Giants-Eagles Week 18 Preview, Predictions
49:36 Share

It's the final week of the NFL regular season, so you know what that means. This is your final Blue Rush preview show. It's our show and podcast for the New York Post and SNY. And I don't think I need to really hype this game up. The 5 and 11 Giants are pretty much playing for pride in draft position at this point, whereas the

Eagles at 11 and five are trying to get either some sort of momentum going or rest some guys to get ready for the playoffs. But there are still a lot of storylines behind it. So let's intro the rest of the game. Two-time Super Bowl champ Lawrence Tynes is here and New York Post Giants beat writer Paul Schwartz joins us as well. Fellas, we know how one-sided this matchup has been for years, but the Giants did take them down to the last play at the link just two weeks ago. So there's no telling what could happen on Sunday.

Everyone's still going to be locked in, obviously, because there's so much going behind this game, so many storylines. But first and foremost, how are you guys doing? Looking good today. Thank you. Yeah, you guys are all looking good, always looking good. Yeah, I'm excited to watch this game. Like I said on the postgame show, this is going to be...

Maybe a good catapult into the offseason for the Giants. There's some turmoil in Philly. We can maybe talk about it. I just got done this morning watching all of the press conferences that A.J. Brown had. It seemed like it went on for two hours. You know what I'm saying? And then, yeah, he was defending himself. Then he...

was talking at the media he wanted to meet the guy who wrote a story and asked him a question so Nick sirianni was Nick sirianni Jalen hurts professional as always um there's something going on there right Paul there's something there there's something there and obviously they're one in four in these last five games so um maybe right for the pickings here for the Giants yeah it's amazing I mean they were 10 and one and

you know, the number one seed in the NFC, you know, that they're four and one and four in their last five games. The one victories against the Giants, of course, because the Giants, you know, this this Giants for a decade don't know how to beat the Eagles. But it will be interesting. You know, this is interesting to see, you

you know, do the Eagles have that response in them? Um, you know, the, the giants have fight in them. I, you know, the giants will have fight. I think they played very hard against the Rams, but you guys know that last game, um, it's going to be weather, right? There could be a little snow, could be a little rain. It'd be great. Um,

You know, guys play hard, but no one wants to get hurt in the last quarter of the last game of the season and have to rehab the whole offseason. You know, it's just a fact of life. So there's a lot of factors that play in these last games. And I also, Lawrence, I'm not a believer in a catapult in the springboard. I think it would help this team feel good about themselves. I think it means virtually nothing going into next year, but it will help the fans a little bit.

those who aren't obsessed with the draft, it will help the fans to walk out of there. As Darius Slayton said to me, it would be good if our fans leave not feeling crappy and the Eagles fans leave

Lee feeling crappy. Excuse the language, but that's what he said. It's better for them to feel like crap than for our fans to feel like crap. I think that was a very appropriate word for what has happened a lot this season. Was he excusing the word? He was excusing crappy? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. We're right at PG-13. He's too nice of a guy sometimes.

No, he wasn't. He wasn't. I was on the podcast. If he would have said shitty, then maybe you excused the language. Come on, Slayton. I still don't. I still haven't entirely transitioned from newspaper print to tweeting to podcasts about what can be said and what can't be said. Put it this way. If a player uses the F-bomb in a quote to me,

I would never tweet that. You know, I would use dashes, but a lot of people do. And a lot of people say, you're crazy. You know, he said it. What do you care? It's Twitter. I don't know. You know, I'm old school, but, you know, I'm also older. Yeah.

Still got some classy people in the media. I absolutely love you, Paul. You used to stay classy, San Diego. Paul, you were in the locker room. Obviously, lots have come out of the locker room. A lot of storylines coming out of that. Obviously, Saquon Barkley spoke. Sterling Shepard spoke. Both guys who could potentially be playing their last game in a Giants jersey on Sunday. Before you go into that and talk

about the vibe of the locker room, what you've seen this week. Is this a team that looks like they're ready to go to Cancun or is this a team that looks like they're dialed in and they're ready to play spoiler for the Eagles? Well, I think I said last week, you can feel the difference. You know, once it's mathematical elimination, you can feel the difference in the locker room. There's fewer players in there.

The ones that are in there are not 100 percent engaged in breaking down the game with you. I mean, they will. But you can just tell it's a difference. You know, I mean, Lawrence, you've been lucky. You haven't been in a lot of locker rooms where, you know, you were out of it with nothing to play for. But this is a difference. You know, I think they're fairly healthy. I'm not sure about the anti banks this week.

You know, he didn't practice on Wednesday. That was just a walkthrough. I think he'll be a 50-50, probably down to the last minute situation, which is important because, you know, he's one of their better players. You'd like to see him play their last game, you know, in his rookie year.

