Eagles–Giants rivalry
The Eagles–Giants rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. The rivalry began in 1933 with the founding of the Eagles, and slowly strengthened when both teams came to relative prominence in the 1940s and 1950s. The two teams have played in the same division in the NFL every year since 1933, making it the second-oldest rivalry in the NFC East division, behind only New York's rivalry with the Washington Football Team. The ferocity of the rivalry can also be attributed to the geographic New York-Philadelphia rivalry, which is mirrored in Major League Baseball's Mets–Phillies rivalry and the National Hockey League's Flyers–Rangers rivalry. It is ranked by NFL Network as the number one rivalry of all-time and Sports Illustrated ranks it amongst the top ten NFL rivalries of all-time at number four,[3] and according to ESPN, it is one of the fiercest and most well-known rivalries in the football community.[4]
First meeting | October 15, 1933 Giants 56, Eagles 0 |
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Latest meeting | November 15, 2020 Giants 27, Eagles 17 |
Next meeting | 2021 |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 178[1][2] |
All-time series | Eagles, 89–87-2[1] |
Postseason results | Tied, 2–2[1] |
Largest victory | Giants, 56–0 (1933) |
Longest win streak | Eagles, 12 (1975–1981) Giants, 9 (1938–1942, 1997–2000) |
Current win streak | Giants, 1 (2020–present) |
Championship Success | |
Super Bowl Titles (5)
Super Bowl Appearances (8) NFL Championships (12) Division Championships (37)
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The overall series is currently led by the Eagles, 89–87–2.[2] The Eagles and Giants have met in the playoffs four times, with each team winning twice.
Notable rivalry moments
- In a 1960 game, the Eagles' Chuck Bednarik cleanly blindsided Giants running back Frank Gifford, sending Gifford into an 18-month retirement due to a severe concussion.[5]
- On November 19, 1978 at Giants Stadium, the Giants were leading the Eagles 17–12 with 20 seconds remaining. Offensive coordinator Bob Gibson called for a running play when all that was needed was for the Giants to take a knee. The handoff between quarterback Joe Pisarcik and Larry Csonka was fumbled and Eagles cornerback Herman Edwards grabbed the loose ball and returned it for the winning score. This play is commonly referred to as The Miracle at the Meadowlands by Eagles fans and just "The Fumble" by Giants fans.
- In 1981, both the Giants and the defending NFC champion Eagles qualified for playoff berths. The Eagles hosted the Giants on December 27 in a wild card game. The Giants, led by quarterback Scott Brunner and head coach Ray Perkins, took a 20–0 lead in the first quarter. The Eagles rallied but never led and the Giants held on to win 27–21. The game ended with Scott Brunner kneeling down on the ball, which was revenge for the Joe Pisarcik game some three years earlier. The Giants would go on to lose to the San Francisco 49ers, the eventual Super Bowl XVI champions, 38–24.
- The 1988 NFL season saw both teams competing for the NFC East title. On November 20, 1988, the Giants hosted the Eagles with both teams in the running for control over their division. The Eagles, led by head coach Buddy Ryan and quarterback Randall Cunningham, fought a tough match to bring the game into overtime with the score tied at 17–17. In overtime, Eagles defensive lineman Clyde Simmons carried the ball 15 yards after a blocked Eagles field goal attempt for the game-winning touchdown, completing a season sweep of the Giants. Both teams finished with 10–6 records, but the Eagles won the NFC East due to their head-to-head victories, while the Giants lost the wild card tiebreaker to the Los Angeles Rams and missed the playoffs. The Eagles would lose to the Chicago Bears in a game famously known as the Fog Bowl.
- On December 18, 1994, the Giants beat the Eagles at Veterans Stadium, giving the Eagles their sixth consecutive loss of the season after a 7–2 start. This led to the firing of Philadelphia’s then-head coach Rich Kotite after the season’s conclusion.
- On October 31, 1999 at Veterans Stadium in overtime, Eagles' quarterback Doug Pederson had his pass blocked up in the air and was intercepted by Michael Strahan and returned for a 44-yard touchdown to win the game for the Giants 23–17.
- In Week 6 of the 2001 season, the Eagles broke a nine-game losing streak against the Giants. James Thrash caught the winning touchdown from Donovan McNabb in the fourth quarter.
- On January 7, 2001, the Giants defeated the Eagles 20–10 in a divisional playoff game with the help of Ron Dixon's 97-yard kickoff return and Jason Sehorn's acrobatic 32-yard interception return. This win helped propel the Giants to Super Bowl XXXV, which they lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 34–7.
- The two teams split their 2008 meetings. The Giants rallied to edge the Eagles in Philadelphia 36–31, then the Eagles stymied New York's offense en route to a 20–14 win in New York. They met again on January 11, 2009 in the 2008 NFC Divisional Playoffs in New York, and the #6 seeded Eagles defeated the top-seeded Giants 23–11, leaving the series tied 2–2 in the all-time playoff series. Philadelphia's win came over a week after Plaxico Burress shot himself in the foot, and through the 2020 NFL season, the Eagles went 21–5 against the Giants since the incident.
