Let’s not get too cute: It’s not a direct comparison to link the Giants’ 2007 battle with the Patriots to the one this Sunday against the Eagles. The Patriots were going for the league’s first undefeated season since the 1972 Dolphins. The Giants didn’t want to just roll over and hand them league history, so they played to prevent it from happening in their building.

But there is something to be said about what happened during and after that game. Most felt New England would show up at the old Giants Stadium and blow New York out. The Giants were in no way, shape or form considered a Super Bowl contender that year. Simply making the postseason was an accomplishment. So when the Giants not only gave New England their best, but that best required the Patriots to come back from a 12-point, third-quarter deficit and then hold on, 38-35? It turned more than a few heads both inside and outside the Giants' building.

The Eagles are not undefeated. But they are considered to be one of, if not the, best teams in the NFL. The Giants, much like 2007, are considered a team fortunate to even be in the postseason and one no one considers an actual threat to make an actual run.

Change that narrative.

“I think as a player you’re always wanting to prepare to play and do what you can,” quarterback Daniel Jones said. “At the same time, you have an obligation to the team, you have an obligation to what’s best for the situation and that’s (Daboll’s) job to make those decisions. I trust him and obviously I’m going to do whatever he tells me to do.”

There are caveats in every plan. The Eagles, on paper, are a far superior team to New York. Jalen Hurts is expected to make his return. There’s a chance — potentially of the likely variety — that Sunday’s game starts similar to the one the two played earlier this season when the Eagles jumped in front, 21-0, midway through the second quarter on their way to a blowout, 48-22 victory.

There’s absolutely no point in keeping Jones, Saquon Barkley and other important pieces of the Giants roster on the field in a decided game. Daboll should absolutely throw in the towel if it gets out of hand.

But calling off the dogs before the fight? Daboll wants his players to go for the kill. He coached with aggression throughout his first tenure in New York, aside from a questionably-passive decision to put in overtime of the Giants’ first meeting with Washington.

So don’t stop now. Don’t coach scared.

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