Giants-Eagles rivalry has a storied history with many memorable moments
Giants punter Matt Dodge tries to tackle Eagles punt returner DeSean Jackson as he returns Dodge's punt for a touchdown with 14 seconds left in the game on Dec. 19, 2010. Credit: David Pokress/David Pokress
PHILADELPHIA — So to begin at the beginning . . . We need to talk about Francis Dale “Hap” Moran, who kicked off the storied Eagles-Giants rivalry with a bang.
It was Oct. 15, 1933, the first game in the history of the Eagles’ franchise, a path that eventually led them to Saturday night’s NFC Divisional Round game against the Giants.
The Giants had an eight-year head start, in fairness, but just to make sure there would be no doubt that day at the Polo Grounds, the home team started quickly.
In the first quarter, after an interception by Mel Hein, rookie Harry Newman hit Moran with a 70-yard scoring pass for the red-clad Giants before a crowd of about 18,000.
Moran went on to set a then-NFL record for single-game receiving yards with 114.
And the Giants went on to win, 56-0. Moran retired after that season at age 32.
And here the teams were again on Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field, still going at it in a rivalry that over time has been close to even.
However, this one was anything but close. The Eagles dominated the Giants, 38-7, in the teams’ 181st all-time meeting.
In their first 180 meetings, including postseason, the Eagles had a 91-87-2 edge. The Giants, however, had not won in Philadelphia since 2013, when five field goals by Josh Brown produced a 15-7 victory.
Given the long history of dramatics the teams have produced, one piece of bilateral agreement regardless of Saturday’s outcomes was this:
There figures to be more of it in the coming decades, given the close proximity of the teams’ fan bases and their co-tenancy in the NFC East.
The relationship between New York and Philadelphia — sports and otherwise — is a puzzlement for much of America, where in some places a 90-mile drive might be the distance to the nearest mall.
At the very least, that kind of geographic closeness tends to mean folks who follow the same sports teams. But as everyone around here knows, New York and Philadelphia might as well be Mars and Venus.
Fortunately for those who value competitive games, that 1933 opener was not typical.
Even in that first season, when the teams met again on Dec. 10 in Philadelphia, the Eagles led 14-13 in the fourth quarter before Newman hit fellow rookie Kink Richards with a 60-yard scoring pass in a 20-14 victory.
There are too many memorable moments in the rivalry to recount here, but over the past half-century or so, there have been more downs than ups for the Giants in the most memorable meetings, even if the Giants did win playoff games over the Eagles in the 1981 and 2000 seasons.
After winning those first two postseason meetings, the Giants now have lost three in a row.
The Giants lost to the Eagles in 2006 and ’08, the latter after entering the playoffs as a division champ with a 12-4 record. The Giants have not won 12 games in a regular season since.
The good news for the Giants is that the most infamous moment in the history of the teams’ meetings actually turned into a blessing in disguise.
On Nov. 19, 1978, at Giants Stadium, the Eagles won, 19-17, when Herman Edwards returned a fumbled handoff between Joe Pisarcik and Larry Csonka 26 yards for the winning touchdown.
The fallout of what is called “The Fumble” in New York and “The Miracle at the Meadowlands” in Philadelphia was a Giants house-cleaning that eventually led to the hiring of George Young as general manager.
That move turned around a failing franchise and eventually resulted in Super Bowl victories after the 1986 and ’90 seasons.
Thirty-two years later, the Giants and Eagles christened the Giants’ new stadium with another Giants debacle with a silver lining — in retrospect.
On Dec. 19, 2010, the Eagles beat the Giants, 38-31, in what Eagles fans dubbed “The Miracle at the New Meadowlands.”
The Eagles scored 28 consecutive points in the final 7 ½ minutes, capped by a game-winning 65-yard punt return by DeSean Jackson as time expired.
The Giants went 10-6 but missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker.
Entering 2011, coach Tom Coughlin decided the motto for the upcoming season would be “Finish.”
The Giants did, winning Super Bowl XLVI.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
