Last year, the Giants went into Week 18 against Philadelphia resting players to prepare for the playoffs…but this year, as they prep to play the Eagles at MetLife in the finale, they’re simply playing out the string.
But they’re still fighting and playing with purpose, and coming off back-to-back games where they almost upset the Eagles and Rams – and when Adoree’ Jackson joined BT & Sal for the penultimate Giants Report of the season Tuesday, he admitted that just because there’s nothing to play for in the standings doesn’t mean there’s nothing to play for at all.
“Yeah, it’s really all about playing for each other. Even though we're not in contention that we want, at the end of the day, we're still able to play the game that we love,” Jackson said. “It’s all about your resume and what you want to put on tape, because we all know that the team’s not gonna be the same next year. Guys not under contract again are trying to do whatever they can to get back on this team or somewhere else, and those who are still under contract want to prove and show that they don't need to draft or get anybody else for their spot. So you're still battling for each other and for yourself.”
Personally, Adoree’ got a tape highlight on Christmas Day with his first career pick-six against Jalen Hurts, which was nice despite the fact that the G-Men couldn’t finish the comeback, but it was an example of playing for both yourself and your teammates.
“It’s cool being a villain, especially, you know, going down in somebody else's territory and doing something like that and hearing the reaction of the crowd, the silence and the boos…it’s just a cool feeling,” Jackson said. “It’s a different feeling when you do it on defense because you don't really get the opportunity to do it as much, so it's just more memorable that way.”
So, with two games against Dallas and one against Philly already in the books, and this week a chance to maybe play spoiler for the Eagles, Jackson was coy about which team was better to avoid bulletin board material – but he might ‘swing towards the Cowboys.’
Take a listen to Jackson’s entire segment, which also includes thoughts on being beaten by Puka Nacua against the Rams, why Tommy DeVito isn’t getting a chance down the stretch to get more tape on him, and more!
