PHILADELPHIA — It is said there is a first time for everything. Though the Giants have been playing football since 1925, something happened Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field that had never before gone down in franchise history.
When the Eagles walked away with a 38-7 rout in an NFC divisional-playoff game, it was the first time the Giants had ever lost three games to the same team in one season. And teams that have met an opponent they swept 2-0 in the regular season are now 16-9 in the third game since the 1970 merger.
On Dec. 11, the Eagles handed the Giants their worst loss of the season, 48-22 at MetLife Stadium. In the regular-season finale, the Giants, who were locked into their No. 6 playoff seed, played their backups against the Eagles’ starters and were defeated 22-16. The Giants have lost 10 consecutive road games to the Eagles, dating to 2013.
The only points for the Giants came midway through the third quarter on a Wildcat handoff from Saquon Barkley to Matt Breida, who scored on an 8-yard run.
“I got to give credit to Breida, he didn’t give me a choice to read it, he just pulled it, he just took it, he grabbed it,’’ Barkley said. “He wanted to test it and see if he could use his speed and he did it.’’
Safety Xavier McKinney tried to rally his teammates on the sideline and afterward expressed frustration about the way the defense played all night.
“We needed to have more urgency,’’ McKinney said. “We just seemed real slow, we weren’t up to our standard. We didn’t play our best ball.’’
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He has been retired for three years, but Eli Manning continues to get booed in Philly. During a first-half break in the action, Manning was shown on the jumbo screens sitting in a box with his oldest daughter, Ava, and he was booed lustily.
Manning smiled. When the cameras shot back to Manning a second time, he smiled again and exhorted the crowd to make even more noise.
Boston Scott, the running back who excels against the Giants and no other NFL team, did it again to his favorite opponent. Scott scored on a 3-yard run in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 21-0 lead, continuing his uncanny touchdown prowess against the Giants.
He finished the regular season with 17 career touchdowns, 10 of them in eight games against the Giants. He now has 11 touchdowns in nine games against the Giants.
OLB Azeez Ojulari, returning from a quad contusion, did not start, but was in uniform. He came on the field on the first third-down passing situation on the Eagles’ opening series and finished with one tackle.
Things did not get off to an auspicious start for the Giants when they awakened Saturday morning in their downtown team hotel. There was no hot water for a short time, an issue caused by a broken pipe. That meant no showers and no use of the restroom. The situation was remedied before too long, though, and the travel party resumed normal activities.
