Giants hoping to finish the season with their first win in Philly in over a decade: ‘We’re not quitting’

On Sunday, the 13-3 Eagles will host the 3-13 New York Giants in a Week 18 matchup that lost almost all of its buzz when Nick Sirianni announced that most of the Eagles’ starters would rest. That includes Saquon Barkley, the former Giants running back who is 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards.

In the running back’s last game against his old team, Barkley ran for 176 yards to lead the Eagles to a 28-3 victory. But with the Birds having already clinched the division and locked in as the No. 2 seed in the NFC, Barkley will have to settle for an Eagles franchise record of 2,005 yards and becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to cross the 2,000-yard mark in a season.

Now both teams will compete in a mostly inconsequential finale. The Giants, coming off a win against the Indianapolis Colts that hurt their draft position, enter Sunday’s game as three-point underdogs. And while most of their fans would probably prefer a loss to help them have a chance at the top draft pick, there’s a streak the team would like to break in Week 18: The last time the Giants won at Lincoln Financial Field was in 2013.

Can they manage to start 2025 with a win over an Eagles team missing its starters? Or will the Birds emerge victorious? As both teams prepare, here’s what the Giants are saying about the Eagles.

One of the main storylines going into the Week 7 matchup was Barkley’s return to the stadium he called home for the first six years of his NFL career. Against his former team, Barkley and the Eagles silenced the crowd on their way to a dominant victory.

» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley isn’t playing Sunday — but he’s still trolling Giants owner John Mara

Fast-forward to Week 18, and Barkley has joined an elite club of 2,000-yard rushers and gets the luxury of a week off before the Eagles host either the Green Bay Packers or Washington Commanders in the first round of the playoffs. Even with Barkley out, Giants coach Brian Daboll was asked about the running back’s production this season.

“I’d say they have a good football team,” Daboll told reporters. “And Saquon is a good football player. … Again, I’ve said this many times before, I’ve got a lot of appreciation and respect for Saquon, but we’re going to work as hard as we can this week to prepare for the Eagles.”

When Daboll was asked if the Birds had leaned into a more run-heavy approach this season, he responded immediately “Well, I mean, he’s got 2,000 yards, so … yeah.”

The Giants are fresh off a 45-33 victory over the Colts that snapped a 10-game losing streak. It was the team’s only home win of the season, as Drew Lock threw four touchdowns passes (and ran for another score) and racked up 309 passing yards. The quarterback hopes the Giants can find the same success in Philly on Sunday.

“It starts with this week at practice,” Lock told reporters. “It was a really focused practice last week. Great work. We’re trying to duplicate that this week with energy, intensity, focus. It’s hard to duplicate games, but we got to give ourselves the best position to go out there and score points. One way or another it’s got to start with this week at practice.”

The win not only eliminated the Colts from playoff contention, it also showed fans that the team isn’t willing to give up, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers said.

“It’s to show that we’re not quitting,” Nabers told reporters. “We still got one more game left. We’re going to try to go out there and finish strong. And hopefully get our bodies back right and carry on for next year. We’re going to try our best every game that we go out there. We expect to win every game. We’re going to carry that win over and try to get another one.”

» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley’s pursuit of Eric Dickerson’s NFL rushing record ends: ‘I’m truly at peace with it’

Although the Eagles are planning on resting their starters, Lock said that doesn’t change the Giants’ approach to the game.

“No, it can’t,” Lock said. “It’s the NFL. A lot of guys, the starters and backups, are really good players. Whether it’s a mix of them, it doesn’t matter. Those are great players, best in the world, and we got to treat them as such.”

The Eagles play in Week 18 against the New York Giants. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.