The “Lucky” Giants are Onto Philly
Time for round three against their division rivals.
What a performance this past Sunday from your New York Giants.
I gathered in Hoboken with friends to watch the game, taking full advantage of the first Giants playoff game in six years. I enjoyed my fair share of adult beverages throughout, stood up at any remotely stressful play, and yelled to my heart’s desire when Dexter Lawrence was called for “roughing” the passer.
The post-victory high fives and daps were cathartic. With each successive high five, I could feel the stress and sadness from most of the last decade of Giants football evaporate. In Brian Daboll’s first year in charge, not only did the Giants finish with a winning record and make the playoffs, they won their first playoff game since Super Bowl 46.
As I left the bar to go meet my wife and some friends for dinner and the Ravens-Bengals game, I made a point to acknowledge every single person I passed wearing Giants gear in both Hoboken and Jersey City. As I sit here typing this, I’ve got an ear-to-ear grin on my face remembering all the times I yelled “HOW BOUT THOSE GIANTS” to strangers who instantly reciprocated my excitement with an aggressive high five.
Nothing could ruin my mood that night. I got to watch my Giants put together a complete performance against a Minnesota team they really should’ve beaten. Daniel Jones played his best game as a professional, and Dexter Lawrence continued his ascension to being the best nose tackle in all of football.
Not even football analysts who call out the “luck” the Giants have had throughout the season could dampen my mood.
In Ben’s defense, he followed this up by sharing metrics that showed the Giants have, in fact, been lucky when it comes to their opponents not converting potential turnovers. Which is all well and good, but I can’t say I’m too worried about how lucky a team with a bottom-tier roster was with the Divisional Round rapidly approaching.
As Giants fans, we know the part luck can play in a deep playoff run. There’s nothing wrong with that, the NFL isn’t going to remove any accolades or trophies because a team was too lucky throughout. You need a bit of luck — whether injury luck like the Eagles have had or otherwise — if you’re going to make it deep into the NFL postseason. That’s a fact.
Additionally, as I’ve said throughout, the Giants have been playing with house money all season long. Once they got the Minnesota draw in round one, however, the Giants playing in the Divisional Round became a legitimately possible reality. It was at that point that I considered it a bit of a disappointment if the Giants didn’t advance.
Now that they have? It’s all gravy. The Eagles are the 1 seed, the team with everything to prove after a very successful season. A loss to their division rival — one with a FAR weaker roster — would deem this season a failure (and what a shame that would be).
The Giants now head to Philadelphia for a Saturday night showdown to book a spot in the NFC Championship game. They’re currently 7.5-point underdogs to Philly, which feels about right, more or less. Did that stop me from placing money on the Giants spread and moneyline? Of course not!
The team is vibing and gelling at the exact right time. Additionally, they’re as healthy as they’ve been all season, something that certainly came back to bite them in their first matchup against Philly. Having Adoree’ Jackson, Leonard Williams and Xavier McKinney back — not to mention Kayvon Thibodeaux going up against a banged up Lane Johnson — is huge for this Giants defense.
They’ve got nothing to lose, so they can approach it with a bit of a “David vs Goliath” mentality and keep things loose throughout the week. Speaking of, the team is certainly staying loose while they prep for the game:
I love it. I know there are those of you who won’t, but I love seeing the team coming together like this ahead of the biggest game most of these players have ever played. I trust Brian Daboll and his staff to find the happy medium between too rigid and way too loose, and it feels like that’s where we’re at with this team.
As for the matchup itself against Philly, nobody can deny the talent across the board on both sides of the ball for the Eagles. They have the best offensive line in the league, a great set of skill position players, and a defense featuring great players at all three levels. The Giants will need to play their best game of the season if they’re going to keep this close.
Sure, they lost 48–22 in a game that was as lopsided as the score would make it seem. But in a week 18 game that saw the Giants bench nearly all of their starters, the Eagles struggled to do much of anything against the backups, barely squeaking out a 22–16 victory. Was that just a product of Jalen Hurts making his first start since being injured? Will the Eagles’ offense get back to its high-flying ways with the time off?
Honestly, I have no idea what to expect. I know Philly is far better than Minnesota, so I’m not allowing that result to cloud my judgement for this matchup. This is a game the Eagles should win, given their talent advantage across the board. But the Giants love being underdogs in the playoffs, and crazier things have happened.
Before you even think it, I do NOT get 2007 vibes from this team. The 2007 roster was much better than this one and the Giants were coming off a postseason appearance the season before. I get that Giants fans want this to be a repeat season (who wouldn’t?) but I don’t buy that argument.
This is the 2022 Giants. Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen’s Giants. Regardless of anything else, we know this team will be well-prepared and work hard until the final whistle. And honestly, given my preseason expectations for the team, it’s tough to ask for anything more than for them to keep it close.
The Giants are playing with house money. Let’s see if they can get “lucky” for just one more week.