Other than that, the vibe is definitely, you know, a lot of guys know it's their last game for the Giants. They have a long laundry list of free agents. So a lot of them know they won't be back. You know, a lot of them know that's just the way it is. You know, it's interesting that on Wednesday, that's traditionally, you guys know, that's traditionally quarterback day, right? Starting quarterback day. And Saquon Barkley held court. We don't know what's going to happen with him for next year. Sterling Shepard held court. We know he won't be back, that his career is likely over.

Other players spoke, but Tyrod, I think, was ready to talk and no one really, you know, hovered around his locker. He'll probably talk on Thursday. So that's that's the way, you know, a season ends where the starting quarterback is not, you know, mobbed from the media to talk because it's just not that important anymore. Biggest thing coming out, obviously, Saquon Barkley, you were there with the scrum kind of break down the.

We've heard what he said, but can you kind of break down what was his demeanor like when he talked about his future with the Giants, when he talked about this possibly being his last game? Because he's media savvy. That guy knows what to say. He's really good at that. But in terms of demeanor, when he said these words,

What what did you feel or what did you think he was feeling emotionally when he was talking about what could possibly be his last game at MetLife Stadium as a New York Giant? Well, did you guys notice? I'm not going to read too much into it, but I will mention it. You know, you the black hoodie was back, right? Warrant wearing, you know, he was wearing his black hoodie, which.

he wore um often during his darkest times you know with the Giants with the injuries and things interesting yeah he's sitting in his locker the hoodie and I remember thinking what happened to Saquon you know I mean this is you know he was like a broken guy because he was hurt and he was you

He was not that yesterday. He was, you know, much more introspective about it. But you read the quotes, right? I mean, you know, he brought up, does a fresh start cross my mind? I guess anybody, when you look at the season, the way it went, I feel everybody would want a fresh start.

And he said, not saying somewhere else, but just a clean slate. Clean slate, fresh start. These are buzzwords, right? He wants to be back. The Giants haven't said or haven't decided right now he's definitely not coming back. But I don't see how a contract would work.

You know, he did not help himself this year. I'll be interested to see what two former players, you know, think about this. You know, I think it's a lot to discuss here. Saquon was talking about, you know, when I came here, you know, he talked about, you know, sometimes teams get in, you know, bad ways, you know, bad patches. And it was before me. He mentioned it was before me. And you want to be one of the players to be here when we come out of it.

We haven't, you know, I haven't been able to do it and I'd like to be here, but, you know, I don't know if I will. I don't know if we will either.

There were a lot of games where you were like, you can't speak on Saquon because he wasn't available. He was hurt. So from the media side of it and the former player side of it, what did you take from Saquon's remarks? You know, there's a lot to unpack there, but I think, you know, listen, the reality is he's 24 and 48 and one as a player for the Giants. He's losing two games for every game he wins. I mean, that's just kind of what you're going to remember about Saquon's tenure six years as a Giant if he's no longer a Giant is, you know,

talent, but weren't able to put a team around him to consistently win football games. Classy guy. Obviously, stand-up guy. He's still young, but we've all seen what the running back market is. We just saw a second-year player carve up the Giants last weekend for the Rams for cheap. That's kind of what they'll probably start to think with Derek Gray or someone else they may be like in the draft or free agency, but

the dollars are just not going to be there from this organization. There's too many other needs on the offensive line in particular to go spend money on Saquon, which saddens me a little bit because I really appreciate how he's handled things, and I would really like to see this team turn it around with him as part of the solution. But I don't get the feeling that's going to be the case. I really don't.

i don't think the giants are are going to you know open up the checkbook so to so to speak uh what do you make almost 11 million 10 something this year they're not going anywhere near that number next year and and i'm sure it would take at least that in a multi-year deal with with some signing bonus to keep him here um but i'll remember him as a pro i mean he this guy is supremely talented

has been hit by the injury bug a little bit um but always handled himself with unbelievable class like he's been through a lot i mean this guy has been through a lot of coaches a lot of bad offensive line play and so you just wish the best for him but uh you know be a little bit sad this weekend watching him play and obviously sterling shepherd so um but yeah he's

He deserves the best, so hopefully he can go somewhere, maybe on a decent deal and have some success in the playoffs.

Yeah, I remember Saquon, the first time that he showed up at MetLife Stadium, it was the day after he was drafted in that first round. We did the draft party at MetLife. He pulls up in a golf cart with security, you know, dapped him up, and me and Madeline Burke kind of did the interview with him, with the fans, and instantly fans gravitated towards him like you see him do during the season.

during pregame, go sign autographs, kiss the baby, that sort of thing. And you just realize how good of a guy, you know, he's been for this team and all. But on the other side of it, and I'm removing the Giants affiliation that I have from that, I want to see him go win.