- On December 19, 2010, the Giants led the Eagles 31–10 with 7:28 left in the first game between the teams at New Meadowlands Stadium where first place in the NFC East was on the line. But the Eagles rallied to tie the score and then won the game on DeSean Jackson's 65 yard punt return for a touchdown with no time left on the clock for a 38–31 victory.[6] The Elias Sports Bureau noted that this is the first walk-off punt return in NFL history.[7] The Giants missed the playoffs, despite finishing tied for first with the Eagles at 10–6,[8] and the Eagles lost their last two games.[9]
- On October 12, 2014, the Eagles authored their first shutout win in the series since 1996, winning 27–0. Quarterback Nick Foles threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns while he and three Eagles backs rushed for 203 yards, led by LeSean McCoy's 149 yards. The Giants failed on a fourth and goal attempt in the third quarter following a Foles interception; even worse, wide receiver Victor Cruz suffered a season-ending injury on the play. (This led to an off-field episode in the rivalry, as the cover of the next morning's New York Daily News showed a cheering Eagles employee and the fallen Cruz under the headline "PHILTHY!", implying that the man was celebrating the injury rather than the result of the play.[10]) Eli Manning was held to 151 yards and backup Ryan Nassib connected for 60 yards.
- On September 24, 2017, in Philadelphia, kicker Jake Elliott kicked a 61-yard field goal to beat the New York Giants with no time on the clock for the final play of the game, resulting in a 27–24 victory. Previously regarded as nothing more than a replacement kicker for injured Caleb Sturgis, the kick earned Elliott NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors, cementing him as a strong kicking option for the 2017 Eagles. Elliott's kick set an Eagles' franchise record for the longest field goal, tied for the 7th-longest field goal in NFL history, and was the longest since November 2015. Elliott helped the Eagles to their first Super Bowl victory later that season in Super Bowl LII.
- On January 3, 2021, with the Giants having won earlier in the day, they needed the Eagles, who were eliminated from playoff contention, to defeat the Washington Football Team in order to for the Giants to clinch the NFC East division. The Eagles lost to Washington; Washington rallied from down 14-10 to win 20-14 thus giving them the NFC East title and eliminating the Giants from the playoffs. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was criticized for benching struggling rookie Jalen Hurts and was questioned in some media circles on how hard his team played. The loss advanced the Eagles three spots in the 2021 NFL Draft to sixth. [11] [12]
Season-by-season results
Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants Season-by-Season Results | |
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1930s (Giants, 11–3)
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1940s (Eagles, 10–9–1)
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1950s (Giants, 14–6)
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1960s (Giants, 11–7)
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1970s (Eagles, 15–4–1)
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1980s (Giants, 12–9)
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1990s (Giants, 11–9)
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2000s (Eagles, 13–10)
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2010s (Eagles, 16–4)
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2020s (Tie, 1–1)
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Summary of Results
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Rivalry outside football
- The 2006 film Invincible follows Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) and his rise to playing for the Eagles. He crushes on a coworker, who, being from New York, is a Giants fan, and in his breakout game, the Eagles play the Giants when he recovers a muffed punt for a touchdown.
While the film is based on a true story, by (actual) NFL rules, a recovered (muffed) punt cannot be advanced. As such, while it is factually accurate that Papale made a big play (recovered muffed punt) at the Giants 3-yard line in a real NFL game, he did not score a touchdown. The Eagles, however, did get a TD as a result of the play, helping them win the game.
- The 2009 film Big Fan depicts a Giants fan (Patton Oswalt) and his bitter rivalry with an Eagles fan (Michael Rapaport).
See also
References
Inline citations
- "New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Regular Season/Postseason Results". The Football Database. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
- "All-Time Team vs. Team Results". 2020 Official National Football League Record & Fact Book. NFL Enterprises, LLC. August 17, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- "Top 10 NFL Rivalries Of All Time: No. 4 Giants-Eagles". si.com.
- Chadiha, Jeffri (2007-10-31). "Ranking the NFL's best rivalries: Where does Colts-Pats fit?". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- Brookover, Bob (September 17, 2006). "The Birds' Biggest Rival—In a division of fierce foes, the Giants have battled the Eagles as tough as anyone". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D1.
- McLane, Jeff (December 20, 2010). "Miracle at the Meadowlands — Comeback, runback give Birds their East edge back". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D1.
- McPhersonm, Chris (December 19, 2010). "The First Walk-Off Punt Return In History?". www.philadelphiaeagles.com.
- Fendrich, Howard (January 2, 2011). "Giants beat Redskins 17-14, but miss playoffs". Associated Press.
The Giants (10-6) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the first NFC teams since 1991 to miss out on the postseason despite double-digit victory totals.
- McLane, Jeff (January 3, 2011). "Pack Coming Back—Eagles fall to Cowboys, start preparing for rematch with Green Bay". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E1.
- "The NY Daily News Takes Aim at Philly Fans and Mike Missanelli with Absurd Cover – Crossing Broad". crossingbroad.com. 2014-10-13.
- https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/eagles/giants-players-lose-it-over-eagles-qb-switch-vs-washington/2654065/
- https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/philadelphia-eagles-lose-20-14-week-17-washington-carson-wentz-jalen-hurts-20210103.html#:~:text=Eagles%20successfully%20lose%2C%2020%2D14,after%204%2D11%2D1%20season
Bibliography
- Fitzpatrick, Frank (January 11, 2009). "Memorable Moments of a 75-Year-Old Rivalry". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E6.