The rivalry responsible for two of the greatest wins — and one of the most-important losses — in Giants history is about to add a chapter that doesn’t fit with the rest of the story.
There is no Lombardi Trophy to be won Sunday against the Patriots.
The only prizes on the line are better draft positioning for the losers and personal axes to grind for some winners.
Around seemingly every corner of the Giants’ practice facility is a mural of memories pulled from two Super Bowl victories over the Patriots.
Conversations about how the Giants played their starters to challenge the Patriots’ quest for an undefeated regular season in 2007 — and how that Week 17 loss laid the foundation for the ensuing historic Super Bowl XLII upset — still fill the hallways.
Against that high-stakes backdrop, the Giants (3-8) and Patriots (2-8) are headed for something more akin to the Stupor Bowl at MetLife Stadium.
Their combined winning percentage (.238) is lower than in any of their previous 13 meetings, eclipsing the inaugural matchup in 1970 when both teams entered with 1-3 records.
“It’s definitely inconsistent with what the rivalry has been in the past,” Giants receiver Darius Slayton said. “But there are some games that, regardless of the circumstance, when there is history, there is always going to be a little bit more there.”
Even games that should have been one-sided on paper have been hotly contested, like the Patriots’ 19-point fourth-quarter comeback to clinch a first-round playoff bye in 1996, or the Patriots’ 54-yard field goal with one second remaining to keep their undefeated start (9-0) to the 2015 season alive and foil a fourth-quarter comeback by Eli Manning.
Fans of both teams who are more concerned with landing a top-two draft pick in 2024 — and potentially starting over with a new franchise quarterback — could consider this the most important swing game remaining in the season.
The Patriots’ odds of drafting in the top two are 38 percent with a win and 9 percent with a loss, while the Giants’ odds are 11 percent with a win and 47 percent with a loss, according to ESPN analytics.
“This is just the way the league goes: One year you have your highs, one year you have your lows,” said receiver Sterling Shepard, an eighth-year Giant. “This is our reality. Both teams are just coming out trying to get a win.”
There is plenty of pride at stake to eliminate any idea of a tank.
“It’s the two franchises that when they’re good, it’s better for football,” NBC Sports analyst and retired 13-year Patriots great Devin McCourty told The Post. “Everyone will talk about the draft-pick situation, but what you have to love about both places is that the coaches will be preparing and coaching their teams like it’s the Super Bowl. I know the season hasn’t been good for both teams, but this is one of those rivalries that you don’t play all the time, but you never want to lose to them.”
For Giants head coach Brian Daboll, it’s his first shot as a head coach to outduel mentor Bill Belichick.
The winningest coach of all time gave Daboll his first job as an NFL assistant in 2000 and brought him back for a second stint in 2013, but never allowed him the opportunity as offensive coordinator that he received four other places.
“I haven’t talked to Bill for a while, but a good relationship,” Daboll said. “I see him, say hello to him. Obviously, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve got a lot of respect for Bill.”
For Belichick, it’s a chance to improve his head-scratching 18-21 record against his former assistants.
And even the most robotic coach might find it difficult to block out memories good (two Super Bowl wins as Giants defensive coordinator in 1986 and 1990), bad (the two head-to-head Super Bowl losses in 2007 and 2011) and strange (his evidentiary role in a pending lawsuit by former assistant Brian Flores alleging discrimination against the NFL, the Giants and two other teams based partially on a text message that Belichick mistakenly sent to Flores instead of Daboll congratulating him on the Giants job).
For Patriots assistant head coach Joe Judge — Daboll’s predecessor — it’s a chance for revenge against the franchise that promised him patience but fired him after two seasons (10-23) at the helm.
Emotions surely will be running hot for Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers, a former New Jersey high school football star and Giants co-captain who followed Judge to New England in 2022.
“I love playing in Jersey,” Peppers said. “I have a lot of history there — and I’m excited about playing the Giants.”
Excitement is one thing. Significance is another — and that’s what is lacking Sunday compared to the moments that birth murals.
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