The fact that Boston Scott has earned the moniker of “Giant Killer” in recent years is ironic at its core. He’s one of the smallest players on the field at 5-foot-6, 203 pounds, plus he’s third on the depth chart behind more explosive running backs like Miles Sanders and Kenny Gainwell.
Yet Scott has an uncanny knack for finding the end zone whenever the Philadelphia Eagles play the New York Giants. It’s like dropping a diamond-tipped needle on a well-grooved vinyl. Touchdown, again and again, and again. Scott has scored 10 times in 8 career games against Philly’s NFC East rivals to the north. It’s remarkable.
“I feel like God has a sense of humor,” Scott told reporters, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Like, why the heck is one of the smallest players having those types of games against a team called the Giants? It’s amazing what a little faith will do. We all have Giants in our lives. It’s different for each person.”
That’s one way to look at it. Another viewpoint was a bit more dismissive as Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale chalked it up to coincidence. He didn’t want to hear about Scott the Giant Killer.
“Well, it predates my time here, I can’t answer that,” Martindale told reporters, via Giants Videos. “He’s a good running back, they got a stable of good running backs … I know just because he scored … I don’t think he’s a Giant killer.”
Whatever Martindale wants to think or say is irrelevant because the statistics don’t lie. Scott has carried the ball 86 times for 414 yards and 9 touchdowns versus New York while making 17 catches for 222 yards and 1 receiving score. There are only five players in NFL history with more touchdowns against the Giants than Scott.
Further, the explosive bowling ball has racked up 184 yards on 7 kickoff returns. And 58.8% of his total touchdowns (10 out of 17) have come against Big Blue. Coincidence? Probably not.
Eagles Sign Defensive Back to Reserve/Future Contract
The Eagles made a minor roster move on Wednesday by adding rookie defensive back Tristin McCollum. He spent time on the Houston Texans practice squad this season at the safety position. The Texas native is the twin brother of Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie cornerback Zyon McCollum.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder went undrafted out of Sam Houston State where he saw action in 57 games. McCollum was a 4-year starter in college and finished with 229 tackles (12 for loss), along with 3 interceptions. He earned All-Southland Conference second-team honors during his senior year.
Eagles Expecting Heavy Blitzing? Nick Sirianni Not Sure
The Giants blitz more than any other NFL team in the league, bringing pressure on 48% of pass plays. The Eagles handled it well in their first matchup versus New York but struggled at times in the regular-season finale. Don’t read too much into the second meeting as Nick Sirianni admitted to not completely turning Jalen Hurts loose. He can beat the blitz with his legs in a normal setting.
However, Wink Martindale changed his philosophy last week against Minnesota and abandoned the blitz. Is that a harbinger of things to come? Or, as Sirianni noted, maybe the savvy defensive coordinator saw something on film and simply threw a curveball.
“He does what he needs to do to win the football game. I know that’s their philosophy,” Sirianni said of Martindale. “It’s all of our philosophies, do what you’ve got to do to win the football game. Obviously, I wasn’t in their game plan meetings of saying, hey, this is what the Vikings do on offense and this is how he needs to call it. We noticed how he called it and just watched it from there.”
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D-Coordinator Fires Back at Eagles ‘Giant Killer’ Boston Scott