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For a lot of the final decade, what had been a traditional NFC East rivalry between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles turned utterly one-sided, with Philly performing because the schoolyard bully beating up on a Giants franchise that had fallen low. In 2020, the Giants lastly picked themselves up and punched the bully again, snapping an eight-game dropping streak towards the Eagles with a 27-17 Week 10 victory.
However greater than that, what has really rekindled the rivalry getting into 2021 was the way in which final season ended for each groups: After the Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17, their hopes of successful the NFC East — regardless of a 6-10 document — have been contingent on the Eagles beating the Washington Soccer Workforce. Nonetheless, the Eagles took particular actions in that matchup, specifically benching beginning quarterback Jalen Hurts for third-string backup Nate Sudfeld, which ensured their loss and led to widespread accusations of malfeasance and of intentionally throwing the sport for a greater draft choose.
Evidently, that hasn’t sat effectively with the Giants devoted or their gamers — Xavier McKinney amongst them. A second-round select of Alabama, McKinney battled again from a foot damage that price him a lot of the season to make the deciding play of Week 17 with a late finish zone interception. And through an look on the All Issues Coated podcast, McKinney admitted that he was left with laborious emotions when requested if he holds a grudge towards the Eagles over final yr’s finale.
“I might be mendacity to you if I stated I did not, man. I am not gonna lie,” McKinney stated. “That was my first choose, and figuring out the yr that I had simply being injured just about the entire yr after which coming again and having the ability to assist my group get to the place we have been speculated to be. After which going residence, all of us rejoice within the locker room, everyone joyful, we’re like, ‘Hey, hopefully the Eagles handle enterprise, which I am positive they are going to.’
“It was a winnable sport for them. And really once I got here residence, I ain’t even watch the sport as a result of I had a sense one thing like that was gonna occur — it was gonna be one thing bizarre happening. As a result of they’d stuff happening the entire yr with the entire quarterback scenario.”
Whereas he did not sit down and watch the sport, McKinney had stored rating whereas additionally retaining tabs on a non-public chat between the Giants’ defensive backs. As the sport progressed, the chat turned to at least one phrase responses, prompting McKinney to examine on what was happening.
“I am like, ‘Rattling, what the hell? What is going on on?’ So I am going look, I activate the sport and I begin watching, and I am like, ‘Rattling, they simply about to present it up.’ … They gave it up, man,” McKinney stated. “It was tough, it was tough to see it occur like that. However every part occurs for a motive.”
Whereas the Eagles didn’t face self-discipline from the NFL regardless of the optics of the scenario, head coach Doug Pederson was fired shortly afterwards, and one of many strongest rebukes of what transpired got here from Giants head coach Joe Decide. However in the identical breath, Decide made a robust level: “We do not ever need to go away our destiny within the fingers of anyone else,” including that the group had alternatives to win it didn’t capitalize on — some extent McKinney echoed.
“Lots of the video games that we misplaced, it was all on us. It wasn’t nothing that the opposite groups did. That was sort of simply what we obtained on the finish of it,” McKinney stated. “So we have simply obtained to be higher so far as the little issues and the way we deal with our enterprise.”
Whereas his damage stored him from making a better influence as a rookie, McKinney is bound to have already gained some favor amongst Giants followers. Along with his feedback on the Eagles, McKinney additionally admitted he holds a grudge towards the Cowboys for passing on him within the draft and in addition went to bat advocating for quarterback Daniel Jones.
McKinney has not been shy about his emotions towards Philadelphia, as he beforehand wrote that the Eagles have been “on strike 65” after they lurched in entrance of the Giants within the NFL Draft in an effort to draft Giants goal and Heisman Trophy-winning vast receiver DeVonta Smith, McKinney’s teammate at Alabama.
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