EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – For the New York Giants, playing the Philadelphia Eagles is a long-shot last chance at making the playoffs.
For Andy Reid, it’s probably a last chance in Philly.
The Giants (8-7) try to finish what has turned into a frustrating season on a good note today when they face Philadelphia (4-11) in what likely will be Reid’s final game as Eagles head coach.
Having blown a 6-2 start and two-game, late-November lead in the NFC East, the defending Super Bowl champions need to beat the Eagles, have Minnesota and Chicago lose and have the Redskins either beat or tie Dallas just to get a wild-card berth.
It’s not likely, especially after being torched the past two weeks by Atlanta and Baltimore by a combined 67-14.
“The last two weeks have been pretty embarrassing,” said Lawrence Tynes, who kicked the Giants into the Super Bowl twice in the past five seasons.
Turning things around against the Eagles is not going to be easy. Philadelphia has won seven of the last eight against the Giants, including a 19-17 win in late September, just before the Eagles fell apart.
Making things even tougher will be how much the Eagles will be motivated to send Reid out a winner. They also will have Michael Vick returning to the starting lineup for the first time since suffering a concussion against Dallas in early November.
Giants defensive captain Justin Tuck saw the irony in Vick’s return.
“They are going to be fired up,” Tuck said. “We expect to get their best shot, no question. Regardless if it is Andy Reid’s last game or whatever it may be, Vick there, whoever, this rivalry between these two teams, it always means something. I expect it to be one of those old-school Philly-versus-Giants football games.”
Reid refused to discuss his future, saying he had not even thought of this as his final game as coach.
“I normally don’t do those kinds of things; it’s hard to look forward and look behind in this business, so you just look straight ahead and at the opponent,” Reid said.
The past two seasons have been brutal and tragic for Reid. The Eagles became the NFC’s anointed team in 2011 after a free-agent spending spree. They came up way short with an 8-8 record – they needed to win their final four games to get there – and didn’t make the playoffs.
Before this season started, Garrett Reid, the coach’s troubled 29-year-old son, was found dead in a dorm room at the club’s Lehigh University training camp.
After a 3-1 start, the Eagles fell apart.
Philadelphia safety Kurt Coleman said the team will fight for their coach today.
“Coach has given us so much,” Coleman said. “To go through what he’s gone through and to continue to fight for us, we’re not going to stop fighting for him.”
The Giants also want to end the season on a high note, especially after losing five of seven in the second half of the season.
Defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka still believes.
“It’s not all gone yet,” he said.
