The New York Giants were dealt a brutal season-ending defeat to the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night in a divisional-round NFC playoff game. But there's no doubt the Giants, behind first-year head coach Brian Daboll, exceeded all expectations despite how their campaign ended.
Daboll told reporters after New York's 38-7 defeat that he wasn't up for any big-picture reflections like the growth of quarterback Daniel Jones or the organization getting back to its winning ways. But the once-New England Patriots assistant did reveal his message to the group following Saturday night's loss.
"I told them to keep their heads up," Daboll told reporters, per the team. "They competed hard. It's a crash landing in the playoffs. Any time you lose it hurts because of the amount of effort and energy you put into it each week. And when you lose this time of year, it hurts even more. You work extremely hard to get to this point, you're blessed to get to this point. It's hard to do. And give Philly credit, they did everything better than we did tonight.
Daboll added: "Again, I told all the guys I appreciate what they've done, the commitment they've given to their teammates, to the coaches, to the organization. And there's no easy way to say it, it's a tough pill to swallow right now."
In regards to the overarching takeaways, Daboll said he'll be able to evaluate the long-term at a different time.
"I think there will be a time for more reflecting and things like that," Daboll said, "but the most important thing is playing well and, again, give Philly credit."
The Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship Game in which they will face the winner of Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.
