Perfect storm led to winning punt return by Jackson

FROM THE MORNING CALL

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ —
— DeSean Jackson needed much more than just flat-out talent, dumb luck and a devastating block by teammate Jason Avant to produce the punt return that lifted the Eagles to a 38-31 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.

So many other things had to break wrong for the Giants and right for the Eagles for that 65-yard touchdown to happen.

First, according to Eagles special teams coordinator Bobby April, they had to be playing to set up a return in the first place, which is something that's rarely done in that situation.


"With that many seconds left, most people would rush the punt and try to so something down there [and block the kick] and then kick the field goal, because there's not a whole lot of time left," April said. "But we had brought our guys in from that look where we were doubling the outside guys three other times, and I thought that they would just try to get it out real fast and it would be tough to block it.

"So we went with sort of a maximum return. And of course DeSean, when he gets some space, well, you know what happens."

Second, rookie punter Matt Dodge, who had been ordered to kick the ball out of bounds, had to reach over his head for a high snap, which seemed to knock the timing mechanism in his head off track, making him rush a punt that he probably didn't need to because the Eagles weren't pressuring.

Finally, because their was little air under the line-drive kick, Jackson fumbled it but had time to pick it up, which may have resulted in just enough lane shifts by the coverage unit to open things for Jackson to make the first two Giants miss.

"When I dropped the ball, I panicked real quickly," Jackson said. "It was probably a good thing, because when I panicked, I was able to locate the ball and it was maybe a foot or two away from me. And when I grabbed the ball, I went one way and looked up and I saw a crease and I just shot through the crease."

Jackson' return enabled the Eagles to become the first team in NFL history to come back from a 21-point deficit with under eight minutes remaining and win in regulation.

Injury report: The Eagles lost another defensive starter to a season-ending injury when rookie free safety Nate Allen slipped on the artificial turf and tore his right patella tendon. He wasn't even hit on the second-quarter play.

Although quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver DeSean Jackson each limped off the field afterward with nagging leg and foot injuries, neither were worthy of mention by coach Andy Reid in his traditional postgame injury report.

Jackson admitted his foot sprain from last week wasn't fully healed and hoped not to be involved in punt returns in this game. However, he told Reid before the game he wanted to be out there at the end if the game was close.

It's a numbers game: In their last five games, the Eagles have come from behind to win in the fourth quarter four times. They have outscored opponents 79-21 in the fourth quarter during that span. In addition, their 28 fourth-quarter points are the most in team history. … Jackson has become just the second player in league history to score a rushing, receiving, and punt-return touchdown in each of his first three seasons. … WR Jeremy Maclin's two TD receptions pushed his season total to 10, the most by an Eagle since Terrell Owens had 14 in 2004.

Quote of the day: "In my opinion, this has to go down as the greatest comeback in NFL history, especially with all the meaning behind it." — Eagles kicker David Akers.

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