Giants draw Vikings in Wild Card playoff after backups fight Eagles to the finish

PHILADELPHIA — Saquon Barkley looked up from his phone after sitting out Sunday’s 22-16 Giants loss to the Eagles, and he smiled.

“I’m excited for the playoffs,” Barkley said. “It’s Minnesota, right?”

Yes it is. Brian Daboll’s No. 6-seeded Giants will open the postseason in next weekend’s NFC Wild Card round with a rematch at the No. 3 seed Minnesota Vikings.

The Giants just lost a 27-24 thriller in U.S. Bank Stadium on Christmas Eve. They effectively lost the turnover battle 3-0 that night, but Minnesota still needed a 61-yard field goal at the buzzer to beat them.

“I think if we played a clean game it would have been a different story there,” said Nick Gates, who started Sunday’s game at center. “But we still got to prepare and get ready for those guys. They’re a good team, a playoff team.

“We just gotta go and score points and not hurt ourselves and shoot ourselves in the foot,” Gates added. “This team’s a good team when we don’t do that. When we play consistently [and commit] no penalties, we’re a hard team to beat.”

Indeed, the Giants (9-7-1) served notice on Sunday while playing mostly backups that they will not be pushovers in the postseason, beginning with their visit to the Vikings (13-4).

Wink Martindale’s hard-nosed defense limited the Eagles’ first-string offense, led by MVP candidate Jalen Hurts, to just one touchdown and five Jake Elliott field goals.

They did it while either sitting or healthy scratching defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, edge Kayvon Thibodeaux, linebacker Jaylon Smith, safeties Julian Love and Xavier McKinney, and corners Fabian Moreau and Darnay Holmes.

DT Leonard Williams (neck), edge Azeez Ojulari (ankle) and CB Adoree Jackson (knee) were also out due to injury.

“The way we feel about our unit is there ain’t really no starters and backups,” Smith said. “Everybody on this field, on this defense, can go out and produce. That’s what the mentality has been and we’ve created it. It builds confidence for sure.”

Sixth-year quarterback Davis Webb made the first start of his NFL career, and despite a 16-0 halftime deficit, Webb scored his first two NFL touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard run and a 25-yard pass to Kenny Golladay.

“They’re the number one seed in the NFC,” Webb said of the Eagles. “We took them four quarters. I wish myself, first, and the offense, second, got off to a better start. But that second half was really fun and that’s something I’ll never forget.”

On offense, Daboll scratched or sat Daniel Jones, Barkley, left tackle Andrew Thomas, wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, tight end Daniel Bellinger, center Jon Feliciano and right guard Mark Glowinski.

Gates and rookie right tackle Evan Neal were the only starters to play meaningful snaps on that side of the ball.

“You never know when your time is gonna come. But when it’s called, you gotta be ready for it,” said tight end Lawrence Cager, who led the team with eight catches for 69 yards. “That’s why we train like pros and that’s why as a team, the Giants, that’s why we’re where we are going into the playoffs. Because everybody is bought in, everybody works hard every single game, and you can see it on game day.”

Daboll coached a bit of a wacky game, calling a fake field goal in the first half that backfired horribly. He also tried an onside kick at the start of the second half that the Eagles recovered, bailed out by a Dane Belton end zone interception of Hurts.

Still, the Giants’ backups trailed by fewer points at halftime on Sunday (16) than the 17-point deficit their starters had faced at half of their 48-22 Week 14 blowout loss to these same Eagles at MetLife Stadium.

And if the Giants beat the Vikings and the No. 2 seed San Francisco 49ers win their first-round game, Daboll’s team will be coming right back down I-95 to Lincoln Financial Field in two weeks to face the Birds off a bye.

First, the Giants must face Minnesota in the playoffs for the first time since their 41-0 beatdown of the Vikes in the 2000 NFC Championship Game.

One of the loudest stadiums in the league, though, wasn’t too loud on Christmas Eve, Gates said.

“[I was] surprised, actually,” the Giants’ O-lineman said. “I thought it would be a lot louder. Especially when our offense was out there. But you know, they’re Midwest people. So they’re too nice. Hey, I can say it. I went to Nebraska! I include myself in that one.”

It will be the Giants’ first playoff game since 2016. And they’ll be seeking the franchise’s first postseason win since Tom Coughlin’s second Super Bowl run in 2011.

“It’s a dream come true to make the playoffs,” Smith said. “The Giants, we haven’t been here in six years. So it’s a blessing. Going up against a great opponent, we have a great week ahead of us to prepare the right way for battle.

“That’s what the playoffs are about,” he added. “Win or go home.”