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Mistakes have killed the Philadelphia Eagles all year. A talented team that outplayed opponents for large chunks of games they would eventually lose, these Eagles have themselves to blame for the 6-8 predicament in which they find themselves. But as much as they shot themselves in the foot in the first half of the season, they still have life. They need to win their final two games and get some help from the Jets and the Giants (in that order), and they can still be division champions.

That's why their coaching staff continues to obsess and fret about mistakes. This is from special teams coach Bobby April, via the Philadelphia Inquirer, on a unit that has had three turnovers and a blocked punt in its past two games:

"Those were major, major gaffes and without a dominant performance by the defense in both games, really dominant, and really a dominant performance by the offense, we probably," April began, then quickly shifted gears, "you can’t do those two things in a game and generally win. Those are major gaffes, you just can’t have a blocked punt."

The Eagles are without any margin for error at this point in the season, and they are a team that threatens to go down in history as extremely error-prone. They made very few errors in their Week 8 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Philadelphia, and they know they need to keep errors to a minimum Saturday in Dallas if they're to have any chance of extending their season to Week 17. Special teams mistakes are the kind of thing that keep a talented team out of the playoffs, and while this is a relatively recent development, the offensive and defensive coordinators of the Eagles have spent more than their share of time pulling out more than their share of their own hair over avoidable mistakes.

» NFC Decisive Moments: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

It's difficult not to choose DeSean Jackson's 65-yard walk-off punt return for a touchdown to end the game against the Giants, but we'll give it a try. That play doesn't happen without a perfectly executed onside kick by the Philadelphia Eagles with 7:28 left in the fourth quarter.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin insists that his players were warned about an onside kick, but you couldn't tell by looking at them. Veteran kicker David Akers approached the ball just like he was planning to kick it deep, but then induced a perfect lob wedge that rookie wide receiver Riley Cooper fielded without any problem.

Replays showed that Giants reserve receiver Duke Calhoun already had begun his retreat as Akers made contact with the ball. Apparently the warning didn't get through to the return unit. Once Michael Vick jogged onto the field with his team trailing 31-17, the Giants were in big trouble. He led two quick scoring drives, which set up Jackson's dramatic return.

Eagles special teams coach Bobby April has received a lot of (deserved) criticism for the way his units have played, but the kickoff coverage group completely duped the Giants at a critical time in the game. And that's why the onside kick is our decisive moment of the week. And depending on where the Eagles go from here, it may end up being one of the most decisive moments of the season.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants spent the better part of three quarters making Eagles quarterback Michael Vick look pedestrian. They battered him with a variety of blitzes as the Giants took what appeared to be a commanding 31-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

What happened next will be talked about by Eagles fans for years to come. And no matter how hard they try, the Giants won't be able to purge a stunning 38-31 loss from their memories. Anyone who says they saw this coming should be labeled a liar because nothing in Vick's game Sunday suggested he was about to slip on his cape midway through the fourth quarter.

The Eagles (10-4) now have sole possession of first place in the NFC East and the Giants (9-5) will have to rally to make the playoffs. All hope is not lost, but now's not a good time to convince Giants fans of that. When quarterback Eli Manning threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kevin Boss with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter, the Giants held a 31-10 lead. New York defensive coordinator Perry Fewell had put together a brilliant game plan to confuse and frustrate Vick, but one play provided the Eagles a shred of hope.

Vick found tight end Brent Celek racing down the seam and delivered a perfect pass over the outstretched arms of Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, who had dropped back in coverage. Celek seemed so surprised to be in the open field that he frantically changed directions several times for no apparent reason.

What happened next probably will be left out of the Tom Coughlin biography, if he chooses a generous author.

The Giants' coach said his players were warned about a potential onside kick, but apparently it wasn't enough of a concern to send out the hands team. And when the ageless David Akers induced a perfect hop, rookie wide receiver Riley Cooper caught the ball with no Giants player in sight. Replays showed that Giants reserve wide receiver Duke Calhoun didn't seem overly interested in making a play on the ball. The Eagles' sideline erupted and you could sense that something remarkable might happen.

