Les Bowen: Eagles have to forget about their last meeting with Giants

WHENEVER YOU BEAT a key rival so badly that its players are using words like "embarrassed" afterward, you know the next encounter is going to be a little tougher.

The last time the Eagles played the Giants, the 40-17 victory was the Birds' most one-sided of the last 28 meetings. It was the Birds' most surprising victory of the season, especially given that New York had begun the year 5-0, looking like the NFC East's top team.

Until last week, it appeared the Eagles might have fueled the Giants' dissolution, might have dealt a fatal blow to the group that won the Super Bowl season before last. Then, last week, the Giants upset the Cowboys, 31-24, and suddenly the picture looked different, at least temporarily. Now, at 7-5, New York can match the Eagles' record by winning when the Birds visit Giants Stadium for the final time Sunday night. (If Dallas loses to San Diego, all three divisional contenders would then be 8-5.) But, of course, the Eagles can make the Giants' revival short-lived, and nail down an important potential tiebreaker by winning.

The Nov. 1 meeting was the first thing Giants running back Brandon Jacobs was asked about yesterday, when he met with New York-area reporters.

"It hurts, no question about it,'' said Jacobs, who went 74 yards with an Eli Manning pass for a touchdown against Dallas, the longest play of his career. "We know they are a good football team, but there is no way in hell that first game should have gone the way it went. Not taking anything away from them, but we played terrible. We weren't on top of our game, and they took advantage of it, just as they should have and just like we would have.''

At NovaCare this week, the response to this sort of thing has been twofold: Yes, the Eagles realize they were fortunate, that the Giants have made some defensive adjustments. But the Birds believe they, too, have evolved.

Strong safety Quintin Mikell didn't seem to be worried about the Giants being more fired up for this meeting, or something. (Funny - before the last meeting, we were hearing about New York getting payback for losing in the playoffs to the Eagles. And that postseason game was going to avenge their regular-season loss to the Birds the previous month. But the Giants still haven't beaten the Eagles since Plaxico Burress' gun went off.)