I want to see him. You talked about his win-loss record. Here's a guy that I still think has juice in the tank, and I think that he'd be great on a Baltimore Ravens or one of the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that already has it in place that could use a veteran presence, a veteran running back that could come in and kind of go along with what they already have, the system that's already in place for that. I'm surprised that they didn't trade him at the trade deadline to try and get something for him.

Paul, can you kind of explain if the Giants still have his rights? Because he can't just walk in that sense, right? So the Giants, because he has to be tagged or signed to trade and all that, can you break that down for us? But this is a guy I would like to see go and have some sort of real success with.

unless Joe Shane and Brian Gable convince him that, hey, if we tag you again next year, we can guarantee you that we're going to put around the offensive line behind you. We're going to have more playmakers around you in the offense. And I'm going to have a real RB2 to spell you. So at the end of the year, you're not getting all these carries and this wear and tear on your body. But, Paul, can you kind of break who has the leverage here?

in this sense, when it comes to Saquon Barkley, if he did want to leave the New York Giants? Well, he's a free agent. You know, he will be a free agent for the first time in his career. You know, he broke it down pretty well, Saquon. He said, if you're a first-round pick, right, they sign you for four years. They can put the fifth-year option on you. Then they can tag you in your sixth year. Then they can tag you in your seventh year.

So if you're a first round pick, you can't go anywhere for seven years. If you know if that's what the team wants to do, that's just reality. That's not the Giants. That's just reality.

He'll be a free agent. You know, I mean, I mean, you know, he really requested the only thing he really requested was transparency. Look at my exit meeting. I want to go up there. I want to talk to Joe and I want, you know, Joe Shane, the GM. And I want to say, what's the deal here? Do you want me? Do you not want me? Not that they're going to negotiate a deal on the spot, but we'll be in contact with your representative or, you know what, say, you know, maybe it's time you start looking at it where, you know, we'll see. You know what I mean?

Is he going to get a lot on the open market? You know, you mentioned other teams, good teams, right, that have everything in place. You know, those teams that have everything in place probably don't have great cap situations because they have a quarterback. They're playing a lot of money. They have a defensive end. They're paying a lot of money. So, you know.

Sure, bringing in a Saquon Barkley would be great, but at what price? That's the key. The Giants aren't throwing Saquon out the door. They're saying, we don't know if we're going to value you money-wise. To tag next year, they could simply tag him. It would be like $12.1 million for next year. He doesn't want that because he wants more money, more guaranteed money. I don't think the Giants want to do that because they don't want to get –

take $12 million off their cap next year on a running back who turns 27 on early February. You know what, guys? I could unquestionably do a devil's advocate point-counterpoint for

They have to keep him, and here's why. Listing a crappy offensive line, listing instability at quarterback, all the times he's been hit in the backfield. And I could give you a counterpoint that it's time to move on. He'll be 27. He's struggling to get 1,000 yards. You know, so...

Look, that's the business. It's a rough business, but I think Saquon will do fine. And have you guys seen the list of potential free agent running backs next year? No. Who's your top three to five? Okay. You think DeAndre Swift will get some money on the open market? Okay. He's on his rookie deal with the Lions. Okay. Derrick Henry will be a free agent. A lot of mileage. He'll be in the league somewhere, right? Dalvin Cook, a complete bust with the Jets.

he'll be a free agent. Tony Pollard, don't forget there were guys on the franchise tag. Tony Pollard, Josh Jacobs, all available. Austin Eckler. So Saquon in that mix is a really good player, but

You know, Jonathan Taylor set kind of a new standard, don't we think? Right. You know, he got a good deal. Three years of 42 million, an average of 14 a year. But the guarantee was 26 and a half million. That's what the guarantee is. So, you know, Saquon was offered a guarantee of about 23 million last year. OK, has Saquon ever had a season as good as Jonathan Taylor had two years ago?

Ever. I don't think so. 1,800 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns. Has Saquon ever had a season as good as that? No. No, but he had 90-something catches his rookie year. So you add that to what he rushed for. Yes. Okay, so let me ask you, as former players, right, going into your seventh year, you think you have a good case if you go to the team and say,

But look what I did my rookie year.

Right? No, because contracts are paying you for future performance. That's what a contract is. It's paying you for future performance. You have to say, do the Giants see potential here, right? And all we've seen is obviously some injury history and, you know, a little bit of lack of production. And, you know, you mentioned Swift as a running back. I think teams knock running backs down a little bit, obviously, because he's playing in front of the greatest offensive line in the game. Yep.

I think Saquon would look very similar to him behind that offensive line. There's no doubt about it. Josh Jacobs intrigues me a little bit. I just like his running style. I really do like him. I think he would be a little bit of an upgrade over Saquon if they were to go that route. But, you know, he's 84 yards away from 1,000 yards this year, right? Hopefully he gets that Sunday. I think that would be a nice feather in his cap to finish Saquon.

four of the six seasons here with over a thousand yards. So we'll see. You know, he's been a hot button topic for a while here, especially with the money, but the money's not going to be there. That's the reality of it. The Giants are not going to go to 12 million. They're not going to, I don't even think they'd go to eight million.

