The long wait is over. The Philadelphia Eagles will host the New York Giants in the NFC Divisional Round next week. It’ll mark the third meeting of the year between the two bitter NFC East rivals, with a winner-take-all berth to the NFC Championship Game on the line.
Philadelphia dominated New York in the first and only real meeting between the two teams as the Eagles racked up a season-high 48 points while running for 250 yards and scoring 6 touchdowns. The second game — a closer-than-expected 22-16 win for the Eagles in Week 18 — was a dress rehearsal for the playoffs as New York rested their starters and Philly called a vanilla gameplan.
Remember, the Eagles have won nine straight games over the Giants at the Linc. The divisional foes have split 4 postseason matchups, including a 23-11 victory for Philly in 2009. Kickoff is slated for 8:15 p.m. (FOX) on Saturday night (January 21) at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles opened as 7.5-point betting favorites. Tickets were selling for $400 (upper level) and $2,100 (lower level) on Ticketmaster.
The Eagles currently hold a nine-game home winning streak over the Giants, and have won 24 of the last 30 matchups overall. The Giants last swept the Eagles in 2007. The Eagles have since swept the Giants eight times. (I do think they’ll be a formidable opponent.)
NY Giants Ready to ‘Go Right Down the Street’
There is an old adage in the NFL that it’s hard to beat the same 3 times in a season. Well, the San Francisco 49ers turned that theory on its head by beating the Seattle Seahawks 41-23 on Saturday in the NFC Wild Card Round.
Giants coach Brian Daboll on getting a third crack at the Philadelphia Eagles after two losses in the regular season: “I think we’ve got a lot of work to do. But it’s enjoyable work.”
Perhaps it will be different for New York and Philadelphia. Their stadiums are separated by only 97 miles of paved highway along the New Jersey Turnpike. Or, as Giants defensive end Leonard Williams said on Sunday night: “All we have to do is go right down the street.” (via New York Post).
New York head coach Brian Daboll added (via Giants.com): “We have a lot of work to do. Go back, look at his tape, correct what we need to correct. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but it’s enjoyable work, to be able to do work at this time of year.”
Eagles Players Express Excitement on Social Media
There was no trash-talking coming out of the virtual mouths of Eagles players on social media once their matchup against New York was set in stone. No, they understand the challenge of knocking off the same opponent 3 times in a single season. Especially a divisional rival who knows your tendencies.
GAME WEEK! 😤 #FLYEAGLESFLY
Lets ride 😤 #FlyEaglesFly
Instead, the Eagles took to Twitter to express excitement over finally knowing their opponent. It’s game week. The quest for the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship in 4 years is officially underway.
That myth that it’s hard to beat the same team 3 times in one season?
21-14 (.600)
Record of teams in playoffs that are 2-0 vs same team during the regular season
Nick Sirianni Addresses Coordinator Interviews
Several assistant coaches have been going on interviews with other teams during the Eagles’ bye week. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon visited with the Houston Texans. Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen met with the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Indianapolis Colts.
Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon need to hurry and find jobs after the Super Bowl run if they are going to so the Eagles can promote Brian Johnson and Dennard Wilson instead of losing them.
Meanwhile, defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson visited the Cleveland Browns. It’s been a whirlwind in recent days, one that head coach Nick Sirianni expected and has a contingency plan for in case any of those guys leave the nest.
“You hate to lose guys because the reason they’re here in the first place is because I felt like they were really good coaches,” Sirianni told reporters on January 10. “Of course, I want to keep these guys, they’re great coordinators, but in the event that I lose them, I have an idea of what I want to do at both spots.
“The answer is sometimes, yes, it’s in the building, sometimes it’s outside of the building. But I feel like we have a lot of good options, and I feel like we have a lot of good options in the building that we’d be excited about if that were to happen.”
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Giants Starter Sounds Off on NFC Playoff Rivalry vs. Eagles