DeSean Jackson's dash to the end zone was one for the ages, a stunning capper to an incredible comeback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jackson scored on a 65-yard punt return on the final play of the game — “The Miracle at the New Meadowlands” — and the Eagles scored 28 points in the final 7:28 to beat the deflated New York Giants 38-31 on Sunday and take over first place in the NFC East.

“By far, this is one of the greatest comebacks of my career, being down by such a huge deficit,” said quarterback Michael Vick, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another.

And, he can thank Jackson — as well as Giants punter Matt Dodge.

Dodge lined up to punt with 14 seconds to play and the rookie got off a line-drive kick, instead of booting it out of bounds. Jackson bobbled it at his 35 and once he regained control, broke through the initial line of coverage and sped down the right sideline.

“I've never been around anything like this in my life,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “It's about as empty as you get to feel in this business, right there.”

The electrifying finish left the Eagles (10-4) alone in first place in the NFC East, one game ahead of the Giants (9-5).

While Philadelphia moved closer to clinching a playoff spot, Atlanta got in with the Giants' loss and the Falcons' 34-18 win at Seattle. Pittsburgh is also in the postseason, despite falling 22-17 to the New York Jets.

Matt Ryan threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns and Jonathan Babineaux recovered a fumble for a touchdown as the Falcons (12-2) won their eighth straight game, their longest winning streak since the 1998 Super Bowl season. Ryan had touchdown throws of 3 yards to Jason Snelling, 24 to Michael Jenkins and 5 to Roddy White, who finished with seven catches.

“It's special,” White said. “We have a special group around here.”

At East Rutherford, N.J., the stunning turn of events brought back thoughts of Joe Pisarcik's fumble in 1978 — the original “Miracle at the Meadowlands.” The Giants quarterback botched a handoff at the end of the game, allowing the Eagles' Herm Edwards to scoop up the loose ball and run in for the winning points.

This time, the showstopper was Jackson.

Coughlin tossed the papers in his hand to the ground and confronted Dodge after the play, clearly agitated.

“I'll take full responsibility for the last play,” Coughlin said. “With him back there, you don't punt the ball to him.”

They did, and the play will go down in NFL lore as the only game-winning punt return on the final play from scrimmage.

Philadelphia swept the season series with New York (9-5) and only needs to win one of its final two games or have New York lose one of its two.

Eli Manning threw four touchdown passes, including an 8-yarder to Kevin Boss with 8:17 to play to help the Giants open a 31-10 lead.

Falcons 34, Seahawks 18At Seattle, Jamaal Anderson forced a fumble by QB Matt Hasselbeck in the end zone on the first offensive play of the second half for the Seahawks (6-8). Anderson appeared to get away with a facemask penalty on the play, but Babineaux came out of the scrum with the TD.

Patriots 31, Packers 27At Foxborough, Mass., Dan Connolly rumbled 71 yards for what is believed to be the longest kickoff return by an offensive lineman in NFL history, Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and New England won its sixth straight.The Patriots, who had outscored their previous two opponents 81-10, had their hands full even with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers missing the game with a concussion. Matt Flynn threw his first three pro touchdown passes in his place.

Colts 34, Jaguars 24At Indianapolis, Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes and Donald Brown ran for another score as the Colts stayed in the playoff hunt. The Colts (8-6) share the AFC South lead with Jacksonville (8-6) and can clinch a seventh division title in eight years by winning their last two games.

Ravens 30, Saints 24At Baltimore, Ray Rice ran for 153 yards and scored two touchdowns, and the Ravens (10-4) ended New Orleans' six-game winning streak. Coming in, Rice hadn't had a run of more than 30 yards and reached the 100-yard mark only once.

Raiders 39, Broncos 23At Oakland, Calif., Jason Campbell threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Marcel Reece and Jacoby Ford scored on a 71-yard run to help the Raiders (7-7) overcome Tim Tebow's two long touchdowns in his first career start.

Bills 17, Dolphins 14At Miami, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes and the resurgent Bills eliminated the Dolphins from playoff contention.

Bengals 19, Browns 17At Cincinnati, Cedric Benson ran for a season-high 150 yards and a touchdown, and the Bengals (3-11) ended a 10-game losing streak that matched the longest in franchise history.Cincinnati took a straight-ahead approach against the Browns (5-9), who clinched their 10th losing record in 12 years since returning as an expansion team.

Lions 23, Bucs, 20, OTAt Tampa, Fla., Dave Rayner's third field goal, a 34-yarder with 9:51 left in overtime, allowed Detroit to end the longest road losing streak in NFL history at 26 games.Rayner kicked a 28-yarder as time expired in regulation to force the extra period for the Lions (4-10), who won on the road for the first time since a 16-7 victory at Chicago on Oct. 28, 2007.

Panthers 19, Cards 12At Charlotte, N.C., Jimmy Clausen outplayed John Skelton in a matchup of rookie quarterbacks, John Kasay kicked four field goals, and Carolina snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Titans 31, Texans 17At Nashville, Tenn., Kerry Collins threw for two touchdowns and 237 yards and Chris Johnson ran for a TD and 130 yards as Tennessee snapped a six-game losing streak.

Cowboys 33, Redskins 30At Arlington, Texas, David Buehler made a 39-yard field goal with 50 seconds left, giving Dallas a win that was a lot tougher than it had to be.The Cowboys led 27-7 early in the third quarter and 30-14 at the start of the fourth. By pulling it out, Dallas (5-9) improved to 4-2 under interim coach Jason Garrett, guaranteeing no worse than a break-even finish in his tenure.

Chiefs 17, Rams 13At St. Louis, Matt Cassel returned to the lineup 11 days after an emergency appendectomy and threw a touchdown pass, and Jamaal Charles scored on a short run that helped clinch the win.