Maybe. Yep. For him. If he wants to stay, he's going to have to take a supreme discount and say, this is my giant for life opportunity. I've got all these deals in town, right? Off the field money, things like that. I love New York. My family's from around here. But, you know, sometimes in your career you have to do that. And that's okay because they're going to bring someone else in to help.

And maybe it's Eric Gray to help take some of the load off of him. You know, you can't pay him $8 million a year and run him 31 times a game like they were doing, you know, early in the season. That's when you start raising your eyebrows a little bit. Like, hey, I didn't sign up for this. But, you know, 15 carries a game, something like that, leadership in the locker room, you will pay a certain dollar amount for that, but it's not going to be $10 million.

I'll tell you what, now that you've mentioned Swift and if he goes and gets his money somewhere, if that exit meeting with Joe Shane and Saquon Barkley doesn't look like there's a path to bring him back in, I see him going to Philly. Now that you say that, I see him going to Philly behind that offensive line and taking a deal that may be up to $8 million, but incentive-based. Paul, go ahead. I cut you off. No, no, I think I cut you off. You know, I mean...

It's just very complicated with him because, you know, he could conceivably – he was the Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee last year. He is this year. He could win it. I mean every team nominates somebody, but there's a few favorites every year. Eli was a favorite. Watt, when he made –

J.J. Watt, when he raised millions of dollars for relief, right? You know, he was – you know, Saquon could really win it this year. And you imagine him that week of the Super Bowl winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which is just a huge award in your league. And he doesn't have a team. You know what I mean? And he doesn't have a team. But, you know, we know he's a great player. We know he's a great guy. We know he's a great guy. That is –

unquestioned that he's a terrific guy. I just don't know. You know, Saquon said, well, it's not up to me. Well, it is up to him to some degree. You know, I think he and his team, his management team misread the market last year. And and

should have taken what the Giants offered because now he would he would be guaranteed 12 million for next year as well. You know, I mean, so I think they misread the market. Will they read the market correctly this year with all these free agents saying, you know, am I going to get a lot more elsewhere than I will from the Giants? Or yesterday was the first time when I listened to Saquon, I thought in my head he is considering leaving because he thinks it might be better for

for him. You know what I mean? That I've done everything I can to try to win here. It's not working. They're not going to pay me a ton of money. I could probably get the same money elsewhere and

As you said, Lawrence, go to the Eagles, go to or you said, Brandon, go to a different team and start fresh. I think that's a real thought in his head right now. I don't think the money is going to be there in free agency, to be honest. I really don't. I just don't. I just don't see it. Like you said, there's too much supply in the market. You mentioned all these running backs that are free agents. I just don't see the demand.

for a guy, you know, he's a good player. Not great anymore. He's a good player. I just, you know, I don't think there's going to be a huge demand for his services, to be honest. Well, if you can't get the money, you got to go to where you're going to win. So that puts all these other, like the Ravens and the Chiefs and the Eagles, that puts those teams in play because obviously, like you said, great job mentioning his record. What,

as a giant. But now at the end of the day, you just want as many victory Mondays as you can get, especially when you're on the other side of father time when it comes to your time in the NFL. All right. Eighty four yards for him to get a thousand yards. The Eagles coming into town that came down to the last game. The Eagles can win the NFC East with the win and the Cowboys loss. Nick Sirianni has kind of not ruled out potentially resting players.

You're shaking your head, Paul. Do you think he comes up here and he's looking for blood? I don't know what the heck Nick Sirianni is talking about half the time. First of all, the Cowboys and Commanders play the same time as the Giants, right? So what is Sirianni going to be, looking up at the scoreboard and saying,

Oh, the commanders went ahead. Take out the left tackle. Oh, the Cowboys went ahead. Put them back in. I mean, do we think the commander is going to beat the Cowboys? We don't. But stranger things have happened. If...

The commanders upset the Cowboys and the Eagles beat the Giants. The Eagles are the division champions, right? And get a home game. I mean, we talked about the Eagles being 10 and one. You know, I always look at it sometimes from a selfish point of view. If I have to go cover playoff games once the Giants aren't in it, I just take a drive south on the turnpike.

What are the chances, though, that Washington beats Dallas? Like, I know the Cowboys stink on the road, but come on.

