After all the dialogue about the importance of this final game, the benefits of winning versus the temptation of losing to improve your draft position, the discussion can narrow down to one unrepresented group: .
A paying customer inside the building.
do you remember?
“They would much rather walk out of their home stadium talking trash to Eagles fans than having Eagles fans talking trash to them,” wide receiver Darius Slayton told the Post. “surely.''
surely.
It appeases a fan base that cheered the refreshing winning formula that general manager Joe Schon and coach Brian Daboll's new regime created last season, only to find that the arrows aren't hitting them as expected in the second year. There's not much the Giants can do about it. , points forward and upward.
On Sunday, the Giants faced the Eagles in a wintry mix of afternoon and evening games at MetLife Stadium, ending a disastrous season.
At 5-11, the Giants have no choice but to head home, while the Eagles are slumping, but remain in the playoffs with an 11-5 record.
Could the Giants somehow, somehow, send some of the crowd rooting for them to the exits with an actual victory over a rival that has owned the Giants for far too long?
“Obviously we're out of the playoffs and there's nothing we can do about it,” receiver Isaiah Hodgins said. Must. ”
Shane and Daboll were hired to put a losing streak behind them, but so far they're hitting .000 when it comes to taking care of business in the better NFC East.
They are 0-8 against the Cowboys and Eagles.
“There's a talent gap there and we need to fill it,” Shane said at the end of last season. “For me, it's the NFC East. We're 1-5-1 against the NFC East. If we win the division, the rest takes care of itself. So we need to close that gap and become NFC East champions. That will always be our goal.”
This season was supposed to be the season to close that gap.
The Giants didn't come close.
They are 0-2 against the Cowboys and have allowed more points (89 points) in those two games than the Cowboys have scored all season.
The Giants have now lost six straight against the Cowboys and have lost 13 of their past 14 games.
What about their losses?
Tear sheets are just as bad when considering accounting with your geographically closest department counterpart. In 2022, the Eagles became the first team to beat the Giants three times in one season.
Two weeks ago, the Giants lost 10 straight at Lincoln Financial Field.
It was a close game (33-25), but it was also the Eagles' only win in their last five games.
The Giants, who have won just six of their past 32 games against the Eagles, have lost five in a row in this series.
This fight belongs to the birds.
When asked last week what it meant to finally beat the Eagles, Daboll, not in the mood for much talk, even for himself, steered the conversation toward a brick wall.
He pointed out that the team has a chance to go 3-3 in the district this season.
Yes, the Giants have improved this year against the Commanders (2-0) from last year's 1-0-1 record.
When was the last time a legitimate team used “better than the Washington franchise” as a litmus test for something?
“As a whole in the NFC East, we have to beat the Cowboys, we have to beat the Eagles,” guard Justin Pugh said. “You have to win in your division. Until you can win your division, it's hard to make the playoffs and do everything you want to do.”
The Eagles enter this game as the No. 5 seed in the NFC, and the only way they can win the division is to beat the Giants, lose to the Cowboys in Washington, and both games kick off at the same time.
“I can't say we're too worried about being the biggest spoiler in the world,” Hodgins said. “But I'm sure if we did it, a lot of fans would be happy.”
