Moshier: No Burress? No excuse!

Yes, in the bitter end to a season that got off to an 11-1 start, the New York Giants sorely missed Plaxico Burress. Without a doubt, his absence was a factor in Sunday's playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. But was it the reason why the Giants lost to the Eagles? Absolutely not.

Don't pin this one on Burress. On this day, the Giants, the other Giants, had only themselves to blame. Penalties, two of them in particular (both on punt returns that would have given them great field position), contributed to the Giants' demise. And playing with the wind, or against it, Eli Manning looked more like Jake Delhomme did Saturday night than the Super Bowl quarterback who last year was nearly playoff-perfect.

When Manning finally did connect on a third-and-long pass, he had to call a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty, and any momentum the Giants did have, was long gone. Manning, the offense in general, and some questionable play-calling that had the Giants trying to run East and West instead of North and South, let down a defense that dominated the first half, and certainly played well enough to win most games.

Unfortunately for the Super Bowl champions and the Giants' fans, this wasn't most games. As well as the Eagles' defense played, it was David Akers (Ahmad Bradshaw) and Kevin Curtis (Fred Robbins) who made the touchdown-saving tackles that helped send Philadelphia to the NFC Championship Game.

Granted, without Burress, these Giants probably wouldn't have won another Super Bowl title. But going one-and-done in the playoffs? That had little to do with who didn't play for them Sunday. With the season on the line, it was the other Giants who shot themselves in the foot.