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Flipping Eagles rivalry could shift Giants power in NFC East
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- Flipping Eagles rivalry could shift Giants power in NFC East
John Harbaugh wants no part of any attachment to the Giants ' recent history against the Philadelphia Eagles.
They're 4-16 against the Eagles in their last 20 meetings, 2-8 in their last 10 and 1-3 in the last four meetings. They have lost 12 straight at Lincoln Financial Field dating back to 2013.
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"I've only seen on movies where they all go into the lawyer's office and they read the will. What would that be akin to, a 13-game losing streak that you inherit?" Harbaugh said this week.
One reporter suggested it would be similar to inheriting a huge debt.
"Yeah," Harbaugh laughed. "You can say like, no thanks. That's what I would probably say it's like. You got all the pictures and the record collection, and you got the million-dollar debt that your uncle incurred. I'd say like, I'm not up for that. So I'm going to say no thanks to that."
No thanks. Harbaugh has a better idea: Beat the last place Eagles (2-6), bury them in the NFC East's basement with a seventh straight loss, and surge towards Tuesday's trade deadline and Thursday night's home game against the Washington Commanders (2-4-1) with the Giants as the new sheriff in town in this division.
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"We're trying to win the division first. That's our first goal here," Harbaugh said. "This game will go a long way toward that. That's why it's so important. Division games are big. Division games on the road are really big. Those are big wins if you can get them. They're tough to get. It's a big challenge. We're excited about the opportunity, but we understand it's a daunting challenge."
It's not as challenging as it used to be. The Eagles are bad, and they're on the brink.
They traded star wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots in the offseason. Starting quarterback Jalen Hurts (blood clots) and top receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring) are sidelined by injuries. Lane Johnson, one of the best right tackles of all time, retired midseason. And Philly traded center Cam Jurgens to the Ravens.
They still have former NFL offensive player of the year Saquon Barkley, star defensive tackle Jalen Carter and top corner Quinyon Mitchell. But Vic Fangio's defense is small. The pass rush isn't as deep. And Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni are running out of time to find answers for this season.
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They made the abrupt decision this week to bench second-string QB Tanner McKee for recently acquired third-stringer Joe Milton III, a former Patriots and Cowboys backup. And this is a last stand of sorts before their Week 9 bye, which could bring pink slips and more changes if they fall to New York.
Harbaugh, 64, wouldn't mind being the catalyst to the Eagles' demise. He understands how deep the rivalry goes.
He worked as Andy Reid's special teams coordinator in Philadelphia from 1998 through 2006 and coached the defensive backs in 2007 before landing the Baltimore Ravens head coaching job.
He also knows that the Giants have not won the NFC East since their 2011 Super Bowl season. The Eagles (six), Dallas Cowboys (five), and Washington (three) all have rotated as the class of the division since, while the Giants have finished third or last in the NFC East in a startling 11 of those 14 years.
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The Giants have only made the playoffs twice in those 14 seasons, while the Eagles have won two Super Bowls. And the Giants have finished in third or last place in five straight seasons. They've been outscored by the Eagles, 254-167, in their last nine head-to-head meetings, as well.
The Giants don't want to hear the Eagles' injury excuses, though. New York is playing without quarterback Jaxson Dart (torn MCL, meniscus) and edge rusher Brian Burns (torn MCL, meniscus) and probably running back Cam Skattebo (hamstring), too, among others.
But they've pivoted from Jameis Winston to trade acquisition J.J. McCarthy at quarterback and are coming off a huge road win over the Houston Texans and a bye week.
"It's all about us and how we execute the football plays," McCarthy said approaching his second Giants start. "Obviously, it gets very loud, but the preparation throughout the week, the nonverbal communication is just a huge key in any environment, but especially on the road in loud crowd environments. It's just about executing those ball plays and not worrying about anything else … It's going to be a lot of fun."
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It is well documented that Harbaugh is already aggressively pursuing trades for a running back and a defensive tackle, with the Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor the top target of several teams around the league.
And if the Giants beat the Eagles, it could be the final push Harbaugh needs to increase his trade offer to bring a player like Taylor to New York. Ravens running back Derrick Henry, per ESPN, is not expected to be traded by a Baltimore team that apparently does not intend to be sellers at the deadline.
Harbaugh and the Giants are determined to capitalize on the window of opportunity in front of them if the team keeps showing them it's worthy.
The coach does not want to hear about the Giants being "favorites" to win the division, though, even if New York has moved to -150 to claim the NFC East way ahead of 3-5 Dallas (+245), Washington (+500) and the distant fourth Eagles (+3300).
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"To me, it's all kind of meaningless," Harbaugh said. "I mean, if you're betting it's important. But it doesn't matter to us, because there's still 10 games left to play. And I'm quite sure every one of the teams in the division believes that in 10 games, they can make up ground.
"I've had experience with that in my coaching career," he added. "Players know that it's what you do. It's not what anybody says about you or where you get ranked or anything like that. It's just about what you do. You've got to go win games."
He said he shouldn't have to remind his locker room not to focus on those types of stats, either.
"No. They're locked in," he said. "They're getting ready to play this game, and they know. In this league, to even think for one second that something's not going to be a challenge or that you might get complacent or that it might not, what would even be on your mind if you thought that? I believe that, when you get asked that, if you're the right kind of team, it's just like, really, you're asking me that? Shame on us if we would think that way, and we're not thinking that way."
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They're thinking big, but they're not letting their heads get big about what they've accomplished so far.
Their mission is to clip the Birds' wings on Sunday, go add some big-time playmakers on the trade market Monday or Tuesday, squash Washington on Thursday and set the stage for an exciting winter in New York.
