Eagles will face a more controlled, confident Eli Manning

IT HAS BEEN 17 games since that ugly outing in the Meadowlands. Eli Manning, a fine gunslinger when he's slinging it to the right team, was awful.

He threw four touchdown passes that Nov. 25 afternoon - three of them, however, went to Vikings defenders as Minnesota rolled the Giants, 41-17.

Who could have predicted that 2 months later Manning would be hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy?

The Vikings game - and the loss to New England in the regular-season finale - seemed to change Manning.

The Giants paid a steep price to acquire the No. 1 overall pick in a 2004 draft-day trade with the Chargers. In the last year, he finally has provided stability at quarterback by putting his six shooter away and hanging up his holster. Rather than holding the ball too long or spraying it recklessly all over the field, Manning is more patient and more confident.

Including the unlikely four-game playoff run to last year's championship, Manning is 14-3 as a starter since that Nov. 25 game. He was 27-25 before it. He's not perfect, by any means, but he is different.

Eagles safety Quintin Mikell said Manning just appears to have "it," that indescribable quality that generally comes from winning.

"He seems like he's playing with a lot of confidence right now," Mikell said. "He's always made a lot of great throws, a lot of great plays. But now it's on a [more] consistent basis. He seems comfortable in the system, comfortable in the guys around him."

Giants coach Tom Coughlin also pointed to last year's regular-season finale when New York, 12-point underdogs, nearly prevented the Patriots from going 16-0. The Giants had wrapped up the fifth seed in the NFC and Coughlin easily could have rested his regulars. Instead, New England needed a fourth-quarter rally to fight off New York and win, 38-35. Big Blue is 11-1 since that one, including some sweet revenge of the Patriots in Super Bowl 42.

"Going through the playoffs last year was a tremendous experience for Eli, without a doubt. The amazing thing was that he did not turn it over except for the one [interception] in the Super Bowl," Coughlin said. "I think playing as well against the Patriots in our 16th game gave Eli and us great confidence and gave us the notion [that we could make a run]."