PHILADELPHIA − There has never been any love lost when the Eagles and Giants face each other.
And that’s especially true in the playoffs. The two teams have only met four previous times in the postseason. But each game has been meaningful. One season, the No. 6 seed Eagles knocked out the top-seeded and defending Super Bowl champion Giants.
In another, the Giants returned the favor to the Eagles, fresh off a Super Bowl season, beating them behind a rookie outside linebacker named Lawrence Taylor and a backup QB from the University of Delaware in Scott Brunner.
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In each case, however, there have been lessons and warning signs as to what can happen this time when the top-seeded Eagles, coming off the most successful season in their history with 14 wins, face the upstart and No. 6 Giants, fresh off a road upset over the Minnesota Vikings.
Here’s a look at the previous games and what each one means (the year is when the season began):
2008 Divisional Round: Eagles 23, at Giants 11
The similarities are eerie. The Eagles were the No. 6 seed that year, coming off a road playoff win over the Vikings in the first round before facing the top-seeded Giants, the defending Super Bowl champions who were coming off a bye week.
But the Eagles got off to a fast start when Asante Samuel intercepted quarterback Eli Manning and returned the ball to the Giants’ 2, setting up the first TD.
In the fourth quarter, the defense twice stopped the Giants on fourth down near midfield.
That’s exactly what the Eagles needed because the offense struggled for the most part.
Donovan McNabb threw for 217 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, and Brian Westbrook only had 36 yards rushing on 18 carries.
The Eagles were playing free and loose, happy to be in the playoffs after needing a win on the final day of the season, along with losses by two other teams.
McNabb personified this after his game-clinching first down as he was knocked out of bounds on the Giants sideline. Then he picked up a phone as if to mock the Giants (he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct).
The Giants seem to be in a similar situation, playing loose and carefree after winning a road playoff game over the Vikings.
“We trusted each other,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said that day. “We believed, and I couldn’t be happier for them. The players executed like crazy. They never wavered one bit. That’s tough to find in this league.”
The Eagles hope history doesn’t repeat itself in this case. Back then, the Eagles, likely weary from three straight weeks of travel, fell to Arizona in the NFC Championship game.
2006 Wild Card Round, at Eagles 23, Giants 20
There was no way to know what to expect. McNabb had torn his ACL in November, and the Eagles, behind backup quarterback Jeff Garcia, had to win their last five games just to get into the playoffs.
The Eagles seemed like they were well on their way after taking a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter.
But the Giants quickly tied the game before the Eagles got one more chance. They slowly worked their way down the field, and David Akers kicked a 38-yard field goal with 10 seconds left. Akers kicked the ball in a rainstorm.
The Eagles had to rely on Westbrook, who had a career-high 141 yards rushing, including a 49-yard TD run.
“These games are always knock-down, drag-out battles,” Reid said. “This was no different. You gotta love it.”
There’s a lesson here, especially with quarterback Jalen Hurts dealing with a shoulder injury. If Hurts can’t run or throw effectively, the Eagles might have to rely on Miles Sanders and the defense.
Both, of course, have come through this season.
That season, the Eagles’ season ended the next week in New Orleans with a 27-24 loss to the Saints.
2000 Divisional Round, at Giants 20, Eagles 10
The Eagles have to hope that this is the best sign of things to come. That season, the Giants were the better team all season, while the Eagles, in Reid’s second year, were in the playoffs for the first time after missing the playoffs for five straight seasons.
In 2022, the Eagles have been the better team all season, while the Giants are in the postseason for the first time in five seasons.
In 2001, the Eagles lost all three games to the Giants by a combined score of 77-35. In two games this season, it’s 70-38 Eagles.
In this one, the Giants didn’t waste any time, while the Eagles, who had beaten Tampa Bay the week before in the Wild Card Round, fell apart. New York returned opening kickoff for a touchdown., and it only got worse as the Eagles fell behind 17-0 in the second quarter.
McNabb threw a pick-6 as the Eagles committed 3 turnovers. He was sacked 6 times. And Akers missed a 30-yard FG.
“It looked like they game-planned for me and no one else,” McNabb said after the game. “It looked like their whole team was a spy.”
Or as Giants LB Michael Barrow put it: “It was like someone threw bait into the piranha tank.”
Back then, the bait was McNabb. The next season, the Eagles began a run of four straight NFC Championship games.
This season, that applies to the current Eagles defense going after Giants QB Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley. Like McNabb back then, Jones doesn’t have elite receivers to throw to.
1981 Wild Card Round, Giants 27, at Eagles 21
The Eagles, fresh off reaching their first Super Bowl, were listing after starting off 6-0, then getting to 9-2.
The Eagles lost four straight before burying the then-St. Louis Cardinals 38-0 in the regular-season finale. It seemed like they had gotten their momentum back.
That ended quickly. For Eagles fans worried about shaky special teams moments this season, take note: The Eagles fell behind 20-0 in the first quarter as a fumbled punt led to one Giants touchdown, and another TD occurred when the Giants recovered a fumbled kickoff in the end zone.
The Giants QB that day was UD’s Brunner, who had taken over after Phil Simms separated his shoulder midway through the season. Brunner didn’t do much, only going 9-for-14 for 96 yards. He didn’t have to because once the Giants took that big, early lead, they turned to the running game as Rob Carpenter had 161 yards on 33 carries.
The Eagles, meanwhile, struggled offensively. Ron Jaworski went 13 of 24 for 150 yards, in large part because of Taylor, who was just starting his Hall of Fame career.
“The first (fumble) killed us,” Eagles coach Dick Vermeil said. “The second one buried us.”
The Eagles didn’t get back to the playoffs for another seven seasons.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
