Brian Daboll expects Giants to compete as always against Eagles
Giants head coach Brian Daboll works the sidelines during the first half an NFL game against the Rams on Dec. 31, 2023, at MetLife Stadium. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
Asked if he felt pressure to get a win this week, coach Brian Daboll did not step out of character.
“We try to win every week,” he said. “That’s what we try to do.”
Against the Eagles over the past decade, the Giants are 3-16. The wins came in 2016, 2020 and 2021.
"Each week in this league you try to do everything you can to get a win, so that’s what we’ll try to do." Daboll added.
In their season finale, the Giants host the Eagles on Sunday. The Eagles have clinched a playoff berth but need a win and a loss by the Cowboys in Washington to win the NFC East.
On Christmas Day, the Eagles defeated the Giants, 33-25.
The Giants have remained competitive in games. But an elusive win over the Eagles would at least end the season on a positive note.
“I think they compete. They’ve had good competitive stamina,” Daboll said of his team. “It’s [gone] down to a wire in a few of these games. Obviously haven’t gotten the results we want, but yeah, appreciate how they’re working in the building. They’re pros. They’re doing everything they can do to try to be as good as they can be."
Asked to define “competitive stamina,” Daboll said: “Compete regardless of the score, the situation, your record. Compete down in, down out, day in, day out.”
Belton seized an opportunity
A player who helped himself last Sunday was safety Dane Belton. Because he has been behind Xavier McKinney, who never comes off the field, and Jason Pinnock, who rarely does, Belton has had to be patient this season. Pinnock left the Rams game with a toe injury, opening the door for Belton to get playing time. And he responded. Belton intercepted two passes from Matthew Stafford and recovered a fumble by Demarcus Robinson. “I just want to take advantage of my opportunities whenever they come. I feel like I know I can play at this level and be successful.”
Including Sunday’s game, Belton has four interceptions and three fumble recoveries in three seasons. “Sometimes, you just get lucky,” Belton said. “It’s just about film study and the coaches letting you know some [little tips] throughout the week.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
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