Sequon Barkley is on the record saying that the Giants owe the Eagles a loss after Big Blues 34-14 blowout loss to the Birds when the teams met October 11. Photo by Jesse Garber

EAST RUTHERFORD: If Eagles fans think playing the New York Giants this Sunday at the Linc is a great opportunity to get back to winning again, you may be disappointed.

This is not the same team the Birds picked apart 34-13 back on October 11.

Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson as well as quarterback Carson Wentz seemed to want to pivot to the Giants after their epic 48-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints last Sunday down in the Big Easy.

“We’re going to get out of here,” said Wentz who turned in his worst performance as a pro against the Saints, going 19 of 33 for 156 yards, three interceptions and a 31.9 passer rating. “We’ll go watch this film, and we’re going to go play a couple NFC East opponents and find out what we’re made of.”
Pederson was a little more specific. He was asked after the game where does he go from here?

“Where do we go from here?” Pederson said. “We come to work on Tuesday and we roll up our sleeves and go to work. This group is committed to that. I’m excited for this nest few game we have coming up. We can only control what we can control, I tell this guys all the time. We’re going to come to work Tuesday and we’re going to prepare. We’ve got the Giants coming to town and we’re excited for that opportunity.”

The Giants, who have won two straight, are excited as well. At his Monday morning conference call, rookie running back Sequon Barkley was asked about his quote after the 38-35 win over Tampa Bay Sunday concerning the Eagles when he said “We owe them one.” Barkley doubled down on his throw down.

“Yeah, we do,” said Barkley, “They got us one time. They got us earlier in the season and now they’re the next team on our schedule so we got to get them back.”

The Giants have won two straight including their win over the Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Eli Manning was 17 of 18 for 231 yards, two touchdown passes, no interceptions and a near perfect quarterback rating of 155.8. Rookie sensation Sequon Barkley rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a six-yard TD pass.

Barkley was asked Monday…what was the biggest difference is for your team from the one that played Philadelphia and had a really rough night that night?

“Obviously the biggest difference from our team last time we played Philly is that we’ve been finding ways to finish out games and execute when needed,” the rookie said. “And that’s what we’ve got to continue to improve on and continue to do for the rest of the year.”

Barkley, who has rushed 158 times for 728 yards and seven touchdowns so far this season, was asked what was the biggest obstacle they threw your way in that game.

“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due,” Barkley said. “They played great, just a great game all around. The defense is very talented. We had some success running the ball on them, but at the end of the day we kind of just kept kicking ourselves in the butt, in the foot, whatever you want to say with penalties, with mistakes, and not executing. That’s where we got to watch the game film from the last time played them and watch the recent games that they played and see how we can get better in that area.”

What does Barkley expect from the Eagles and the atmosphere at the Linc this week?

“Growing up in Pennsylvania knowing about Eagles fans, I know that they are different,” He said. “As for that, that’s the best word I can use for them. I’ve been to the field before, I’ve played there before. They do have a great fan base and it’s going to be a fun game there.”

Barkley grew up in Whitehall, PA, not far from Allentown. The area is generally considered Eagles country. The former Penn State star said he never attended and Eagles game, but conceded when asked how many of his friends growing up are Eagles fans?

“Probably all of them were Eagles fans,” Barkley said. “It’s either Eagles fans or Patriots fans from that area. Then you got some of your guys that are Jets fans or Giants fans.”

Did he convert any of them? The close ones at least or do they still kind of root for the Eagles?

“My close friends are still Eagles fans,” he said. “They say they’re Eagles fans, but they’re Barkley fans as well. They’ll wear a Saquon jersey, but they’ll be Eagles fans still. Just because I come from Penn State, a lot of those people I see on social media will be like it kills me to root for you, but I still do because you’re a PA guy so it’s pretty cool to see that.”

Barkley said he has a chip on his shoulder thinking about the first meeting.

“I think there’s an added chip on your shoulder,” He said. “We got something good going on here right now. We’re just trying to really focus on ourselves and just trying to come out and win the game, but we just want to win the game because that’s the next game on our schedule. Not because they beat us before. Obviously it does matter for our season and what we want to do with our season, but we just got to really focus on coming out and trying to do whatever it takes whether it’s by 40, whether it’s by three, one, whatever it takes to come out of Philadelphia with a win.”

Barkley is becoming a bit emboldened probably because the Giants offensive line has been playing better over the last few games.

While the Giants offensive line gave up four sacks against Tampa Bay, it is clear this unit is playing much, much better over the past few games.

Guard/center John Greco, who has started six of the nine games he’s played in this year, talked about the improvement.

“It’s just guys coming to work everyday,” Greco said at his locker after the game. “We’re focused and wanting to get better. I think that has shown over the last two games especially.”

Two wins in a row after a 1-7 start is not going to start any Super Bowl talk, but it does have Big Blue looking forward to making up for the 34-13 drubbing the Birds laid on them on October 11.

“That’s the thing, we’ve won two in a row, that’s where we’re at,” Greco said. “We’ve been talking since after the bye, we all did our own self assessments. We said we have eight one-game seasons. That’s still our approach each week. Philly, on the road this weekend, obviously any divisional opponent is going to be a great atmosphere. They got us the first time, so we have our work cut out for us.”

Eagles tackle Lane Johnson was vocal after the Birds embarrassing loss to New Orleans. The Eagles scored just seven points on the day against a defense that, at least statistically, is not considered among the best in the NFL.

There were more than whispers that some players quit and may have fabricated injuries to leave the blowout
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The All Pro offensive lineman warned his teammates about tapping out and how it could affect their careers.

“I’ve been in the league for a little bit,” Johnson said to reporters in front of his locker after the Saints game. “The Eagles [brass] really look at guys to see if they quit. They really look at that and remember that stuff. It goes for anyone in the locker room.”

Johnson said it is just a matter of getting out to good starts. In 2017 the Eagles were among the elite in minutes they held a lead in a game. In 2018, they are among the worst.

“Last year we scored on the opening drive, and that made play-calling a lot easier,” Johnson said. “Now we get behind early just about every game and we find ourselves in a rut.”

Johnson said the team knows the plays, they know each other. He said the team knows what has to be done.

“You can practice all you want,” Johnson said. “You can work to fine tune it. What it comes down to is, how bad do you want it?”

On Wednesday, Johnson was told about all the chatter coming from Giants players about looking forward to playing in Philadelphia.

He said he doesn’t need to talk. He knows how important the game is.

“It’s understood, it doesn’t have to be said,” Johnson said. “It’s a division opponent, we can talk about it all day long. It’s just a matter of going out and just doing it. We’ve talked enough. We just have to go out and play.” *

Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii