The Play:** Nearing halftime, the Eagles were poised to cut into the Giants' 12-0 lead with a first-and-goal at the two-yard line. But Terrell Thomas chased down quarterback Matt Barkley, sacking him and forcing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Jacquian Williams. Philadelphia's offense never got closer to the goal line than the Giants' 32 after that en route to a 15-7 win for Big Blue.
The Setup:The Eagles stack two wide receivers on the left side and send one in motion.
The Pre-Snap Response: Corey Webster follows wide receiver Riley Cooper in motion, and Thomas stays home to follow the ball from the slot.
The Action: Barkley fakes the handoff to Cooper and rolls out to his left, unable to find anyone open
Thomas strikes, and the chase begins.
The Payoff:Thomas flushes out Barkley, who pump fakes a few times before the cornerback strips the ball away from him. Williams stays with the play and recovers the fumble before rolling out of bounds. The booth confirms the ruling on the field.
The Coach's Take: "You talk about the timing and when you talk about that, you have to talk about Terrell (Thomas)," Tom Coughlin said after the game. "The way I introduced it today, he was one of the Game Ball recipients, and it was, 'Welcome back, Terrell.' He played well. That play he made in that particular situation, knocking that ball out when they were in point blank range. That was a denial of touchdown, field goal, whatever it might be, and to have that ball recovered the way it was, an effort play like that was a very good thing."
The Aftermath: Including the sack and forced fumble, Thomas led the Giants with 11 tackles (10 solo) that day, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. "I think the coaches did a great job of putting me in a situation where I can just play football, utilizing my size and speed," Thomas said. "I was able to make some plays for our defense and I thought Prince [Amukamara] and Trumaine [McBride] did a great job allowing me, Antrel [Rolle], and Will [Hill], to just roam back there and make tackles. We just had a solid day of defense."
