Coach John Harbaugh: 'It’s a huge win for us'

John Harbaugh (0:00)

A really great environment, really amazing, amazing rivalry.

You know, it's been, it's been like 19 years, you know, and coming back in on the bus, seeing the link, coming down the highway, 95, and in a Giants bus, you know, it was really something, you know, I didn't think it was going to be quite that, but it was all that, and it was a moment. You know, this is Giants-Eagles in Philadelphia. You know, this is big. This is a big rivalry. And our guys played, and they played too, I mean, give the Eagles credit, they played a really good football game, a really tough football game, and our guys met the challenge, they never flinched, they never blinked, didn't play winning football, not perfect football, but winning football, and found a way to win the game, all three phases, especially starting with the defense. Special teams had some things early, then got it together, coverage was great, kickoff coverage and punt coverage. And then just the faith, belief, trust, what our team chaplain John Paul talked about, heart, guard in your heart, and we gave God the glory in there at the end too, just because sometimes you gotta get out of yourself, and you gotta just believe in your God, and you gotta believe in your men.

And really for me in the second half, when I kind of figured that out, you know, I was better. And we seem to be better too for some reason. So, just proud of the guys. It's a huge win for us. Now we got five days, and we're right back in to another gigantic game on Thursday night at MetLife. So, proud of the guys. What questions you have?

SPEAKER_2 (1:37)

John, what is it about this team and their ability to find a way to win?

John Harbaugh (1:41)

It's that, you know, I just, they have it. You know, they have what it takes. I don't know how to describe it other than that. And I think they had it all along, and they found it in these games. You know, sometimes it's one thing to have it, and another thing to find it. And they've been able to find it, you know, in the way they play. And they played hard. They played hard. They played rough and physical, but they also played really smart.

We didn't give up big plays, you know. We didn't turn the ball over. We did winning things. Kept everything moving forward for the most part. We punted the ball, we tackled.

All those things were really good.

SPEAKER_3 (2:12)

I know it's going back a ways, but the last time you had a quarterback get hurt in the game, everything kind of felt jumbled with the rest of the game today. It didn't seem like that. It seemed like your guys responded right from that moment. Can you just talk about that aspect of it?

John Harbaugh (2:29)

That's a great point.

That's a great point. Hadn't thought about that. You just asked the question in a comparison sense. I mean, maybe it's the fact that Jameis has been playing so much.

And now you've got JG who had been in and came back in. But Jameis comes in, and really the throw of the game was the deep sideline route to Malachi in that long yardage situation after I think we took a sack. And he throws a dime right in the sideline, and Malachi was a great route, just a great time, and you're impossible to cover that route. Just as well executed as you can get for a first down. And that got that drive started. And it's tough sledding the whole way. It's kind of a defense. You just gotta stay after. You gotta keep them on the field somehow. And it's hard to do that. And they did, and then they got it in the end zone. It wasn't a field goal. So, yeah, that's to your point. You gotta give Jamis a lot of credit and the guys a lot of credit around them.

SPEAKER_4 (3:20)

John, what did JJ show you to do this well and just to go back in the game? And not only that, that run for the first down, he's basically on one leg.

John Harbaugh (3:28)

Yeah, I mean, you gotta be kidding me. You know, I mean, he's got that.

He's in pain. He's in pain. And boy, he ran fast for that first down, though, didn't he? You know, I mean, that acceleration there to see that, I guess a little adrenaline probably flowing through the veins. But just to come back. He insisted on, you know, we weren't pushing him back out there. He was able to play, but he insisted on playing. Even at the end, you know, we thought about maybe putting James in there for the last drive, you know? And he insisted on being out there. And, you know, it says a lot about him, for sure.