Giants can't dwell on Cowboys win with Eagles next
Photo credit: Getty Images | Brandon Jacobs runs the ball in the first half against DeMarcus Ware and Keith Brooking of the Dallas Cowboys at Giants Stadium. (Dec. 6, 2009)
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Week 13: Giants 31, Cowboys 24
Must-win Giants games this season are starting to become like Windows software. Just when you start to come to grips with the latest version, a newer one comes along.
So as Tom Coughlin suggested in his postgame news conference Sunday evening, the Giants spent the appropriate amount of time celebrating their victory over the Cowboys before beginning preparations for the Eagles. "About an hour," Coughlin said.
All the win over the Cowboys did was get the Giants off a sinking ship and into a life raft. It bought them some time, some relevance. But ultimately, they still are adrift at sea with limited provisions. Instead of sharks circling below, though, there are Eagles waiting to sink their talons into them.
Yes, the very same Eagles who have won three straight against the Giants - including a playoff bouncer last season - and have lost at Giants Stadium only once in their last four visits.
"We had a great season last year and they ended our run in the playoffs," Steve Smith said Monday. "It was at home, too, and we definitely want to come out and set the tone at home and show that we are going to dominate this month at home."
The Giants already had a chance to avenge that defeat and wound up losing in Philadelphia, 40-17, on Nov. 1. That was the third defeat of a four-game losing streak.
"Any time you lose, especially to a team in your conference, it's tough and it hurts," Smith said. "I think guys are going to remember that and are going to come out and play our butts off."
They'll have to in order to beat the Eagles. Just as the Giants always seem to be able to hip-check the Cowboys out of the way, the Eagles have the uncanny ability to thwart the Giants. Philadelphia has won three straight games - two on the road - and has been without running back Brian Westbrook (concussions) for most of the season. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson (concussion) was out Sunday against the Falcons. Eagles coach Andy Reid Mondaysaid those players are being evaluated and that there is "a chance" they will face the Giants.
As for the Giants, they remain outside trying to get into the playoffs. They trail the Cowboys and Eagles by one game for the NFC East title (the Cowboys technically are in first place with their win over the Eagles) and are a game behind the Eagles for a wild-card position.
With four games to go, the Giants are in the thick of the race. But what they aren't yet is a surefire playoff team. A win against the Eagles will be another big step in grabbing that label.
The Giants did win two weeks ago when they beat the Falcons in overtime, but that didn't lead to much of anything. They know that the win over the Cowboys - the biggest of the year so far - will mean even less if they don't follow it up with a win over the Eagles.
"I think we aren't getting too high or excited," Smith said. "We're happy about the win, but we got a win against Atlanta and then we lost the next week. So we have to stay focused and get ready for next week."
There still are plenty of concerns for the Giants, but there also is a feeling that the Cowboys game, unlike the Falcons win, can be a turning point.
"Of course guys are riding high after the [Cowboys] game," linebacker Michael Boley said. "We are at the point in the season where it was kind of a must win and we needed it. This was a game that we needed to jump-start the rest of our season."
Now they need another one. Version 2.0.
