The New York Giants couldn’t have made a worse start against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night, and one of their recently released stars came back to haunt them.
The no.1 seed in the NFC proved their class early on against the Giants, racing into a 28-0 lead by half-time. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and his offense couldn’t get anything right in the first-half, and he was even picked off by a former team-mate.
Cornerback James Bradberry was released by the Giants in 2022, and picked up by the Eagles via the free agency market. And Bradberry threw himself to intercept Jones’ attempted pass, getting one over his former employers.
The Giants were trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, but were looking to half the deficit as quickly as possible to ensure the game didn’t get away from them. Jones had the ball just outside of Eagles territory, and was seemingly safe as they had a first down.
But a misjudged pass was picked off by Bradberry, the player that was let go by the Giants before the start of the season. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure as the saying goes, and Bradberry has become very comfortable in Philadelphia.
Not only were the Giants humiliated early on by the Eagles, Bradberry made sure his former franchise paid for their mistake. And fans were loving it, as the commentators made sure to bring it up.
“James Bradbury, who was cut by the Giants in the off-season,” commentators said as the ball was picked. “James Bradberry picking off the Giants is f****** beautiful,” one fan said after the play.
“James Bradberry is having a hell of a first half against his former team,” another claimed. And seeing as Bradberry was only released recently, it’s no surprise he knew the plays that the Giants would attempt.
“Bradberry knows what you run. Baited the stick concept,” one fan noticed. The cornerback did seem to have a sixth sense in the first-half, and is clearly still familiar with their strategy.
The Eagles looked extremely sharp, and Jalen Hurts being back to full fitness was a major boost for the no.1 seed. Their bye week was the best thing for them, while the Giants looked lacklustre after a tough game against the Minnesota Vikings last week.
The Kansas City Chiefs became the first team on Divisional Round Weekend to book their place in the next round of the play-offs, making a fifth-straight AFC Championship game. They beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20, although an ankle injury to Patrick Mahomes will cause some concern this week.
