A giant headache

Whether watching it live from a comfortable chair Sunday evening or in a meeting room at Giants Stadium on Monday, it’s not hard to imagine the New York Giants’ reaction when Brian Westbrook turned a screen pass into a 71-yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings.

As Westbrook lined up his blockers, weaved around tackles and sprinted past defenders, the Giants undoubtedly relived their own Westbrook nightmares of last month, when the Philadelphia Eagles’ running back beat them with a 30-yard run and a 40-yard catch.

Sunday’s trip to the end zone secured the Eagles’ trip to New Jersey and heightened the urgency with which the Giants will approach Sunday’s divisional playoff game. If there is one key to victory against the Eagles, it is this: Stop Westbrook.

“No. 36 is their No. 1 one threat,” linebacker Antonio Pierce said. “He’s a guy who can run plays from out of the backfield, from carrying the ball, line up at receiver, punt returner, basically wherever they want to put him on the field. Then our job is that all 11 guys, defensive coordinator and the whole defensive staff is to make sure that we limit the big plays that No. 36 has.”

That’s something the Giants were able to do once this season. On Nov. 9, they held Westbrook to 26 yards on 13 carries and three catches for 33 yards. The Giants won. On Dec. 7, though, Westbrook had 131 yards on 33 carries and caught six passes for 72 yards. The Giants lost.

“He is a guy on everyone’s list in terms of what you have to do to try to prevent him from getting the ball in the end zone,” Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said. “You saw Minnesota do a pretty good job against them in the run game, but he broke out with the 71-yard screen.”

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said before the first game that he wanted to have 22 eyes on Westbrook at all times. In the second game, that didn’t happen. Westbrook scored on a 30-yard run in the second quarter after he ducked behind his line and the Giants lost track of him. They thought he was bottled up, but he came slashing out from behind the screen and dashed to the end zone.

On his 40-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Giants, he helped out with pass protection before easing out on a route over the middle and beating Pierce, who was left alone to cover him. Donovan McNabb avoided the rush and found Westbrook for a dump-off that turned into a gold mine.

“We took the blame for that,” Coughlin said of the scheme. “If you knew that that was the attempt to isolate, then you certainly wouldn’t have been in that coverage.”

Slowed by ankle and knee injuries, Westbrook limped into the playoffs. In the previous three games, he did not score, rush for more than 60 yards or get more than 20 touches in any of them. He seemed to be going in that direction Sunday until his 71-yard touchdown reminded everyone how dangerous he can be.

“Any time you get an opportunity to give the ball to a guy like Westbrook, give him an opportunity in space or against any other defenders, you feel confident about that matchup,” McNabb said.

One way to keep Westbrook under control will be to avoid having linebackers cover him, which might mean adding a safety to shadow him. But the Giants also have to be wary of tunnel vision with Westbrook.

“He is a superstar, he is an elite player and you have to know where he is,” Pierce said. “But by no means are we going to leave [DeSean] Jackson open or [Kevin] Curtis open.

“It’s making sure that we understand who the guys are that can beat you on any given play, and the guys that can nickel and dime you,” Pierce added. “For us, it’s about going out there and stopping all 11 players and beating the Philadelphia Eagles.”

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Life of Brian

The Giants’ defense shut down Brian Westbrook in their Week 10 victory. In turn, he ran amok in the Eagles’ Week 14 victory. Westbrook’s numbers:

GIANTS WIN, 36-31

Rushes...13 for 26 yards (2.0)

Catches...3 for 33 (11.0)

Touchdowns...0

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EAGLES WIN, 20-14

Rushes...33 for 131 (4.0)

Catches...6 for 72 (12.0)

Touchdowns...2 (30 run, 40 pass)