Manning leads NFL Giants in amazing rally to stun Eagles
2006-09-18

People Philip Rivers Deuce McAllister Corey Dillon Amani Toomer Plaxico Burress Brian Westbrook Michael Vick Ryan Longwell Eli Manning LaDainian Tomlinson Drew Brees Steve McNair Brett Favre Chad Pennington Tom Brady Peyton Manning Donovan McNabb Event 2006 NFL Clubs Indianapolis Colts Oakland Raiders New York Jets San Diego Chargers New York Giants

Eli Manning sparked a remarkable rally, throwing a game-winning overtime touchdown pass to give the New York Giants a 30-24 American football victory over Philadelphia.

A week after being outplayed by older brother Peyton in a season-opening loss, Manning shook off eight sacks and threw for a career-high 371 yards as the Giants erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit for an amazing comeback.

Manning connected 31-of-43 passes, including a 31-yard touchdown toss to Plaxico Burress with 3:11 remaining in overtime to complete a stunning National Football League rally, aided by a turnover and key penalty by the Eagles.

"It wasn't the prettiest win but it was a huge one for us," Manning said.

The Giants moved 85 yards in 13 plays to defeat their NFC East division rivals, who looked to win after Donovan McNabb threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns to give Philadelphia a 24-7 lead.

Tim Carter recovered a fumble in the end zone for a Giants touchdown and a Brian Westbrook fumble led to Manning's 22-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer. Jay Feely forced overtime with a 35-yard field goal with seven seconds to play in regulation, aided by a 15-yard penalty on Trent Cole for kicking a New York player.

While the Giants made magic, the New York Jets came up short, falling 24-17 to New England after spotting the Patriots a 24-0 edge.

Tom Brady threw for 220 yards and a touchdown and Corey Dillon ran for 80 yards and another New England touchdown.

Three-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick of the Patriots won his first matchup against Eric Mangini, who worked under Belichick as a secondary coach and defensive coordinator before leaving New England to coach the Jets.

"It was the Patriots against the Jets. That's all it was," said Belichick, who barely managed a handshake with Mangini. "He was trying to make his team play better. I was trying to get my team to play better."

Jets quarterback Chad Pennington completed 22-of-37 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns but his last toss was intercepted by linebacker Tedy Bruschi at the New England 21 with five seconds to play.

"In this league, you can't dig that big a hole," Pennington said.

Peyton Manning completed 26-of-38 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns as Indianapolis ripped Houston 43-24. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player moved past legend Johnny Unitas to become the all-time Colts completion leader.

"I always feel uncomfortable, a little bit awkard, when you are talking about the records of Johnny Unitas," Manning said. "It's real special any time you are mentioned in the same sentence as him."

Drew Brees completed 26-of-41 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns and Deuce McAllister ran for two touchdowns as New Orleans beat Green Bay 34-27. Brett Favre went 31-of-55 for 340 yards and three touchdowns in a losing cause.

The Saints won two road games to open the season for the first time in club history and will make an emotional return to their flood-devastated home city for their next game on September 25 against Atlanta.

Trick plays gave Minnesota a 16-13 overtime victory over Carolina. Ryan Longwell kicked a 19-yard field goal 7:35 into sudden death for the victory after throwing a game-tying 16-yard touchdown pass to Richard Owens with 7:48 to play in regulation.

"We knew their tendencies and we thought we had something we could try," Longwell said. "We practiced it 14 times during the week in practice and hit every one."

Longwell's pass came four plays after Carolina coach John Fox called a throwback pass by Chris Gamble on a punt return. The play backfired and Minnesota recovered the lateral at the Carolina 21-yard line.

"I should have just kept the ball," Gamble said.

Jason Elam kicked three field goals, the last a game-winner from 39 yards just 5:10 into overtime, to give Denver a 9-6 victory over Kansas City.

Michael Vick ran for 127 yards and completed 10-of-15 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown while Warrick Dun ran 21 times for 134 yards as Atlanta beat winless Tampa Bay 14-3.

Philip Rivers completed 25-of-35 for 235 yards and a touchdown while LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 71 yards and two touchdowns and caught seven passes for 51 yards to lead San Diego past Tennessee 40-7.

The Chargers, 2-0, are the first team since the 1977 Oakland Raiders to deny foes a point over the first seven quarters of a season.

Terrell Suggs had two sacks, a forced fumble and team-high seven tackles to lead Baltimore's overwhelming defense in a 28-6 rout of Oakland. Steve McNair completed 16-of-33 for 143 yards and a touchdown for the unbeaten Ravens.

Other games saw San Francisco beat St. Louis 20-13, Dallas defeat Washington 27-10, Chicago rout Detroit 34-7, Cincinnati rip Cleveland 34-17, Seattle down Arizona 21-10 and Buffalo beat Miami 16-6.

Reigning Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh will play at Jacksonville on Monday.