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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- As a general rule, if you're going to give up 512 yards to the Giants, it's best to have DeSean Jackson on your roster. The Eagles' wide receiver has been turning heads for two seasons, but on Sunday night he showed the nation why he's become the most explosive player in the league.

He's the ultimate X-factor on a team that is once again peaking at the right time. And this season, the Eagles may even leave themselves some breathing room. With a 45-38 win in their final trip to Giants Stadium, Philadelphia took sole possession of first place in the NFC East. The Eagles almost seemed to be toying with the Giants before finally pulling away in the fourth quarter.

And in the biggest game of the season to this point, Jackson was by far the best player on the field. Even the stoic Andy Reid can't suppress a smile when he's asked about his precocious star. Jackson isn't much for sideline decorum, so he's often in Reid's ear offering up helpful suggestions such as, "They can't cover me, coach!"

On this night, Jackson scored on a 72-yard punt return and a 60-yard reception. He averaged 44.8 yards on his first five touches of the game and the Giants' defensive backs looked even more helpless than usual. It seemed appropriate that Jackson tied a record for most touchdowns in a season of 50 yards or more (with eight). Jackson is now one of three players to hold the record; the other two are the Bears’ Devin Hester ('07) and former Los Angeles Rams great Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch ('51). Jackson does everything with a flair, so it's about time we give him his own catchy nickname.

When it appeared the Giants had settled things down in the second quarter, Jackson fielded a punt at his 28-yard line and immediately retreated several yards to his right. Giants special-teams aces Domenik Hixon and Bryan Kehl converged on Jackson, but they left him a tiny escape route along the sideline and he raced 72 yards to the end zone. There's a gear that Jackson has that pretty much eliminates any angle a defender might have.

"That return was disgusting," said Eagles tight end Brent Celek, who added his seventh touchdown of the season Sunday. "There's no player like him in the league. There are some great receivers out there, but no one's as quick and fast as him."

Before the game, word spread through the Eagles' locker room that the Cowboys had lost to the Chargers. Several players admitted the good news gave them an extra spark in jumping out to a 14-0 lead during the first six minutes. But unlike the Eagles' win at the Linc last month, the Giants refused to go away in Sunday's game. With 5:12 left in the third quarter, Hixon got loose for a 61-yard touchdown to give the Giants a 31-30 lead. On the sideline, Reid said that Jackson was "bugging" him about wanting the ball.

On the next play from scrimmage, quarterback Donovan McNabb dropped back in the pocket and had an eternity to survey the field. With each passing moment, everyone's eyes looked for Jackson, who was in the process of running away from Giants safety Aaron Ross. McNabb delivered a perfect pass and Ross' dive came up empty. Jackson punctuated the 60-yard touchdown by running the final 10 yards backward.

"I feel like I'm kind of the big play, the go-to receiver at crucial moments," said Jackson after the game. "So I went to Donovan, coach Reid and Marty Mornhinweg and I told them, 'Just put the ball in my hands.' They were doing some single coverage a couple times and I was like, 'There's no way they can single coverage me.' "

Jackson missed last week's win over Atlanta while recovering from a concussion, but he said he felt fine leading up to Sunday's game. Reid still marvels at how calm Jackson seems to be in big games.

"New York's a pretty big venue," said Reid. "But [with Jackson], it's like we're playing in the backyard. He loves playing the game."

» NFC: D. Jackson (PHI) | S. Jackson (STL) | P. Harvin (MIN) | D. Williams (CAR)
» AFC: R. Brown (MIA) | D. Sproles (SD) | J. Cribbs (CLE) | C. Johnson (TEN)

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

A look at the players opposing teams hate to see with the ball in their hands in the open field.

I believe that DeSean Jackson is the most dangerous player in the NFL right now. He's not the best receiver or the best punt returner -- but his ability to strike from anywhere on the field makes him one of the most potent weapons we've seen in years. Wide receivers such as the Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald and the Texans' Andre Johnson are going to make a ton of plays, but Jackson's the type player who only needs a couple of touches to change the course of a game.

	Win McNamee/Getty Images
	DeSean Jackson has six touchdowns this season that have covered at least 50 yards.

Two weeks ago against the Redskins, Jackson took an end around 67 yards for a touchdown on the Eagles' first possession. Later, he raced through the Skins' secondary for a 57-yard touchdown and then danced an Irish jig in the end zone. With Jackson in the lineup, the Eagles don't have to rely on dinking and dunking the ball down the field. There's not a single player in the league who can cover Jackson one-on-one. The Bucs held him to one catch for 1 yard by using a cornerback and a safety over the top to bracket the second-year receiver.

That opened things up for Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to connect with rookie wide receiver Jeremy Maclin for a couple of touchdowns. Last season, he finally hit the rookie wall in December and didn't even register a catch in a Dec. 7 game against the Giants. But he elevated his game during the '08 playoffs and became one of McNabb's favorite targets.

One longtime NFC pro personnel scout told me recently that it's Jackson's ability to stutter-step and then be at full speed within about four strides that separates him from most receivers in the league. Asked recently if he'd coached a weapon as potent as Jackson, Eagles coach Andy Reid referenced Terrell Owens and Brian Westbrook. But he quickly returned to Jackson.

"I won't take anything away from [Jackson]," Reid said. "That kid's explosive. He's exciting to watch, and most of all he loves to play the game. He loves to play."

Jackson already has six touchdowns this season of 50 or more yards. If he can score two more times from that distance, he'll tie the record that Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch set in 1951 while with the Los Angeles Rams. He's scored four times through the air, once on a punt return and once on the end around against the Redskins.

Watching him race down the sideline against the Skins was remarkable in that he completely erased the angles that LaRon Landry and DeAngelo Hall had on him. The only fear with Jackson is his slight frame. He's not built to take a heavy pounding -- but he may not have to when you consider that he's normally running wide open behind another team's secondary.

"I'm just being put in some great positions to go out there and, I guess, score over 50 yards," Jackson said after Sunday's game. "But whatever we need to do to make it work, man, that's what we're going to do."

Last Sunday, the Giants trimmed the Eagles' lead to 16-7 late in the first half. It looked like the Giants might finally have gained a little momentum. But on the next play from scrimmage, Jackson sold Giants safety C.C. Brown on a subtle fake to the inside, caught a pass from McNabb and then raced up the field for a 54-yard touchdown. The Giants were completely deflated by the play and never recovered.

Jackson gives the Eagles more margin for error than they've had in years. When a player makes 60-yard touchdowns seem commonplace, it takes pressure off the rest of the offense. I know the Cowboys will probably try to cover Jackson on Sunday with veteran cornerback Terence Newman and then shade one of the safeties to Jackson's side. That's the type of respect the most dangerous player in the game deserves these days.