Giants fall as Akers puts Eagles on a high

SOME of his team-mates couldn’t watch David Akers when he lined up for the winning kick, preferring to let the crowd’s reaction tell the outcome.

Given recent events around the NFL, nobody could blame them.

The fans’ roar gave them the news — snap, hold and kick were perfect this time.

Akers hit a 38-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 23-20 victory over the New York Giants in a wild-card playoff game Sunday.

A day after Dallas lost to Seattle when quarterback Tony Romo fumbled the hold on what could have been a go-ahead field goal, snapper Jon Dorenbos and holder Koy Detmer executed the seemingly routine play that has cost teams important games in recent weeks.

Akers got some encouragement from punter and former holder Dirk Johnson before he went out to attempt the kick on a sloppy field in a steady rain.

“Dirk said: ‘Those posts look big, don’t they?’” Akers said. “I said: ‘Don’t worry. We’re going to be celebrating in a minute.’”

Brian Westbrook, playing through stomach cramps that often sent him to the sidelines, had 141 yards rushing, including a spectacular, slashing 49-yard TD run in the second quarter. His 65-yard punt return for an apparent score in the third quarter was nullified by a penalty on rookie Torrance Daniels.

Jeff Garcia threw for 153 yards, one touchdown and played efficiently enough to win for the sixth time in seven starts since replacing an injured Donovan McNabb.

Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes to Plaxico Burress, including an 11-yard strike that tied it at 20-20 with 5:04 left.

In his last game, Tiki Barber ran for 137 yards for the Giants. A three-time Pro Bowl running back, Barber plans to retire after 10 seasons in the NFL.

“This was one of the hardest places I’ve ever played in,” Barber said. “It was fitting to come down here and play my last game.”

The Eagles are far from finished, though.

Counted out after a knee injury ended McNabb’s season in Week 11, the Eagles (11-6) have won six straight games. They’ll play at New Orleans (10-6) next Saturday night.

The Giants overcame a second-and-30 on their tying scoring drive as Manning completed consecutive passes of 18, 14 and 11 yards to Burress.

But the Eagles drove right down the field, mixing in short passes and

Westbrook runs.

That set up Akers’ winning kick, a moment with a little extra drama in the wake of the botched hold in the Dallas-Seattle game and a bad snap on a critical extra point in a late-season game between Cincinnati and Denver.

“Kicking balls are very, very slick,” Akers said. “That might be something that needs to be addressed. A lot of people take the snap, hold and kick for granted. It just shows how technical that is.”

Detmer, the long-time back-up quarterback signed this week specifically to be the holder, had no trouble putting the snap down for Akers. Dorenbos replaced injured snapper Mike Bartrum last month.

“Being a holder for the amount of time I’ve been, you realise there’s nothing given,” Detmer said. “None of them are guaranteed. You have to make it happen.”

Led by Garcia and a rejuvenated defence, Philadelphia turned its season around after a 24-point loss in Indianapolis, captured its fifth division title in six years and earned the No 3 seed in the conference.

Meanwhile, the Giants (8-9) fell apart after a 6-2 start, losing four in a row and six of seven before a win at Washington put them in the playoffs.