"[Special teams coach] Bobby [April] did a great job with that," said Eagles coach Andy Reid, who was drenched in Gatorade by center Mike McGlynn during his postgame address to the players. "That was a surprise onside. In other words, we didn't have our hands people in there, you know our onside kick people in there."

Down the hall, Coughlin was defending his decision to stay with the normal personnel.

"There were still seven and a half minutes to go and they were down two scores, so we didn't think it was necessary to do that at the time," Coughlin said. "There was no reason for us not to make a better play on the ball. We didn't have anybody even around the ball."

Coughlin further explained that having the normal personnel in the game gave the Giants a chance for a better return. And if someone could remind me of the last time the Giants had a big kickoff return, perhaps that explanation would hold water.

Given new life, Vick simply took over the football game. On the second play after the onside kick, Vick scrambled up the middle for 35 yards to the Giants' 9-yard line. And on third-and-goal from the 4, Vick raced around the right side for a touchdown. Everyone in the stadium knew he was going to run the ball, but it didn't matter. Doubt had come to visit the Giants' sideline and a false start penalty helped kill what could've been a game-sealing drive.

The Eagles got the ball back on their 12-yard line with three minutes and no timeouts left, which was not an issue for Vick. On third-and-10, he scrambled to the left and then raced for 33 yards. I'm not sure if the Eagles were sending in passing plays at that point, because it was obvious he was destroying the Giants with his legs. Vick ran for 94 of his 130 yards in the fourth quarter, and he finally let one of his teammates get involved when he found Jeremy Maclin for a game-tying 13-yard touchdown pass.

Things were going so poorly for the Giants at that point that it would've been wise to cut their losses and head to overtime. Instead, they were forced to punt with 14 seconds showing on the clock. Coughlin said rookie Matt Dodge had been instructed to punt the ball out of bounds, but he instead sent a line drive toward DeSean Jackson, who had time to muff the ball before making the play of the season.

Jackson darted right and then benefited from a crushing block by wide receiver Jason Avant. Once Jackson slipped past Dodge, it was obvious that the game was over. As Jackson tends to do, he made an abrupt stop at the goal line and raced to his left in order to milk the clock. By that time, there was pandemonium on the Eagles' sideline.

"Get your butt in the end zone," is what Eagles safety Quintin Mikell remembers saying as Jackson put one last dagger in the Giants. Mikell, one of the veterans on this team, said he'd never seen his head coach this emotional after a game.

Asked if he can recall being so emotional after a win, Reid said, "You know, I can't name another one of these. This is a special one. I mean, this is exciting. This was exciting for you guys; it's a great day to be a Philadelphia writer."

Reid admitted that he "goofed" when he didn't challenge a Jackson fumble early in the fourth quarter. At the time, it looked like the play would end any hope of an Eagles comeback. But on a day when the Eagles scored 28 points to win a game in the fourth quarter, Reid's gaffe is only a footnote. Vick can erase a lot of mistakes.

"He just had this determined look on his face," said left guard Todd Herremans. "It's like he's saying, 'I'm about to win this game. If you want to help, you're more than welcome.'"

So the Eagles went along for the ride.

» NFC Decisive Moments: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

We've all seen the violent collision between Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson and Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson, but it was a play that occurred a few minutes later that helped seal an important win for Philadelphia. The Eagles had taken a 14-0 lead on two huge plays from Jackson in the first quarter, but they seemed to be reeling once he was helped off the field with what we'd later discover was a severe concussion.

The normally reliable David Akers had missed a 37-yard field goal on the same possession Jackson was injured and it seemed like the Falcons had an opportunity to get back in the game. But Jackson's replacement on punt returns, Jorrick Calvin, had a 44-yard return to the Falcons' 34-yard line that seemed to wake up the fans and players.

