Miracle at The Meadowlands - The Game

The Game

1978 Week Twelve: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 0 6 0 13 19
Giants 14 0 3 0 17

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: November 19
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 49°F, Clear
  • Game attendance: 70,318
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui and Sonny Jurgensen
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Bobby Hammond 19 yard pass from Pisarcik (Joe Danelo kick)
  • NYG Johnny Perkins 30 yard pass from Pisarcik (Danelo kick)
Second quarter
  • PHI Montgomery 8 yard rush (kick failed)
Third quarter
  • NYG Danelo 37 yard FG
Fourth quarter
  • PHI Mike Hogan 1 yard rush (kick failed)
  • PHI Herman Edwards 26 yard fumble return (Mike Michel kick)
Top passers
  • PHI – Ron Jaworski – 15/31, 164 YDS, 0 TD, 3 INT
  • NYG – Joe Pisarcik - 13/23, 181 YDS, 2 TD, INT
Top rushers
  • PHI – Wilbert Montgomery - 22 CAR, 88 YDS, TD
  • NYG – Doug Kotar - 13 CAR, 36 YDS
Top receivers
  • PHI – Harold Carmichael - 5 REC, 105 YDS
  • NYG – Jimmy Robinson - 4 REC, 73 YDS

The Giants rose to the challenge. Two early Pisarcik touchdown passes gave them a commanding lead, which they extended with a field goal in the second half. The Eagles, conversely, struggled, missing one of their extra point attempts and botching the snap on the other. The Eagles found themselves down 17-12, meaning they could only win the game with a touchdown as time wound down.

Deep in their own territory, the Giants' Doug Kotar fumbled late in the fourth quarter, raising hopes (or fears) of a comeback by the visitors. Those were quickly put to rest, however, when rookie defensive back Odis McKinney's first NFL interception gave the Giants possession of the football after the two-minute warning. The Eagles had exhausted all their timeouts by this point.

Fans in the stands began heading for the exits as the game seemed all but over, with no apparent remaining danger of an Eagles comeback. Nowadays, teams in this situation let the play clock run down to the last possible second and have the quarterback take a knee. On the sidelines, a disgusted Eagles coach Dick Vermeil was turning his attention away from the field and toward the postgame press conference, where he would have to explain to reporters why his team had fallen to an inferior opponent.

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