EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It is the story of this Philadelphia Eagles season, really. They have figured out how to survive without one of the most electrifying players in franchise history.

Brian Westbrook.
The secret: Simply plug in one of the most electrifying players in NFL history.
DeSean Jackson.
If the second-year wide receiver hadn’t already reached stardom in this league, he surely crossed the threshold Sunday night. In a nationally televised game, with first place in the NFC East on the line, Jackson was just about impossible for the New York Giants to stop.
He was must-see TV, the guy people all over the country will be talking about this morning. On a night when the Eagles’ defense was utterly helpless, turning Eli Manning’s 10-yard passes into long touchdowns, Jackson was just too good to let the Eagles lose.
When he ran backward the final 10 yards of a 60-yard touchdown reception, Jackson tied the NFL record with eight scoring catches of 50-plus yards in a season. He shares the record now with Chicago’s Devin Hester (2007) and Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch (1951) of the Los Angeles Rams.
Fitting, because leg for leg, Jackson’s are every bit as crazy as Hirsch’s.
Jackson’s TD catch and his 72-yard punt return obviously were big plays on the stat sheet. But to truly appreciate the breathtaking genius of the player, you had to see how he did what he did — as well as his exquisite timing.
Actually, even if you saw what he did, you may not be certain how he did it.
The punt return became an instant classic. When you’re watching it 10 years from now, you probably won’t remember the context. But it was part of what made the play great.
The Eagles’ offense had driven all the way to the Giants 2-yard line and been held to a desultory field goal. Their defense made one of its few stops of the evening, forcing Jeff Feagles to punt from the New York 31. The Giants, showing utmost respect for Jackson, called for a punt along the sideline. The idea was that the coverage squad could converge there and hem Jackson in.
It was a better idea in theory than in practice.
When Jackson caught the ball at his own 28, Giants Domenik Hixon and Bryan Kehl were closing in on him. Jackson then backed up a few steps. It wasn’t exactly a moonwalk. It looked more like someone running tape in reverse of him running normally. Having bought himself some space, and thoroughly bedazzling the oncoming Giants, Jackson took off along the sideline.
No one had a chance. Once he cleared the desperate lunge of poor Feagles, no one had a chance.
That touchdown gave the Eagles a 24-10 lead in the second quarter of a game that was only beginning to show how bizarre it would become.
Jackson’s second touchdown wasn’t as remarkable an individual effort, but it was an even bigger score in the scheme of things. The Eagles may look back at it as the most important play of their season. They came into this game knowing that, thanks to San Diego’s victory over Dallas, a win would give them control of the NFC East.
A few seconds earlier, Eagles defenders Will Witherspoon and Sean Jones had turned Manning’s short throw to Hixon into a 61-yard touchdown with embarrassingly lame tackling efforts. The Eagles had blown leads of 14-0 and 30-17 and suddenly, stunningly were trailing by 31-30.
Instead of first place, the Eagles were looking squarely at a quagmire of a three-way tie. Worse, they would have blown a big lead against a division rival with just one division game left — at Dallas on the last day of the season.
And then Quintin Demps returned a kickoff out to the Giants’ 40. And then Donovan McNabb took the snap on first down. And then he planted his feet as the offensive line provided him a remarkable amount of time.
A quick aside here: For years, there has been a debate about McNabb’s place among the league’s best quarterbacks, a debate complicated by the quality of the weapons he’s had as compared to the likes of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The emergence of Jackson along with Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek and Jason Avant is removing the hypothetical from this debate.
This was a classic Brady or Manning play. Plenty of time. Speedy receiver popping free deep. Perfect throw that catches the receiver in stride.
Giants cornerback Aaron Ross had no chance to prevent what was happening. But when he dove and missed and there wasn’t another defender within 20 yards, Jackson was free to spin around and run the ball in backward.
The Eagles had the lead. For good.
They’ll be a better team if they get Westbrook back. But they’re a first-place team without him because of the kid with the crazy legs and crazier speed.