After years of not being competitive against a division rival who has owned us, feeling like we have recently gotten better and are playing smarter and tougher, and then having it come together with a win in an important game.
I feel sort of giddy like I did after that win over Dallas at the end of 1981, and it's awesome!
Nothing.
Nothing.
+1 Today was great but that win over the Cowboys in 81 was on another level.
But I was at that 1981 game and it was an entirely different thing in a lot of ways and a singular experience. At that point the Giants had never made the playoff in the Super Bowl era. I understand your point but respectfully can't agree.
I'll compare it more to the home game vs Washington in 1984. That was the game when it became apparent that the Giants were no longer at a significant disadvantage on the sideline and maybe they actually had an advantage. The 2020 Giants are in the same place but the roster is nowhere near the 1984 roster. Maybe next year will be the new 1984.
I'd compare it to some of the early Simms wins perhaps - that sort of mediocre hopefulness, but the 81 season finale was one of the most awesome sports moments Ive ever enjoyed - just enormous.
Eli took some serious lumps after he took over as starter, played some terrible games, but started to put it together down the stretch. After the Eagles, Redskins and Ravens smacked Eli around, we fell just short of beating Pittsburgh and Cincinnati the 2 weeks prior to Dallas,
Eli led us to 3 4th quarter TDs. The game winning drive was capped off when he audibled to a Tiki run for the game winning TD with about 10 seconds left, for his first win in the NFL.
We were already out of the playoffs, but that’s when the Eli Giants first showed they could win a tough one against a division rival, by making the big plays late to finish it.
1981 signified promise that hadn't been seen for a generation of fans
1981 signified promise that hadn't been seen for a generation of fans
This. In 81 the Giants had not made the playoffs in my lifetime. And had never even been competitive for a spot in my memory. This is nice, This is not 81.
At that time, Giant home games had an obnoxiously large amount of Cowboy fans - America's team and the Giants were their bitch for the better part of a decade. This Landry/Cowboy team would go on to be 12-4, losing in the Conference final to Philly.
The Giants had pieces, certainly on defense, but featured an offense that started a backfield of Larry Heater and Leon Perry with Mike Friede as a starting WR. You don't recognize those names? There's a reason.
The Cowboys were not going to lose this game to the Giants, of all teams.
That Giant team DID have teeth - this was a game where Simms showed the future of the Giants (350 yds, 3 TD passes), and the defense harassed Danny White into 5 interceptions. A HUGE win that gave the Giants and their fans a MASSIVE infusion of *hope*.
I see this game in 1980 as the equivalent to yesterday. The Eagles are NOT the 1980 Cowboys, but the fact that they didn't convert a single 3rd down - that this Giant Defense has surprisingly been the story of the season, finding ways to get to the quarterback and to get off the field - coupled with a offensive line *finding itself* for the first time in a decade, really does provide a level of hope not seen for a long, long time.