The commanders melded in weeks ago. They're horrendous. I think the Cowboys go in there. I mean, you may see in the first half he looks up, he goes, holy cow, they're up 28 to 7. You know, they're not losing this one. And then maybe you make an adjustment at the halftime because it doesn't change your position one way or the other. It's still Giants-Eagles.

which I think he respects, right? He loves kind of rubbing it in our face a little bit that they own us and beat us. But again, this team has been reeling one and four in their last five. He needs to find something. So I don't know that you can sit the starters, maybe in the second half, go out there, play Jalen, play A.J. Devontae, I think, is banged up. But I think you've got to go out there with your first string guys

and get to work and see if you can find something because it's not a guarantee against this Giants defense that you're going to find some consistency. So we'll see. I do think we see the starters for sure. I just don't know for how long. They need that consistency and they need that chemistry back again. I mean, we were talking a little bit off camera before we got on the show. We talked about A.J. Browns, I guess –

stand-up comedy special on Netflix because he spent so long at his locker making up for lost time because at first he didn't want to talk the last couple weeks but now he wants to talk and he had his own podcast at his locker room but you can see how

you know, he's kind of trying to own things in a way. And then he's saying like Nick Sirianni jumped on that grenade for us, but you can see there's something there in terms of they don't. And when the, when the reporters aren't there and they're in that offensive meeting room and they're having just a player's only meeting, there may not be any finger pointing going on, but there's a lot of guys like, Hey, we need to step it up in our position group. We need to be more consistent in our position group and we need to kind of

come together and help our defense. I think this offense finally realized after going 10-1, defense ain't that nice. Defense is not that good. So last year with the defense being so strong, that offense was allowed to kind of do what they want. They controlled the tempo. They ran the ball. They took shots when they want.

Now they have to be somewhat methodical. They've got to kind of hold the ball, keep their defense off the field. They've got to kind of in that sense so that their offense has now had to completely shift and change its identity. And I believe it's kind of caught their their offense off guard in a way. And now guys were not feeling like, oh, I'm not getting the ball.

we're not punching in, we're not getting in the end zone as much as we did. When you're not having as much fun as you did last year on that run, and now you feel like you're kind of equal to the teams that you're playing,

that's going to hit you. And that's why I see A.J. Brown and those guys being frustrated. But on Sunday, they have to get going. And like you say at times, this Giants defense, they could really play spoiler. They could really mess things up and mess up their momentum going into the first round of the playoffs. Well, they don't have much, right? They've lost...

Four out of five. We need our two best players on the D-line to show up. Dexter and Kayvon have to come in and play well. I was doing some stat diving, which you guys know I love doing. And it's not always for good stats. I'm looking for bad stats, too. Who do you want to beat in your division?

All of them, right? You want to win games where? In your division. Dallas, Philly, and Washington. Okay, I'm going to give you two numbers here. Actually, I'm going to give you many numbers. But Kayvon Thibodeau, six games against Dallas and Philly. Zero sacks. What's our record? 0-6. Dexter Lawrence. Okay, here's another one. This is what I'm talking about. Ten games against Dallas. How many sacks do you think Dexter has? Zero. Ten games. Okay.

He has eight games against Philly, two sacks. Oh, by the way, the last time he had a sack against Philly, we won that game. It was in 2020. But then you flip it around. How many sacks does Kayvon have against Washington? Five and a half. He's 3-0-1. Same with Dexter. Four and a half sacks, seven 2-1-1 in 10 games. Dexter and Kayvon do nothing against these two teams. The two teams that have been beating your face in, and I'm not saying a sack is going to lead to a win. Yep.

But it's pretty measurable here in stats that when you get one, there's a better chance you are going to win. Those two guys need to have – someone needs to get home against this offensive line. If you're an all-pro like we all think you are, Dexter, you've got to get home. Kayvon, you've got to get home. Once or twice. I don't think we've had any sacks in the last four or five games we've actually played Philly. At least not from those two guys. So –

um i'm still looking for production right i know it's the last game everyone's ready to go home in cancun and saint bart's and go hang out with bezos down there on his big yacht um but i am still looking for production from these guys because beating philly's a big deal beating philly's a big deal and this is going to be a playoff team we know that so uh got my eyes squarely on those two guys go make a play someone's got to make a play

Well, and also, you can pad your stats. You know what I mean? There's nothing wrong with – you know, Kayvon has kind of been stuck on 11.5 sacks. And, you know, he wants to go in the offseason, get a couple, get a few more. You know, I mean, it's not even selfish. It's just, yeah, this is my last chance to put up some things. Look, last year after the season, you know, really good regular season, victory in the playoffs in Minneapolis. They get annihilated in Philly. Joe Shane said –

We have to close the gap in our division. It starts in our division. We have to close the gap, right? They are the Shane Day Bowl regime is 0 and 8 against the Eagles and the Cowboys. Okay, 0 and 8 against the Cowboys. The Cowboys scored 89 points against Giants last year of this this year, which is the most they've ever scored against the Giants in a season. So there has been no gap closing against the Cowboys. The Eagles and Giants have played some close games.

