The New York Giants (4-2-1), occupants of first place in the NFC East, will travel down the New Jersey Turnpike this Sunday to play the division's basement dwellers, the Philadelphia Eagles (2-6).
That's right. It's bizarro world in the NFL. The Giants, who have not won a game at Lincoln Financial Field since 2013, will enter that hornet's nest as 3.5-point favorites.
The worm has turned, suddenly. The Eagles have been slowly disintegrating over the past year, with trades, retirements, and injuries reducing their roster to a shell of what it was a few years back when they were Super Bowl champions.
The Giants, conversely, are on the upswing. They now have John Harbaugh at the helm, and he has been stressing the positives in the face of some devastating
injuries. The Giants also have been able to close out games, something they haven't been able to do in years. Confidence and competence have been restored.
Harbaugh isn't concerned about the 13-game losing streak his team is carrying down to Philly this week. He told reporters this week that the streak wasn't his and most of his team knows little about it, too.
"We don't care; we don't care about that," he said.
But the fans do. Giants fans want to get off the schneid, and the Eagles fans, who one would think are completely deflated, never miss a chance to take a piece out of the Giants' hide.
One Giant, guard Jon Runyan Jr., whose father, Jon Sr., was a long-time participant in this series as an offensive tackle with the Eagles, knows the rivalry never ebbs and flows. It just flows. The Philly faithful are upset and will be ready to unload on Big Blue this weekend.
“Philly is a very raucous atmosphere to play in; the fans are super similar to our fans up here," Runyan Jr. told the New York Post on Monday. “The only difference is they’ve had something to cheer about the last couple of years recently. I’m hoping the tables turn a little bit. I feel like they have. It’s up to us to go down there and take care of business. I think we have what we need. We split with them last year, so I think we’re building in the right direction.’’
The Giants have an opportunity to build on their division lead with a win this Sunday. Harbaugh will be reminding them of that. 1-0 every week is the mantra. So far, they've been sticking to it.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants' Jon Runyan Jr. expects 'raucous atmosphere' vs. Eagles
