IT’S BUSINESS . . . AND IT’S PERSONAL
Giants’ failures vs. Eagles must end sometime
Tom Coughlin is the last Giants coach to beat the Eagles in Philadelphia. Ben McAdoo is the last Giants coach to beat the Eagles at all. Pat Shurmur didn’t beat the Eagles or Cowboys once in two seasons.
So tonight isn’t just a pivotal opportunity for the Giants (1-5) to make noise in a bad NFC East by beating the Eagles (1-4-1), or to fade away with a loss.
It’s also a chance for Joe Judge’s Giants to announce they are no longer a division doormat and an automatic win for Doug Pederson’s Eagles.
Many of these Giants coaches and players weren’t here the past few years, but they should still take this statistic personally: 0 -7 against the Eagles since Nov. 2016, and 0-14 against the Eagles and Cowboys combined since Dec. 2016.
They should take it personally because you can be sure John Mara and the Giants’ brass do.
The Giants’ last victory over the
Eagles came almost four years ago under McAdoo, 28-23, at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 6, 2016.
The Giants’ last win at Lincoln Financial Field was almost seven years ago under Coughlin, 15-7, on Oct. 27, 2013. That’s six straight road losses at Philly.
Think that’s not a big deal because the Giants have other games on their schedule? Wrong. This season is a perfect example of why.
The NFL’s current playoff format mandates every division champion must get in, which often allows teams to stay competitive late into the season if they can hold their own against division opponents — or if their division struggles along with them.
Sure enough, this year’s NFC East (5-18-1, .229) is the secondworst division since the 1970 NFLAFL merger through six weeks, per the Elias Sports Bureau. The Cowboys (2-4) have players ripping coaches, and Washington (1-5) already benched its starting quarterback.
So the Giants still have every chance to compete for a division title and playoff spot if they can win NFC East games.
But the Giants have been eliminated early from playoff contention frequently in recent years, not just because the team has been bad, but because they have barely won any games in the division to extend their hope into December.
The Giants have a 5-15 (.250) record in the division from 2017. All five victories are over Washington.
The 2016 season under McAdoo is the Giants’ only playoff appearance in the last eight seasons. It is also the only season since 2009 that the Giants have had a winning record in division (4-2). They were 3-3 in division and 9-7 overall in 2011 preceding their Super Bowl run.
The Giants were competitive at Dallas in Week 4, but the if-youcan’t-beat-em-join-em hiring of Jason Garrett didn’t get the Giants over the hump against the Cowboys yet.
Now it’s time for the 2020 Giants to take their first crack at Pederson, who is 7-1-0 against the Giants as Eagles head coach. Philly QB Carson Wentz is 6-1-0 against them. Daniel Jones is 0-1 against the Eagles after last year’s 34-17 Week 17 loss at home.
Judge said he is paying no mind to the Giants’ seven-game losing streak to the Eagles.
“I don’t really think about that at all, actually,” he said Tuesday.
Strong safety Jabrill Peppers was focused on the team’s opportunity to make strides in division, regardless of the Giants’ recent history against this foe.
“We do know that we’re in the position, despite our record, and that we’re in the thick of the season right now with all of our conference games coming up,” Peppers said. “We know what’s at stake and we’re looking forward to it.”
And free safety Logan Ryan said all due respect to Eagles and Giants legends of the past, but no one who isn’t playing tonight matters to this game.
“Salute to Brian Dawkins, (Michael) Strahan and all these guys, but they’re not going to help us out there there (tonight),” Ryan said. “We have to go out there and execute and do what Joe Judge has asked us to do… Streaks all come to an end.”
The NFC East as a division is likely guaranteed to get one victory tonight, at least, to try to avoid being the worst division since the merger. That distinction belongs to the 2008 NFC West (22-42-0, .344).
But the Giants have to be on the winning side of this one. They have to capitalize on this rare opportunity to stay relevant in a postseason race after a 1-5 start.
And they need a result to command more respect from their division rivals, and to turn these games into actual two-sided rivalries once again.