giants beat an opponent 3 times was the Redskins in 1986.

Ron Dixon's kickoff return for a touchdown was the first time they returned a game-opening kickoff for a TD since 1966, and only the 15th in their 76-year history.

Ron Dixon's touchdown return on the opening kickoff was the Giants' first ever in postseason.

It was the first in the playoffs since Miami's Nat Moore ran one back against Oakland in 1974.

The 78,765 announced attendance represented the largest crowd ever to see a Giants game at Giants Stadium.

Next Game
Giants will play the Minnesota Vikings at Giants Stadium on Jan 14, 12:30 PM, FOX.

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