The Giants’ playoff run is quickly turning into just a string of rematches. After avenging their Christmas Eve loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, they’ll now face an NFC East rival in the Philadelphia Eagles. The environment should be raucous on Saturday, and wide receiver Darius Slayton is excited for what’s to come.
Philly swept the head-to-head season series against Big Blue this year. Both games had a pretty different feel, though. The first one was an absolute butt-whooping at MetLife Stadium. The Eagles won 48-22 and could’ve easily run up the score more if they really wanted to. They met again at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 18. New York sat its starters with a wild-card berth already wrapped up. Philly had the NFC’s top seed to play for, and they ended up winning 22-16.
When asked about what the environment will be like for this Divisional Round matchup, Slayton didn’t mince his words (quote via NJ.com):
I’m sure the atmosphere is going to be insane. Plenty of boos and middle fingers for us, but we look forward to it.
Yes, that’s definitely what will happen. Knowing what to expect will make it easier to manage. You know Jihad Ward is ready for it.
In case you’ve forgotten, the Giants haven’t won on the road vs. the Eagles in about a decade. And while the playoff history between these two isn’t super long, it’s been interesting.
A win on Saturday at the Linc would help wash away Big Blue’s consistent regular-season shortcomings in recent history, too. Since 2013, the Giants and Eagles have faced off 20 times. New York has lost 16 of those games. This includes an eight-game losing streak for the G-Men and 11 losses in their last 13 matchups.
New York will come into this game as a heavy road underdog, but that’s not shocking. They’re unlikely to be favored in any of their playoff games this year, but that doesn’t mean an upset can’t happen. We’ll see if Slayton and the Giants can see through the boos and middle fingers to secure another victory on Saturday night.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
