Getty Eagles legend Brian Dawkins celebrates a 23-11 win for Philadelphia over the New York Giants in the 2008 NFC Divisional Round.
The last time the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants clashed in the NFC Divisional Round, the roles were reversed. The Giants were the No. 1 seed in 2008 and playing host to an underdog Eagles team that barely squeaked into the playoffs.
That rag-tag squad was arguably the original hungry dogs. Guided by legendary Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins, Philadelphia brought a stingy defense to the Meadowlands and limited New York to three field goals (plus a bone-headed safety) during an ugly win on a windy day in New Jersey. The Eagles won 23-11 to advance to the NFC Championship Game.
Dawkins was all over the field that day and finished with 10 total tackles. Donovan McNabb rushed for 1 touchdown in the first quarter, then hit Brent Celek for a 1-yard score in the fourth. David Akers booted three field goals. Game over. It was emblematic of what had been the fiercest rivalry in the NFC East, significantly more heated and more meaningful than anything the Eagles had with the Dallas Cowboys at the time.
The last time the #Eagles faced the Giants in the playoffs was 14 years ago, when the 6th seeded Eagles marched into Giants Stadium and took care of business! Many Eli faces during that one!
GO BIRDS🦅
#FlyEaglesFly #NFLPlayoffs #PhiladelphiaEagles #EaglesNation
Brian Dawkins Stops Short of Calling Giants ‘Dirty’
The Eagles secured six division crowns from 2000-2011, with the Giants taking four titles over that same 12-year span. The Cowboys? Well, they won two NFC East championships but the real rivalry started and ended up and down the New Jersey Turnpike. Dawkins recently revealed that the Giants were the team he hated the most.
Why? Quite frankly, the Cowboys weren’t fielding great teams during his playing days.
“With a rivalry, you usually have your back and forth, right? You have one team has it a couple of years and they get you, and that was the Giants for us,” Dawkins told Heavy. “The Giants had our number for a while and we had theirs for a little bit and then it became going back and forth. To me, that’s a rivalry.
“When I came through, and, again, I don’t say this from a bragging place I just say this, my record against Dallas is pretty heavily in my favor so it wasn’t a rivalry for me when I came through. Again, fans you’ve been fans for the Eagles more than I’ve been a player so you’ve been through some of the other things and I haven’t been through those things. So, for me, it’s always been the Giants.”
Dawkins retired from the NFL in 2012 with an impressive 17-8 record versus Dallas; however, the hard-hitting safety went 11-14 against New York. The Giants were the tougher nut to crack, plus they were a borderline dirty bunch.
“This is the week when I would be preparing for a very physical offensive line that was right on the edge of being dirty. I’m not going to call them dirty, but right on the edge,” Dawkins said. “Again, I love that. I love going against a team that played the way they played. Preparing for [Jeremy] Shockey. Preparing for Brandon Jacobs back in the day. Tiki Barber. Amari Toomer. I can’t leave him out. [Kerry] Collins.
“So I can go through the names of these guys because, again, that was a physical game. I was excited to play it and I knew I was going to get beat up after it which was always a good thing when we win. But when you lose and get beat up, that’s not a good thing. But, again, it was always the Giants for me.”
In 2002, the #NYGiants were facing a win and in against the Eagles and were down 7-0 into the 4th quarter. That’s when @JeremyShockey won a jump ball against a Hall of Fame safety in Brian Dawkins to tie a game the Giants would win in OT. #GiantsPride
Giants Expecting ‘Middle Fingers & Plenty of Boos’
Giants receiver Darius Slayton is still new to the Eagles-Giants rivalry. He’s learning the ins and outs of the NFC East’s biggest feud, including the rivalry’s sometimes one-sided history (see: Miracle at the Meadowlands I, Miracle at the Meadowlands II, among others).
Slayton has played 8 games against the Eagles — 22 catches for 409 yards, with 2 touchdowns — and walked away on the losing end in 6 of those contests. He’s expecting a hostile crowd on Saturday night in Philly.
“I’m sure the atmosphere is going to be insane,” Slayton told Bob Brookover. “Plenty of boos and middle fingers for us, but we look forward to it.”
The Fumble. Herm Edwards. DeSean Jackson & Matt Dodge. Brian Dawkins. Brian Westbrook. Donovan McNabb & David Akers. Nate Sudfeld. A one-sided rivalry for many years.
The Giants would exorcise countless demons by upsetting the hated Eagles on Saturday t.co/xn1gvq8goo
