The Giants are back in the playoffs for the first time in five years. Perhaps their playoff absence has been so long that Victor Cruz is forgetting about the wild-card game, divisional round and conference championship game.
He’s already talking about the possibility of facing the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
“They don’t want to see us,” Cruz told the New York Daily News.
This is the first time the Patriots and Giants are in the playoffs in the same season since the Giants defeated the Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI.
Sure, the Giants are the only team to beat a Tom Brady-led Patriots team in the Super Bowl. They beat the 18-0 Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and they beat them again in Super Bowl XLVI.
A couple of things are different this time, however, if the Patriots and Giants complete a Super Bowl trilogy. First-year head coach Ben McAdoo, not Tom Coughlin, would have to match wits with Bill Belichick. The 2011 Giants were tied for second in the NFL with 48 sacks. This year, they’re tied for 18th with 31.
Last but not least, Cruz’s words provide the Patriots with bulletin-board material, and this is a franchise that can turn a 6-year-old’s drawing on a fridge into bulletin-board material.
The Giants are locked into the No. 5 seed in the NFC. Whether or not they rest their starters Sunday, it’s too late to rest their mouths.
[NFL.com]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
