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Head coach Joe Judge grew up in the Philadelphia area and on Thursday he will take his New York Giants down the Turnpike to face the Eagles on Thursday Night Football.
Judge will have some family members and friends in the stands on Thursday night but he couldn’t say who or has many would attend. The Eagles began allowing fans to attend home games on a limited basis last week.
“My only rule is anybody who shows up that I either grew up with or have blood ties with, they have to wear blue,” he said. “I respect their love for the Eagles from being in the town, but hey, look man, you ain’t showing up cheering against my kids’ Christmas. You better come out in some blue cheering for us.”
Another Giant making a homecoming is defensive back Logan Ryan, who grew up in South Jersey and understands the deep roots of the Giants-Eagles rivalry.
“I definitely have some family members that grew up Eagles fans,” Ryan said. “I understand the rivalry in this division, I grew up in it. I grew up watching all these Giants games, Eagles games. (I) bleed blue right now, this is where I wake up early every day and put it on for them. My teammates support me, and the coaches support me. I’m bleeding blue all day for this one. I’m excited to upset a lot of family and friends who may be watching. If they’re not on my side, they’re on the wrong side.”
Ryan, 29, is in his first season with the Giants after signing a one-year, $5.05 million free agent deal this summer. The Camden-area native played his college ball at Rutgers and was a third-round draft pick of the New England Patriots in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Ryan won two Super Bowls with the Pats before signing a three-year, $30 million free agent deal with the Tennessee Titans in 2017.
This game between the 1-5 Giants and the 1-4-1 Eagles is a key battle in the NFC East right now, believe it or not. If the Giants win, they’ll be in second place. If Philly wins and Dallas loses to Washington, they’ll be in first place.
Ryan has played in numerous big games in his career and knows an important game when he sees one but won’t change his focus too much.
“The things I learned from playing in a lot of games in my career fortunately, is don’t make them too big,” he said. “Any time you’re playing at night, any time you’re prime time, it’s big enough. Everybody is going to be watching, you’re going to get a text from your third-grade science teacher how they taught you how to do it or something like that. Everybody is watching.
“These games obviously in our division are very competitive. Big rivalries with the fanbases. A lot of history there so that’s big enough. We’re going to play these guys again; we’re going to see Washington and Dallas. I wouldn’t put all the chips on the line yet, but I wouldn’t play it any differently. I’m going all out and give it my all and lead from the front like I said regardless of what the stakes are.”
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