Kevin Kolb connected with Jeremy Maclin for an 8-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a commanding 21-0 lead. I believe Calvin's return was a defining moment in the game because it provided the Eagles with a much-needed burst of energy. Bobby April's special-teams unit hasn't been that successful in 2010, but maybe Calvin's return will get it going.

I thought middle linebacker Stewart Bradley's sack early in the game pretty much set the tone for the Eagles, but Calvin receives our prestigious "decisive moment" award. By the way, I think Andy Reid should consider allowing Calvin to be the full-time punt returner the rest of the season. Jackson doesn't need to be exposed to additional punishment.

Dallas Cowboys

David Moore of The Dallas Morning News examines the Cowboys' specialists heading into training camp.

Depth continues to be a strength in the Dallas backfield.

New York Giants

General manager Jerry Reese was back in his home state of Tennessee recently to share the story of his journey to the NFL.

Philadelphia Eagles

Even while on a USO tour in Afghanistan, Eagles coach Andy Reid was asked about the trade that sent Donovan McNabb to Washington.

Bobby April talks about the challenges of getting players to understand the importance of special teams.

Washington Redskins

The team's official website has put together a list of FAQs (and corresponding answers) regarding the Redskins' upcoming training camp.

Rich Tandler of CSNwashington.com takes a look at the team's quarterback situation behind McNabb.

The Philadelphia Eagles just announced that restricted free-agent linebacker Omar Gaither has signed his one-year tender offer. Gaither, who missed all but five games of the '09 season with a Lisfranc sprain, has started 34 games for the Eagles since being drafted in the fifth round in '06.

The late Jim Johnson benched Gaither in favor of Akeem Jordan late in the '08 season. When Jeremiah Trotter was released before the '07 season, it was believed Gaither would be an upgrade at middle linebacker. But the young player has never looked comfortable as a starter. If he makes the team in 2010, he'll need to be a valuable part of Bobby April's special teams unit.

We'll keep you posted on the players who haven't signed their tenders. The versatile guard/center Nick Cole hasn't signed his tender at this point. I think the Eagles would be wise to pay Cole a little money and lock him up for a few seasons, but it doesn't look like it will happen before the April 15 deadline.

Our friends at Moving The Chains blog are in the midst of their annual season-in-review series. Sheil Kapadia begins his analysis by discussing David Akers' season. There's a reason the man was voted onto the All-Pro team.

And as you saw other kickers falter in the playoffs, it's hard to argue that any team is in a better situation than the Eagles. I'm sure new special teams coach Bobby April would like to see deeper kickoffs from Akers, but he'll settle for a guy who connected on 32-of-37 field goals in '09.

The Cowboys and Redskins are wandering in the place-kicking wilderness this offseason and Lawrence Tynes of the Giants is a middle-of-the-pack guy. Meanwhile, former Pro Bowl kicker Nick Folk remains on the street. That's one of the most remarkable kicking stories of the NFL season. How did one of the league's best suddenly get the yips?

Some team should at least take Folk to training camp. In fact, I think the Redskins would be wise to go that route.

The good folks at Moving The Chains blog have tallied the penalties for the Eagles' 2009 season. Philly had the fourth-most penalties in the league, but 13 other teams lost more yardage. It's pretty remarkable that out of the top 10 teams in total penalties, seven of them qualified for the playoffs.

Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters led the Eagles in penalties (11) and penalty yardage (178). I was a little surprised that rookie Moise Fokou was fourth on the team in penalties with six. He has the potential to be an excellent special-teams player, but he took some silly risks at times. I think new special-teams coach Bobby April will help Fokou in that department.

And how did Stacy Andrews have time to register five penalties? At that pace, he would've raced past Peters if given enough reps. It will be interesting to see if Andrews can beat out Nick Cole at right guard next season.

Update: Peters' penalty total includes the playoff game against the Cowboys