Nightmares can be hard to forget. They chill you so bad you wake up from a deep sleep.
It was the Giants who seemed to be in a coma when the Eagles struck a blow more painful than any knife the subconscious could wield.
The final seven minutes of Sunday’s comeback- or collapse, however, you want to look at it- were disastrous, dreadful, demoralizing. More than a few adjectives beginning with the letter D can be used to describe it. But there’s one that shouldn’t be used to describe the Giants- dead.
They sure did look it when Matt Dodge inexplicably booted a line drive punt to DeSean Jackson, who dodged Giants defenders on the way to capping an improbable final minute stretch. It was the Giants who had the rug pulled out from under them, micro and macro speaking. In the moment, it was a game they signed and sealed but didn’t deliver. Big picture, they went from taking control of the NFC East and on the way to a first round bye to having to fight just to get into the playoffs.
That said- the Giants are still in control. The NFL is a week to week league, especially in this parity-filled season. Last week, the Jets looked down and out. Now, they’re back in control after going on the road and taking down a top team.
The Jets returned to a city, Pittsburgh, for the first time since a memorable playoff experience. This week, the Giants do the same- except their memories are good ones. Just like the Jets’ previous trip to Pittsburgh, the Giants were the big underdogs in their last visit to Lambeau.
That was the 2007 NFC Championship Game. Remember? Temperatures so cold Tom Coughlin was looking like Lady Elaine, Brett Favre trying to continue a magical season in what we thought may be the final games of his career. No one gave the Giants a chance.
They faced adversity. Lawrence Tynes missed two fourth quarter fields goals, one at the end of regulation, that would have been game-winners. But unlike Brien against the Steelers, Tynes got a third try- and it was a charm. The Giants pulled the upset and were on their way to Arizona, where they would pull an even bigger one in Super Bowl XLII.
Now, it’s up to them if they want to take the reigns. A win against Green Bay and they’re back in, clinched. It’s that easy. They won’t be a two seed and they’ll have to go through three road playoff games to get to the Super Bowl but they did that last time they earned the title.
All the doom and gloom is presumptuous. It happened last week with the Jets and now the shoe’s been put on the other New York team’s foot. A win this week and the Giants can forget the Philly debacle. They can even lose and still get in with a win next week over Washington and some help.
It’s time for the Giants to wake up and move on. Forget the nightmare. One can be hard to shake but you can’t have another unless you fall back asleep.
They faced adversity. Lawrence Tynes missed two fourth quarter fields goals, one at the end of regulation, that would have been game-winners. But unlike Brien against the Steelers, Tynes got a third try- and it was a charm. The Giants pulled the upset and were on their way to Arizona, where they would pull an even bigger one in Super Bowl XLII.
Now, it’s up to them if they want to take the reigns. A win against Green Bay and they’re back in, clinched. It’s that easy. They won’t be a two seed and they’ll have to go through three road playoff games to get to the Super Bowl but they did that last time they earned the title.
All the doom and gloom is presumptuous. It happened last week with the Jets and now the shoe’s been put on the other New York team’s foot. A win this week and the Giants can forget the Philly debacle. They can even lose and still get in with a win next week over Washington and some help.
It’s time for the Giants to wake up and move on. Forget the nightmare. One can be hard to shake but you can’t have another unless you fall back asleep.
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