EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The New York Giants already know what awaits Saturday night in Philadelphia.
You want high stakes? How about a prime-time playoff game between two bitter NFC East rivals with the winner moving to within one game of the Super Bowl?
Giants vs. Eagles. Eagles vs. Giants.
The dislike runs a lot deeper than the two previous meetings during this regular season, both won by the Eagles.
And when you take into account the heat that will be generated from the stands inside Lincoln Financial Field, given the Giants’ lack of good fortune in the building, let’s just say the City of Brotherly Love won’t be greeting Big Blue with warm hugs and welcome kisses.
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‘I’m sure the atmosphere is going to be insane. Plenty of boos and middle fingers for us,’ Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton said. ‘But we look forward to it.’
The Giants have not won at Lincoln Financial Field in nine seasons, and on that day on which they last did, Josh Brown kicked five field goals, Peyton Hillis was the leading rusher, and Victor Cruz was the leading receiver for Tom Coughlin’s 2013 team
Chip Kelly’s offense with the Eagles was all the NFL could talk about.
Michael Vick was at quarterback in place of an injured Nick Foles.
But it was the first victory for the Giants without a touchdown in 11 years, and Eli Manning passed Phil Simms as the franchise’s all-time leader in yards passing in that game.
There’s been a lot of frustration, agony and despair for the Giants in Philadelphia since
Here’s a look at what Big Blue has endured on the road in what has become a lopsided rivalry, especially at the Linc, where the reception for the visitors is really unlike any other.
Manning said Monday night that he will be at the Linc on Saturday for Giants-Eagles.
“I promised myself I’d never go to another football game in Philly [after his 2020 retirement] … but I’m gonna break that,’ Manning said during ESPN’s ‘ManningCast’ broadcast of the Dallas Cowboys’ victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
‘I can’t wait to see how many double birds I get. Probably will set a record.”
Let’s go back in time and revisit the Giants’ last nine trips to Philadelphia:
2014: Eagles 27, Giants 0
If there was one image to symbolize the Giants’ fate in Philly, it is this one: Victor Cruz, crying and holding his hands to his face in disbelief after he tore the patellar tendon in his right knee while leaping for a pass on fourth down from the Eagles 3 in the third quarter.
The Eagles sacked Eli Manning six times, snapping the Giants’ three-game winning streak in which they had scored more than 30 points in each victory.
Nick Foles threw two touchdown passes and LeSean McCoy had a season-high 149 yards rushing in what was the Eagles’ first shutout in 18 years.
2015: Eagles 27, Giants 7
The Eagles had three takeaways, sacked Manning three times and forced two intentional-grounding penalties. The Giants intercepted Sam Bradford three times, but were unable to get any points off those turnovers. This was Tom Coughlin’s final game in Philadelphia – coincidentally, he played the Eagles in his Giants’ swan song – and he remains the last Big Blue coach to win at the Linc.
2016: Eagles 24, Giants 19
This one was in prime time, and the Giants wore their Color Rush jerseys for the first time.
The Eagles prevented the Giants from clinching a playoff spot and Eli Manning threw a career-high 63 times, completing 38 for 356 yards. He was picked off three times, including two by Malcolm Jenkins, who took one of those back for a Pick 6.
2017: Eagles 27, Giants 24
Jake Elliott kicked a 61-yarder as the clock expired to stun the Giants. It was the longest game-winner in NFL history for a rookie and a Philly franchise record.
Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, including a 77-yard score to Sterling Shepard, but the Eagles rallied for two field goals in the final 51 seconds – yes, you read that right – to stun Big Blue.
2018: Eagles 25, Giants 22
Jake Elliott did it again.
He kicked a 43-yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining as the Eagles overcame deficits of 12-0 and 19-14 in the fourth quarter.
Eli Manning picked apart a Philadelphia defense that was missing its top four cornerbacks, a starting safety and a starting linebacker. But Manning threw an interception to Malcolm Jenkins at the goal line late in the second quarter, and the game turned.
2019: Eagles 23, Giants 17 (OT)
Eli Manning, starting in place of an injured Daniel Jones, helped the Giants race out to a 14-point lead, and the Eagles were booed off the field, trailing 17-3 at halftime.
The Eagles had lost 19 straight games when trailing by 14 or more points in the second half before rallying. They were down to one healthy wide receiver by the end of the game. Zach Ertz, a Pro Bowl tight end, had to line up at wide receiver, and he caught the game-winning touchdown from Carson Wentz in overtime.
2020: Eagles 22, Giants 21
Everything was there for the taking.
The Giants might not have belonged in the NFC East race with just one win in their first six games, but they were 6:17 away from victory with an 11-point lead after Daniel Jones found Sterling Shepard in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
Yet for the third straight season in Philadelphia, faces new and old, the Giants watched a double-digit lead evaporate, the Eagles celebrate and they were forced to trudge back to the buses for the 90-minute ride back up north to East Rutherford that had to seem a heck of a lot longer after this one.
If not for Evan Engram’s drop of a third-down throw that would have given the Giants the chance to seal the game, maybe the losing streak at the Linc would have ended.
Instead, the Eagles scored the game-winning touchdown when Boston Scott beat Jabrill Peppers to the end zone for the catch.
2021: Eagles 34, Giants 10
The Giants made the switch at quarterback, starting Jake Fromm instead of Mike Glennon, who had replaced Daniel Jones, whose neck injury cost him the final six games of the 2021 season. Neither Fromm nor Glennon distinguished themselves against the Eagles, and Jalen Hurts led a dominant second half effort to break a 3-3 halftime tie. That performance included some insult for the Giants as Hurts threw a touchdown pass to right tackle Lane Johnson.
2022: Eagles 22, Giants 16
Everything was on the line for the Eagles, who needed a win to clinch the NFC East and the No. 1 seed with home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Giants, on the other hand, decided to play the game with their backups since their playoff fate was already determined.
Surprisingly, the Giants’ junior varsity – no disrespect intended – gave the Eagles’ starters all they could handle, forcing coach Nick Sirianni to keep his guys in for the entire game in order to put Big Blue away late.
Davis Webb started at quarterback for Daniel Jones, while Webb’s touchdown pass to Kenny Golladay – his first as a Giant – came against Eagles star corner Darius Slay in the waning moments.
The Giants did not leave with the victory, but they headed home with a lot more belief in their ability to compete with the Eagles and ultimately end their current losing streak at the Linc than anyone had going into that game.