Hoping For A Good Thursday Night Matchup For Once
Thursday Night Football brings us two teams going in different directions.
The New York Giants (10-4) have won two straight and seven of eight. The Philadelphia Eagles (5-9) have lost their last five and nine of 11.
But they’re NFC East rivals, the Giants can clinch a playoff berth if they win and the game is in Philly. So there will be more than a little noise from the national audience but especially the boisterous (that’s a nice way of saying drunken and obscene) fans at Lincoln Financial Field. We’ll stick with boisterous.
“It is a pretty ruthless place,” says Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Well, no job is easy. If the Giants win, they’re in the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Their hopes of winning the NFC require victories in the final two games and at least one loss by the Dallas Cowboys, who’ve dropped two games to the Giants and none to anyone else.
The Giants’ emergence starts with its defense, which doesn’t feature many “name” players, though safety Landon Collins keeps building his reputation. The short-passing style of the Eagles shouldn’t be too big a problem to handle.
But if the Giants don’t win? Well, they can still reap the rewards of the successes behind them. A loss by Detroit, Atlanta, Green Bay or Tampa Bay will also put the Giants in the playoffs.
After so many weeks of either bad matchups or good matchups that never turned into good games, let us hope this one on the dread-inducing Thursday night – with one team trying to clinch and the other desperately wanting to prevent that occurrence on its home field – measures up.
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman
Okinawa: A Traveler’s Dream Destination
-
Smart is tired of standing in the corner. The Boston Celtics have had a less-than-stellar start to their season,...
-
Brady set an NFL record during last night’s game. Should we pretend to be surprised that the very first...
-
The Packers QB was quick to shut down the idea. Despite a rocky start to the 2021 NFL season,...
-
Brady will take on his old team this Sunday. This coming Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on their...
-
The Buccs are on a good streak, but Brady thinks they can do better. It’s something of an unwritten...
-
The Ravens are down multiple running backs, plus a cornerback. The last few weeks have been brutal for the...
-
Ohtani completed the difficult play for the first time in his career. Due to its proximity to multiple players...
-
Etienne will need to undergo medical tests to determine the severity of the injury. During Monday night’s preseason bout...
-
Additional knee surgery will keep Federer out of the game. The US Open is scheduled for later this month,...
-
Felix has ten medals to her name. Today, 35-year-old Allyson Felix, women’s track star of Team USA in the...
-
Biles was suffering from a gymnastics phenomenon known as “the twisties.” Team USA Olympic gymnast Simone Biles’ withdrawal from...
-
This will be the third time the games are hosted in Australia. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are slated to...