Boston Scott can't explain his success vs. the Giants

Boston Scott can't explain it, the 10 of his 17 career touchdowns and so many big plays when he touches the ball against the New York Giants. He laughs about it, but maybe at the end of the day it's just about opportunity.

"I'm aware of it and it's a blessing to be able to produce in the NFL. It's not easy and so it's something that I'm never going to take for granted," Scott said. "It doesn't matter who it is. Obviously, my situation is unique, or whatever you want to call it. I've been able to come into the league and be productive, which is all I can really ask for. I'm a spiritual guy and there's things that I've taken from it. I feel like God has a sense of humor and, like, why the heck is one of the smallest players having those types of games against the Giants?

"They play hard and they have a lot of good pieces on defense. So, we know we're going to get their best punch and they're going to get our best punch."

For the record, Scott has a 6-2 record against the Giants and has 414 rushing yards and 9 ground touchdowns on 86 carries (4.8 yards per carry) and has another 17 receptions for 222 yards and a touchdown. He has also averaged 26 yards on seven kickoff returns. In the 2019 regular-season finale that clinched the NFC East title for the Eagles, Scott scored three rushing touchdowns against the Giants to tie a single-game franchise record. He was named the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

"I'm just out there playing hard, no matter who it is," he said. "I feel I've been productive whenever I've had the opportunity, but I realize how unique the numbers are against the Giants. I can't explain it."

What does "It's A Philly Thing" mean to the Eagles?

"It's swagger. It's an air of its own. When you talk about the passion in this city, the support in this city, the love for the Philadelphia Eagles in this city – it's truly a Philly Thing," said Jalen Hurts.

It's A Philly Thing.

That's the phrase that Eagles players and staff have proudly worn on hoodies around the NovaCare Complex this week as the entire organization prepares for the playoffs.

No matter what field the team visits or which opponent they take on, the Eagles community is unwavering. This weekend, thanks to the team's deserved No. 1 seed that brought with it home-field advantage, that passion will take over Lincoln Financial Field in front of a sold-out crowd when the Giants come to town.

"I know the place is going to be rockin'," said wide receiver A.J. Brown. "I just know it's going to be crazy out there – it's on Saturday night! We're definitely going to try to do our best to ball out and put on a show."

Chills rushed through him while he stood at his locker under his signature 'Always Open' sign, imagining the atmosphere that fans will undoubtedly bring when he takes to the field for his first playoff appearance as an Eagle.

"I'm excited, man. These are the opportunities that you live for," Brown said.

Saturday marks the first Eagles playoff game in Philly since the 2019 season – it's been a long time coming. For most of the team, it will be their first home postseason game at Lincoln Financial Field.

In fact, only 11 players on the entire 53-man roster have ever suited up for a playoff game at home as an Eagle.

Brandon Graham is one of the few who have. Drafted in 2010, the city's longest-tenured athlete has played five total playoff games at Lincoln Financial Field. He said he's well-prepared to help younger players navigate all that the postseason brings.

Join the team and grab "It's A Philly Thing" gear of your own from the Eagles Pro Shop before Saturday's game!

Nick Sirianni shares what he learned from rookie playoff experience

There is a very important distinction Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni would like to make when asked about changing the team's lead-up to Saturday's playoff game from any lessons learned last year when he made his head coaching postseason debut against Tampa Bay in the NFC Wild Card Round. "Nothing changes," Sirianni said, but the quest is always to make the process better, whether that happens in the preseason, the regular season, or the playoffs.

"You're trying to perfect your process and tweak it, so there's obviously little different things that you've done, that you've added over the year, like 'Hey, we'll add this, or we'll take this out,'" he said. "There are little things like that, that are changed. What's the difference between this preparation now today and the one against Detroit? Nothing. The moment of the game and who we're playing and where we're playing, that doesn't change. That's been our consistent message all year and what our players know and what our players do as you get ready for each game, and you treat each game exactly the same because every game is big in this league."

With that, the Eagles are deep into it, preparing for the New York Giants, a team they know extremely well and a team that knows the Eagles extremely well. They are going through the "process," a word Sirianni repeatedly used in his Tuesday press conference at the NovaCare Complex. The coaching staff spent Sunday together in the office with the playoffs on television in the background after spending last week "working hard on our fundamentals," and that included a day (Thursday) in full pads.

Working on the little things that can become big things in the playoffs.

"We just wanted to get in pads again to make sure we had some good-on-good work, some speed work so we can be physical and also work on some of the run game stuff that you might not get quite as much of when you don't have pads on because we wanted to work on the fundamentals," Sirianni said. "That was the main emphasis, really working hard on our fundamentals. Again, I say this all the time, that this team is going to call a good play and this team is going to call a good play and this player is going to be good and this player is good; what gives? And that is going to be fundamentals.

"So, we worked on the fundamentals of our plays and the fundamentals of the football. That was a big emphasis last week. Situational football was a big emphasis last week, and so those were two big things that we really worked on, and obviously we did a lot of self-scout just like we did coming off the bye week in the year, as well."

The bottom line, now that he's in his second season and second playoff week?

"Be in the moment. Be where you are," Sirianni said of his rookie-season head coaching experience. "To me, that's what good teams do. That's what good players do and that's what good coaches do."

Dallas Goedert 'hungry' to pick up where he left off

For a large part of the season, tight end Dallas Goedert's numbers and performance indicated a Pro Bowl selection was very possibly coming his way. He led all tight ends in yards after the catch. He was among the leaders at his position in receptions and yards, while blocking up a storm and dominating the middle of the field ... and then he suffered a shoulder injury and went to Injured Reserve for five games.

That's the nature of the NFL – things just don't often last for long.

But the good news for Goedert is that his season didn't end on IR and now he's in the playoffs and he is ready to resume his standout performance in his fourth game back from the injury. Goedert has 12 receptions for 158 yards in the three games since returning to the active roster and he's looking for more starting Saturday night in the postseason.

"I'm ready to be back up," he said. "There were no rough patches early in the season and obviously we've had some late in the year, like every team has. We're all excited about this week and we're all hungry to get back out there. I feel that way, too. Very much so."

Goedert, as we all did, noticed that Minnesota completed 12 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown against the Giants' defense on Sunday and that starter T.J. Hockenson had 10 catches for 129 yards. The tight end could be then, in theory, very involved in Saturday night's game plan.

If that's the case, Goedert will be prepared to make plays.

"I'll be excited for every opportunity I get, but I also know that they might play us different and that our game plan is going to be different than what Minnesota did," Goedert said. "Hopefully, I can win my one-on-one matchups, get a few targets, and make the most of them."