But I don't consider that gap closing. Gap closing is beating them. So they have failed in that regard. You know, I mentioned that to Brian Dayball the other day about that. And he said, well, we were one four and one last year in a division and we have a chance to be three and three this year.

okay but first of all they will won five and one last year he wasn't counting the playoff loss to the Eagles and they can be three and three in the division if they beat the Eagles right let's not you know if they beat the Eagles they'll be three and three but they're two and oh against the commanders last year they were one oh and one against the commanders okay and as I wrote the other day or as I I I'll put in the paper this weekend um

Since when is beating the commanders the litmus test and the bar for anything, right? Oh, we can beat the commanders. Okay, good. That's like Lawrence saying, you know, I get a 25-yard field goal. Okay, it's not easy to do, but you're supposed to do it, right? There you go. There you go, right? Let me flex on him.

I know better than to say chip shot around Lawrence. We've had arguments about chip shot before. Yeah, that's the stupidest word ever. And Jim Nance loves it, by the way. Him and Buck and Aikman. That's right. And people have written and said. And then after the drive stalled at the six-yard line on an Eli Manning overthrow, Lawrence Tynes came in to hit a chip shot 29-yard field goal. You don't like that, do you? You don't like that chip shot. I've written that before.

There's too many moving parts for it to be a chip shot. If I was out there with my little holder, if I was out there with my little holder pregame, nobody's rushing, I don't have to worry about snap or hold, that's a chip shot. In the game, we've seen the Giants not make a field goal routine this year. There's been a lot of problems. I'm getting off topic here, but a lot of times in your career,

The team was settling when you can't, you know, it's always been. And the Giants had to settle for a Lawrence time field goal. And you're like, yeah, yeah. So this is what I do. Right. Right. How many times? Oh, the Giants screwed up in the red zone again. They had to settle for a field goal. Sorry, Lawrence. We're like first responders. Certainly not putting myself in what they do that. They're very brave. And but yeah, we just we come in, you know, when they fail.

Kickers and punters come in when the offense fails. So, you know, you can rarely get a low five or whatever from the guys as you're coming onto the field from the guys that are coming off. I think I tried that earlier in my career. Let me give these guys a little low five. They're like, get the hell out of the way, kicker. So I started coming in from a different angle. I don't even want to see those guys because then they're going to give me some bad juice, bad energy, right? They're mad. Eli's kind of doggone in it. And then, you know, and it's why...

Tom Quinn used to say all the time, he didn't really like quarterbacks ever as a holder, and he had a great reason.

Because they just failed the play before. You don't want that guy going back there holding, right? Is he really focused in on the play? So I always thought that was really smart of Tom Quinn. He told me that, you know? So random information for all of you out there. That's what makes Blue Rush great. And obviously this Sunday we don't want this game to come down to the kicker, obviously for the Giants or the layup. I wouldn't mind it. Just keep it inside of –

of the damn stadium zip code, not 54 yards. East Rutherford, not Rutherford. Like, keep it in East Rutherford, not Rutherford. Yeah, we got to keep it inside. Yeah, we got to be... I talked to Mason Crosby the other day. Okay, delightful. I was going to say young man. Did you tell him that Lawrence Tynes looks way younger than you do? Did you tell him that?

He has a lot of – he has a scruffy, you know, scruffy growth. He's got a lot of gray up there. But you know what? I asked him – Well, he's been gray his whole career, so that's not – Yeah. I said, let me ask you, Mason, if this is a stupid question, okay? But you've had like almost 400 field goals with the Packers. Did it feel different kicking a field goal in a different uniform? And he said, no, it's not a stupid question because –

We went out in warm-ups and we were wearing red tights. We were wearing red tights that day, right? You know, last week. Oh, in Philly. Yeah, so he's wearing – no, no, I mean, well, yeah, in Philly, right? He was wearing red tights for his first field goal. And he said, I looked down, I'm like –

whoa, that's a bright color. He said he's never worn red in his life, in his career. You know, high school, college, he said he's never worn red. So he looked down and said, whoa, those are really red tights, you know? And then he said, I felt good that I hit a 52-yarder. You know, I felt good about that, but it was just funny. He said, you know...

But beforehand, when you look down, he said the uniform just looked different and felt different. So once you go out there, you got to concentrate on the operation and everything like that. It's it's you know, yeah, I mean, it'd be nice to see him kick off, you know, a quote unquote chip shot field goal to win the game and not a 54 yarder in bad conditions. Yeah.

All right, let's get into these over-unders and these predictions. I took these numbers from the last game two weeks ago. We'll start with the over-under for Giants passing yards. 186 yards is what they threw for Paul over-under this week. I'm going to say under. Under.

You know, I think the Eagles. Oh, you didn't say 150. I'm going to say under. I just I know, you know, Tyrod has a good ability to get the ball down the field. I just think, you know, Philly is going to be really, really interested in pressuring the quarterback and things like that. You know, these last games are kind of funky. I'm going to go under.

