EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -For a guy that has had some well-publicized struggles at Giants Stadium, David Akers has connected on some lengthy kicks there.
In his last game at the Meadowlands 15 months ago, Akers booted a 53-yard field goal to provide the Eagles' only score of the game in a 16-3 loss.
In the first quarter of Sunday's game against New York, Akers connected on a 51-yard field goal in the notorious, swirling wind.
That was after head coach Andy Reid adeptly called timeout with four seconds remaining to make sure Akers had the wind at his back.
"That was huge," Akers said. "We wouldn't have been able to come close the other way. Absolutely not."
Even though Akers entered the game just 8-of-16 at the home of the Giants, his last two field goals of over 50 yards have both come at the Meadowlands.
"It was just the way the whole thing went down," Akers said. "To get the timeout and go out and hit it and get the momentum, getting three points out of the way. Then we had to go kickoff into the wind and (we) went down and got it inside the 20, that was big. That was a big momentum boost for us." Photo Gallery : PHI vs. NYG 12-7-08
The kick was also Akers' 15th straight successful field goal attempt. Unfortunately, though, his next attempt was blocked by Justin Tuck and returned by Kevin Dockery for a 71-yard touchdown. Instead of a potential 13-0 halftime lead, the Eagles were ahead by just three points. Coincidentally, Akers' last miss was also blocked and returned for a score against San Francisco earlier this season.
"Obviously, they got a big one with that blocked kick," Akers said. "We have to figure out what happened on that, check out the film and hopefully rectify that. We've had a couple of those this year."
The streak of 15 consecutive field goals tied the second-longest streak in Akers' career. The only time he's made more in a row was in 2001 when Akers made 17 straight, an Eagles record. He also made 15 in a row in 2004.
"They call it the toughest two seconds for a reason," Akers said. "Those guys go in there and they are really banging around. Those guys were bringing it."
With the offenses and defenses playing to a near stalemate, special teams played a key role in determining the outcome of the game.
After Akers gave Philadelphia a 3-0 lead, New York drove into Eagles' territory and attempted a game-tying field goal. But defensive end Trent Cole jumped over the line and blocked the kick to keep the Giants off the scoreboard until Dockery's return just before halftime.
"It was just something from watching film," Cole said. "We thought we could do the same thing we've seen other teams do. Myself, I've been looking for a block for a long time. Right there, they put us in the position to get a block. I've been wanting one for a long time and it just happened today."
The Eagles overcame the late first-half mistake and drove down to the Giants' 27-yard line on the opening possession of the second half. But New York's special teams rose to the occasion once again. Cornerback Terrell Thomas came off the right end and got a piece of Akers' field-goal attempt to keep New York within three.
"Obviously, with the conditions of the game, if you take a little bit off the ball, it's not going to go far," Akers said. "I thought I hit it OK. Coming down short from 34 doesn't usually happen."
