The New York Giants' defense looked flat-footed a week ago. It's a good bet they'll be on their toes this week.
The Michael Vick Experience will be on display when the New York Giants pay a visit to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night in a showdown for first place in the NFC East.
Both teams are 6-3 heading into Sunday's night clash but are coming off decidedly different outcomes.
While the Giants saw their five-game winning streak come crashing to a halt at the hands of division rival Dallas, Vick put on a show for the ages as the Eagles annihilated NFC East foe Washington 59-28 in a Monday night laugher.
Vick turned in a performance that former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann called the best he's ever seen, throwing for 333 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 80 yards and a pair of scores on just eight carries.
These were not garbage-time stats, either. Vick threw three scoring passes and ran for one as the Eagles bolted to a 35-0 lead just nine seconds into the second quarter.
In the process, Vick became the first quarterback in NFL history to register 300 yards, 50 yards rushing, four passing scores and two rushing TDs in a single game.
Not too shabby from a player who opened the season as a backup quarterback.
The show-stopping performance was hardly an aberration for Vick, who has thrown 11 touchdown passes and not been intercepted while completing nearly 63 percent of his passes and compiling an NFL-leading 115.1 passer rating.
The only blemish on Vick's resume this season came in the form of a rib cage injury that forced him to the sidelines for a month and caused him to miss three starts.
That could be one of the few avenues to slow Vick for New York’s No. 1-ranked defense, which has 25 sacks and has already sent five quarterbacks to the sideline this season with injuries.
Vick has a plethora of weapons at his disposal, including wideout DeSean Jackson, who hauled in an 88-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage to spark last week’s rout.
Running back LeSean McCoy has been an outstanding dual threat for the Eagles, rushing for 615 yards and five touchdowns and leading all NFL backs with 46 receptions.
While Philadelphia has amassed an NFC-high 257 points, New York ranks second in the conference with 236.
The Giants had averaged a shade over 32 points during their five-game winning streak before they were brought back to earth in last week’s 33-20 loss to Dallas.
Eli Manning threw for 373 yards – his third 300-yard effort of the season - and two touchdowns but he was also intercepted twice, including one that was brought back 101 yards for a score.
When he last saw the Eagles on Dec. 13, 2009, Manning had one of the best games of his career, throwing for 391 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 45-38 defeat – New York’s fourth consecutive loss to Philadelphia.
The Giants will need to re-establish its running game and defense, which was torched by 38-year-old Jon Kitna for 327 yards and three touchdowns a week ago.
Running back Ahmad Bradshaw is tied for third in the NFL with 838 yards rushing and backfield mate Brandon Jacobs has added 327 yards. Each has scored five touchdowns.
They will be running behind a patchwork offensive line that is expected to be without starters Shaun O’Hara and David Diehl. Pro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith also will miss the game with a pectoral injury.