Jason Pierre Paul

INDIANAPOLIS - You may have been one of the nearly one million on YouTube to watch Jason Pierre-Paul do 13 backflips in a row when he was at South Florida. If you did, you probably had the same reaction as the New York Giants, who were looking to upgrade the defensive end position two years ago. "We saw 6-foot-4, 288 pounds that could stand up and do a backflip, and we went, 'Wow,' " Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell recalled this week. But that kind of wow doesn't always translate into an NFL wow , and it is one of the reasons Pierre-Paul slipped past 14 teams - including the Eagles - in the first round of the 2010 draft.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Jason Pierre-Paul blocked a 47-yard field-goal attempt by rookie Dan Bailey to let the New York Giants survive, 37-34, against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Dallas had appeared to tie the game with a successful 47-yarder as time expired, but New York had called a timeout. The move worked, preserving a lead Eli Manning had created in the final minute, ending New York's four-game losing streak. The Giants scored two touchdowns in the final 3 minutes, 14 seconds in a showdown for first place in the NFC East.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes, including a 76-yarder to rising star receiver Victor Cruz, and the New York Giants won an all-or-nothing game to claim the final spot in the NFL playoffs, beating the Dallas Cowboys, 31-14, on Sunday night. The regular season went down to the last game, and it was coach Tom Coughlin's Giants (9-7) who won the NFC East and returned to the postseason for the first time since 2008. The result means the Eagles (8-8)

AS I DO every year, I sought out an NFL player personnel executive and asked him for his thoughts on the Eagles' draft. He was largely complimentary of the first Howie Roseman-Chip Kelly collaboration. His opinions of their eight selections: Round 1 Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma: "It's hard to find fault with this pick. We had him as the third guy on our board. He's a really good athlete. He's only played the position for a couple of years, but you wouldn't know it by the way he plays or by his knowledge.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Eli Manning was steaming. A simple screen pass was tipped, bounced off the shoulder of a linebacker and was intercepted, setting up a touchdown that could've buried the New York Giants, and the season. Only, he wouldn't allow it. Manning channeled his anger into energy, leading the Giants to two touchdowns in the final minutes to give New York a 37-34 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. "Sometimes I wish I was in that huddle so I could hear what's being said," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.

When the Eagles run Yes, the Eagles will run the ball - more than they did against the Cardinals. But don't expect a significant increase with the Giants secondary ailing. LeSean McCoy carried 24 and 23 times in two games against New York last season, and he should get somewhere in that neighborhood Sunday. The big question, though, is how productive he'll be running behind a line that is in tatters. Center Dallas Reynolds and left tackle Demetress Bell had many breakdowns last Sunday, but their better moments were as run blockers.

As long as they pick a guy with better luck than Jerome McDougle, the Eagles should land a decent player Thursday night if they hold on to the 15th pick. Looking back at that spot, not every guy has been a gem, but most have at least been serviceable. Here are some of the recent No. 15s: 2011, Mike Pouncey, C, Dolphins: Started all 16 games for Miami and was arguably their best lineman. Grade: A. 2010, Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, Giants: The guy Eagles fans always think of whenever Brandon Graham's name comes up. Not good.

INDIANAPOLIS - Not to keep beating a dead horse, but hell, let's. Long story short, 2 years ago, the Eagles traded up to the 13th spot in the first round of the draft. Wanted a defensive end. Had a choice between the freakishly-athletic-but-relatively-inexperienced Jason Pierre-Paul of South Florida, and steady-Eddie-productive Brandon Graham of Michigan. The Eagles opted for Graham. Their division rival, the Giants, who they hopped over to grab Graham, happily took Pierre-Paul.

BETHLEHEM — For Eagles fans, their names are inextricably tied. Like Martin and Lewis, Sonny and Cher, Mantle and Maris. Brandon Graham and Jason Pierre-Paul. "It used to bother me," said Graham, who the Eagles took over Pierre-Paul with the 13th pick in the 2010 draft. "But now, shoot, more power to him. He's doing a great job. Now it's time for me to get out there and hold up my end of the bargain and show why the Eagles brought me here. " Pierre-Paul, taken two picks after Graham by the Giants, had 16 1/2 sacks last season, was named first-team All-Pro and helped the Giants win their second Super Bowl title in 4 years.