Times. I'm going to go way over. Tommy Kutlitz is not going to play in the first half. Last time I checked, 55 yards passing, averaged like 1.2 yards per target. Tyrod Taylor came in and threw for 133 yards just in that half alone. So, you know, I did go to Troy. We've talked about my math skills. So that times two is 266. Sprinkle in a couple touchdowns. Voila.

We're way over that number. Yeah, I'm going to go over on this one as well. We've talked about get-right games, get-back games. If you're a receiver on this Giants team, this is a get-yours game. If I get one to two catches, I'm trying to take it 400. You've got to get yak. Whatever it is you have to do. Tyrod throws you a deep ball. You get that 50-50 ball. You've got to come down with it, and that will add up. And to beat that,

The Eagles, this game, you got to throw for over 225, I feel like. So I'll go over on this one. Giants rushing yards. They ran for 106 last game. Tines over under. I'm going to go under here. I think we're going to spread it out more with Tyrod and get some of these young guys the ball. I expect Sterling Shepard to maybe get a little bit of an extended amount of playing time so we can get him a catch, get him a standing ovation, which he deserves. So I'm going to go under on the rushing. Paul?

I'm going to go over because I think Tyrod will run for some yards. You know, he's a better runner than DeVito. So, you know, Tyrod gets 20, 30 yards. That decreases what Saquon has to get. 106 is not a high bar to cross. I'm going to say over. Really quick, does Saquon get his 84 to get to his 1,000 times? Yeah, I hope so. I hope so. Yes, I'll say yes. Paul? Paul?

Yes, yeah. There's all good tidings in the new year, right? Yeah, let's give them some yards. All right, let's get them in the styles. Eagles passing yards. They threw for 295, Paul, over under.

I'm going to go under here. Um, Devonta Smith, I don't think he's going to play. He's got a mid ankle sprain. You know, that's a big help to the giants. Um, um, as we see AJ Brown, who's coming off, you know, he's, he's finishing up an incredible season and had a lot to say about it. I think he'll be very motivated. Um, but you know, going against one is better than going against two. Um,

I think, you know, and plus, I mean, they may, you know, as Lawrence said, if the commanders are losing badly and the Eagles, you know, have a decent lead, he may start taking some guys out because he knows he has to play the next week. You don't need Jalen Hurts turning an ankle in the fourth quarter of a game. So I would say under 295 passing. Ties. Yep. Not up in here. Not going to happen in MetLife. It's not happening.

No way. I think they get after them. Like you said, there's going to be some players not play in the second half. I really believe that. I think they'll start taking guys out, putting guys in.

way under for me i think the giants have their best game in secondary yeah i'll go under as well i really like what the eagles do with their rpo especially against the blitz last time that they played but again i think depending on how the game flows and how that cowboys commanders game goes i think they just run the ball try to get up out of there plus it's supposed to be i guess it's flurries of snow and and slush and all that so just i think they're just going to want to run the ball get up out of there uh eagles rushing they ran for a buck

72 weeks to go over under times. Yeah, I'm going to say under. I just think it like it's this is that week 18 game that they don't really need and

And no one's really playing with that kind of energy and passion. There are always weird games, like Paul said a bunch of times today. I think they're under that. So, no. I'm going to go over. It's a high number because, first of all, Lawrence, be careful talking about how MetLife, MetLife, MetLife. I mean, there's going to be 20,000 Eagle fans there. There's going to be a lot of Eagles. Eagles score a touchdown, you're going to be hearing fly, Eagles fly. You're going to be hearing them.

Well, I understand that, but you're going to hear it because there's going to be a lot of Eagles fans there. I just think, you know what, another thing about these Week 18 games, the tackling. The tackling is always something to watch. You know what I mean? I'm not saying guys are dogging it, but the tackling is always something to watch. And I think because of that, there's going to be some –

How do you get out of that? That should have been a six-yard gain. Now it's a 30-yard gain. So I think they can get over 170 because of that. Tackling in these last games sometimes is some guys want to do it and some guys are, you know, I don't feel like separating my shoulder on this play. That's a great point. Can't go to Cancun with a sling on your arm. I'm going to go under on this one. Oh, yes, you can. You're going to get a farmer's tan with the sling, but hey, you still have to.

You can just have it in the sling. I'm going to go under on this one, but I think they still get it. You only have to drink with one hand, Brandon, right? That's true. You can drink with one hand. Very much so. Very much so. You don't have to drink with two hands. You're drinking a cold keg by yourself with two hands? Depends on what kind of night it is. If you want to drink with two, go ahead.

Most of the time, one gets the job done. All right. I will go under on that one. Tynes, you already went. Okay. Total points, 41 and a half. Paul, you go. I'll go. And then Tynes, you – well, Paul, you go. And then throw in your prediction. I'll go. And then Tynes, you kick us home. 41 and a half is the total points where the line is right now, Paul.

