New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton spent this weekend much like the majority of his team’s fan base and he was loving every second of it.
Both of Big Blue’s divisional rivals, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, suffered embarrassing losses in the Wild Card Round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs, meaning an NFC East team won’t even see the NFC Divisional Round this season.
That didn’t bother Slayton one bit, who posted on X, “Eagle and Cowboy collapse back to back?”
Beneath it was a GIF of Michael Jackson from his famous “Thriller” music video smiling in a movie theater and eating popcorn.
Eagle and cowboys collapse back to back? pic.twitter.com/XqylUG7hkT
— Darius Slayton (@Young_Slay2) January 16, 2024
Granted, the 27-year-old Slayton — who caught 50 passes for 770 yards and four touchdowns this year — doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on regarding trash-talking. His Giants went 6-11 in 2023 and missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years.
Misery does love company, however, and the exits of both the Cowboys and Eagles were exactly that.
Dallas hadn’t lost a game at home all year on its way to a 12-5 finish and the NFC East title. Yet they were ripped apart by the Green Bay Packers — specifically quarterback Jordan Love and running back Aaron Jones — in a 48-32 loss that featured a pair of Dak Prescott pick-sixes.
Dallas, who hasn’t won a Super Bowl since the 1995 season, has failed to make it past the Divisional Round of the playoffs since, including two Wild Card exits in the last three years despite possessing a 36-15 regular-season record during that stretch.
As for the Eagles, a barnstorming start to the season after winning the NFC Championship was all for naught. Philadelphia began the season looking like the most unstoppable side in football with a 10-1 record, but then the wheels (or wings) fell off.
Nick Sirianni’s men lost five of their last six regular-season games, including an embarrassing 27-10 regular-season finale against Big Blue at MetLife Stadium while the division was still up for grabs, to limp into the postseason with an 11-6 record.
A suddenly inept defense that was yielding an average of 30.3 points per game during that swoon was gashed open by Baker Mayfield on Monday night in a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jalen Hurts’ offense didn’t buck its alarming trends, either, as Philadelphia was outgained 426-276.
Perhaps some joint NFC East tee times will cushion the blow of having to watch the playoffs from home, this season.