Cleveland's Peyton Hillis , who rushed for nearly 1,200 yards last season, endeared himself to Cleveland fans with his bulldozing style and earned the cover of Madden NFL 12. But the cover curse is powerful. On Friday, he re-aggravated a hamstring injury that's been bothering him for most of the season, and he'll likely sit out yet another game. Chris Ogbonnaya will take his place Sunday against the Texans. Hillis has been staggering all season. He caused a stir when he decided to sit out a Sept.

AS I DO every year, I sought out an NFL player personnel executive and asked him for his thoughts on the Eagles' draft. He was largely complimentary of the first Howie Roseman-Chip Kelly collaboration. His opinions of their eight selections: Round 1 Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma: "It's hard to find fault with this pick. We had him as the third guy on our board. He's a really good athlete. He's only played the position for a couple of years, but you wouldn't know it by the way he plays or by his knowledge.

NEW YORK - Lane Johnson remembered a Saturday night in East Texas, when he was a backup quarterback in August 2008 preparing for his first game at Kilgore College. Kilgore's opponent was Fort Scott Community College, whose defense featured a little-known end named Jason Pierre-Paul who entered the game with a backflip. Johnson could hardly have imagined he would be playing against Pierre-Paul in the NFL five years later. And even if that scenario was a distant possibility, Johnson would be a quarterback being rushed by Pierre-Paul, certainly not a tackle tasked with blocking him. But this is all part of Johnson's wild ascent.

This is it. Sunday's game against the New York Giants is the last of the season, the last of Andy Reid's 14-year run as Eagles coach (definitely), and the last for Michael Vick in midnight green (almost definitely). Not many predicted that Reid and Vick would go out this way - one loss from a 4-12 finish. Vick, of course, did not play for one of those wins and five of those losses. A concussion and then the decision to go with rookie Nick Foles sidelined the quarterback for six weeks.

HE WAS A "BUST. " That's what Brandon Graham called himself this past spring and summer. I've been doing this gig since 1981, in four towns before working this one, and never had I heard an athlete in any sport describe himself this way. Not Shawn Bradley, not Bobby Hoying, not Jerry Stackhouse, not Ilya Bryzgalov. Belief in yourself, regardless of mounting evidence, is important to the survival of any elite athlete, and critical to any professional one. That belief sometimes requires a controlled form of insanity, like the hitter who believes his 1-for-50 slump is simply a matter of the ball not finding holes.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - So much for that tired arm for Eli Manning, and that offensive slump for the New York Giants. They got it fixed in their bye week, then routed the Green Bay Packers, 38-10, Sunday night. The Packers certainly can attest to New York's turnaround following a week off. The showcase game was decided early as the Giants outscored the Packers, 31-10, in the opening half and cruised. Manning reached 200 career TD passes by throwing for three scores as New York (7-4)

ARLINGTON, Texas - The New York Giants are still undefeated at Cowboys Stadium after another comeback victory under Eli Manning, the 20th time in his career he has rallied his team in the fourth quarter. Lawrence Tynes kicked two of his five field goals in the fourth quarter as the Giants won, 29-24, on Sunday after blowing a 23-point lead - and before the Cowboys thought they had a game-winning play with 10 seconds remaining. New York (6-2) led by 23-0 just two minutes into the second quarter when defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown.

As wretched as the Eagles played last week against the Arizona Cardinals - especially on offense - they're still 2-1 heading into Sunday night's NFC East showdown with the 2-1 New York Giants. It has been an ugly 2-1, but a victory over their chief NFC East rivals would nearly wipe away the residue of a sloppy start and position the Eagles atop the standings at the quarter pole. A loss to the defending Super Bowl champs would not be a backbreaker, but coming off the drubbing in Arizona and with the Pittsburgh Steelers lying in wait next week, it would justify a 7 or 8 on the panic meter.

When the Eagles run Yes, the Eagles will run the ball - more than they did against the Cardinals. But don't expect a significant increase with the Giants secondary ailing. LeSean McCoy carried 24 and 23 times in two games against New York last season, and he should get somewhere in that neighborhood Sunday. The big question, though, is how productive he'll be running behind a line that is in tatters. Center Dallas Reynolds and left tackle Demetress Bell had many breakdowns last Sunday, but their better moments were as run blockers.

JASON KELCE did not enjoy watching the Eagles from afar Sunday. "Watching the games give you a lot more respect for what the fans go through," the Eagles' center said Thursday, his right knee swathed in a brace. Kelce said his ACL surgery, by team orthopedist Dr. Peter DeLuca, is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 18. "When you're in the game, you have an active control over what happens every single play. You know what's going wrong, what the coaches are saying. You know how to fix things.