McNabb delivers knockout punch

A year ago, the New York Giants experienced the exhilaration of reaching the summit. Now they know the pressure of trying to stay there, and the pain of being knocked back down the mountainside.

“Shock is an understatement,” center Shaun O’Hara said after the Giants were eliminated by the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-11, in the divisional playoffs Sunday. “It’s pretty much the worst feeling there is. You wonder if it’s better not to even make the playoffs than to exit the way we did today. We had great expectations and to fall short . . . tears your heart out.”

The defending champions were the best team and the top-scoring team in the league through 12 games, and then everything changed with a loss to the Eagles on Dec. 7. A month later, the Eagles, who needed help from other teams to even reach the playoffs, returned to Giants Stadium and held the Giants without a touchdown, forcing them to settle for five field-goal attempts.

“I think they’re going to win the whole thing,” said running back Brandon Jacobs, who was critical of the Giants’ play calling. “They just beat the team that had the best chance to beat them. I like to think they’re like we were last year.”

The Eagles, the first sixth-seeded team to knock off a top-seeded team in the NFC, will play the Cardinals in Arizona on Sunday for the conference championship.

“This is kind of storybook,” said quarterback Donovan McNabb, who completed 22 of 40 passes for 217 yards in a game in which the Eagles rushed for only 59 yards.

“The coaches put together a great game plan,” Coach Andy Reid said. “The players executed like crazy. They never wavered one bit. That’s tough to find in this league. These guys haven’t wavered, they haven’t questioned each other. If someone was down, they rallied around him to pick him up and we played.”

Coordinator Jim Johnson’s defense had answers for everything the Giants tried, stopping them twice on fourth down near midfield in the fourth quarter to snuff out the last of their hopes. Eli Manning was stuffed on a quarterback sneak on fourth and inches with 12 minutes 39 seconds left, and Jacobs (19 carries, 92 yards), who was forced to bounce outside all game, was dragged down short on fourth and two with 6:40 left.

The Giants, who were 11-1 after winning in Washington on Nov. 30, lost four of their last five games.

“Last year, we were road warriors,” said Coach Tom Coughlin, referring to the four postseason wins away from the Meadowlands. “I thought this year we’d be home warriors, but it didn’t come to pass.”

Asante Samuel intercepted a high Manning throw and returned it 25 yards to the two-yard line. McNabb scored on a one-yard run to give Philadelphia a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

“You can’t afford to make those mistakes,” said Manning, who was 15 for 29 for 169 yards.

The Giants got a safety when McNabb was called for intentional grounding in the end zone in the second quarter, and the teams then began trading field goals, and the lead. The Giants led, 11-10, early in the second half as John Carney made three field goals, the last one set up by a Fred Robbins interception.

By then the Giants’ defense began tiring. They let McNabb escape pressure deep in his own end on third and 20 and complete a 21-yard pass to Jason Avant.

“That play kind of broke our back,” defensive end Justin Tuck said.

McNabb converted on third and 10 with a 19-yard pass to Correll Buckhalter, setting up a David Akers field goal that put the Eagles ahead for good.

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damore@courant.com