December 18, 2017
When opposing fans invade another team's stadium, they can help out the away team, in theory, though there typically aren't any tangible examples of exactly how.
On Sunday, with an uninterested Giants fan base checking out on a two-win season, Eagles fans made the trip up the N.J. Turnpike and flooded MetLife Stadium, tangibly helping the Eagles pull out the narrow victory.
Facing 4th and Goal from the six-yard line, and only 48 seconds left in the game, the Giants needed a touchdown to take the lead. When suddenly, right tackle Bobby Hart jumped early and was penalized for a false start. That made it 4th and Goal from the 11, a major difference.
On 4th and Goal from the 11, an Eli Manning pass fell harmlessly incomplete in the back of the end zone. Manning credited Eagles fans with making a lot of noise in that situation, messing up their cadence.
"There's not a whole lot of great 4th and Goal from the 10 plays," Manning said. "You have more options from the 5. We had a different play called, where you get four guys in the end zone, five guys with the back, possibly. From the 10, it's just hard to get everyone in the end zone with routes. It's unfortunate. We had the false start. It's a tough situation. I don't blame Bobby.
"At home, it was just loud. The center, Brett Jones, couldn't hear me call the cadence. You don't think that would happen at home, but I guess when you only win two games you got a lot of Eagles fans and we couldn't hear the cadence. That's why we jumped offsides."
Way back in Week 4 of the NFL season, Philadelphia Eagles fans completely overtook the StubHub Center in a road game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
I guess there's a reason they call it the StubHub Center. pic.twitter.com/1JbwS6Ps8y
— Matt Mullin (@matt_mullin) October 1, 2017
In Week 14, Eagles fans showed up in droves once again when the Eagles played the Rams at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Eagles fans dominating. pic.twitter.com/AGUawuVPjF
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) December 10, 2017
The Eagles are 6-2 on the road after going 1-7 a year ago, and the fans have now tangibly helped in that effort. So give yourselves a pat on the back.
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