I'm going to say over. You know, it's not a high number. And, you know, like I said, loose, loose tackling, a couple of plays here and there, or maybe a turnover. So I'm going to say over. I don't think the Giants win. I don't think, you know, I just think the Eagles have to establish something and look good for the playoffs. And is this my last comment or are we coming back to me afterwards? Is this it? Just go ahead and wrap us up because we'll let time kick us off. I will just say Sterling Shepard, it'll be his last game for the Giants.

certainly probably his last game of his career. He mentioned that Sterling did mention I'm two catches away from fifth on the all time list. He's at three 69 Jeremy shock. He's at three 71. I think they'll get to try to throw them. They try to throw it to him last week. He dropped it. He was

ticked off about that. So it'd be nice to Sterling to get his two catches finishing a tie with Shockey. Do something. Get an ovation. And I'll bring you guys a little... I know I'm going long here, but I'll give you guys a little tear to your eye kind of thing. I asked him about would it be important for you to get another catch or another touchdown? He said...

I just want to run through that tunnel one last time. It's the best thing in the world. And he said he was sitting in his locker and everyone could leave. Everyone was packing up and leaving on Wednesday. Had their coats on. They're done for the day. And Sterling said, I don't want to go.

I'm just going to stay here. I'm going to try to play another ping pong game if somebody wants. If someone wants to watch some tape, I'll go watch tape. He says, I don't want to go anywhere, but take this all in for the last few days. So, right, that brings you back, right? You can't, you know, it's, you know, look, it's not the end of the world, but you guys had to face it. He didn't want to leave that locker room. He wanted to stay in that stool and just stay there because he knows, you know, come Monday, he won't have a locker anymore. Yeah, yeah.

41 and a half, I'm going to go under the weather conditions. I think it's ground and pound type game. For the Giants players, I guess what I would say prediction-wise or what I would say if I'm Brian Dable, you've got to go out and get yours. Stay together as a team, but go out and get yours.

Paul, you mentioned how many free agents are on this team. Let's say a Xavier McKinney interception or two-interception game, that now drives your dollars up. Like he says, pad stats. I love how you talked about Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeau, how they haven't had sacks against the Eagles. It's just time for some guys to show that the Eagles, we're not –

I wouldn't necessarily say little brother anymore, but if you're a core guy that's going to be back, you got to let the Eagles know for next year that I'm here, I'm still going to be here, and you're going to have to face me. So in terms of Sterling Shepard, always been –

My first year with Giants TV, he was a rookie. Every time I needed any sort of interview or something, young Shep was what he called himself. He'd sing, he'd dance, all that stuff. He was a great guy, always a great guy. And when I told him that I was having the birth of my first child, dapped me up, gave me a hug and told me to get some sleep. So I always appreciate that. I always appreciate everything that he's done.

not only for just me and stuff, but for the organization as well. Tines, total points, 41.5, and then kick us home. 41.5. Hell no. This game's going to be like 16-5, something ridiculously ugly and nasty. Bad weather, no score. I want to use my time here at the very end to thank people and people on this show. Emma Kate Austin, our producer, thank you.

Jeff Stansbury, our producer, thank you. And Paul Schwartz, people overlook you, Paul, but the miles traveled, the hours you put in, the pen to paper, we appreciate you. I really do. I don't think people really understand what the hell you do, but it's not easy staying in hotels and getting up at 6 a.m. and flying back to catch meetings. So thank you. Brandon, you keep kicking ass at this job. You're getting better and better and better.

Second best looking guy on the show. That's okay. But you're doing a great job. But Jake Brown, Andrew Hartz, Mason Verdicchio, we call him the intern. Seriously, I know I'm having fun here, but thank you guys for doing this. Without you guys, we don't have a show.

So I want to spend time talking about the people that matter this week. It's not the players. Hell, they suck. It's about us and our show and what we've done and what we've built here and the fans. Thank you guys for commenting, good and bad. We like all of them. And keep watching. So we appreciate you guys. And thank you for all your work you do behind the scenes making this show awesome.

Yeah, I mean, there's been times where I've been walking around during the in-game MC stuff and people will come up and be like, hey, you and Tynes need to lay off of Paul a little bit more. Tell Tynes in London stop being, tell Tynes, you and Tynes stop being haters or something. So people are watching, people are commenting, and people are showing love. And we obviously

Thank you guys for this entire year. Make sure you guys check out the Blue Rush postgame podcast, which is going to air on Monday. We'll break down the game and we're going to look ahead to the offseason as well. We may even talk a little bit of playoff action as well. Playoffs?

Huge thanks to the folks behind the scenes, like Paul said, I mean, like, like Tyne said, and thank you guys for your hard work for Paul Schwartz, Lawrence Tyne's, Brendan London, the entire Blue Rush production crew. Happy new year. Thanks for watching. And we're going to see you guys again on Monday.