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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Playoff football in New York City wasn't supposed to be so blue, at least not this year. The New York Jets, who share MetLife Stadium with the New York Giants, were the favorites to make the Super Bowl from the AFC this year with a veteran team that was loaded with plenty of playoff experience. But given the massive overhaul their team had, Giants fans were planning to spend the second Sunday of the year taking down holiday decorations and not watching their team in the playoffs.
Instead, it was an intense atmosphere at the first ever playoff game at the two-year old MetLife Stadium with Giants fans celebrating not only a 24-2 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon but also the continuation of what is now a Cinderella season. Not much was expected of this team after the Giants spent the offseason reshuffling the roster, mainly by letting players go out the door and bringing in unproven and unheralded talent as replacements.
Tight end Kevin Boss, center Shaun O'Hara and guard Rich Seubert were among the long-tenured veterans jettisoned by the Giants in a youth movement. A popular pick to finish third in the NFC East and out of the playoffs, not even the Giants themselves thought they were a postseason caliber team.
"It took us a little while. We had to get some game time under belt to see what this team was about," Victor Cruz told Yahoo! Sports. "It took a few weeks but once we saw the talent we had and saw everything we could accomplish - I think that's when we kind of saw we had a good team and we just had to put it all together."
