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Eagles' Jason Kelce wasn't surprised by Giants' win over Vikings
Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce (62) blocks against the New Orleans Saints at Lincoln Financial Field. Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles' Jason Kelce wasn't surprised by Giants' win over Vikings

The New York Giants' wild-card victory over the Minnesota Vikings may have surprised some, but not Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. 

On this week's episode of "New Heights" podcast, Kelce revealed to his brother and co-host, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, that neither the Eagles nor the Giants are surprised their paths are crossing again.

"Both the Giants and us felt like there was a good chance we were going to see each other in a couple of weeks when we played them in Week 17," Kelce said. "Definitely not surprised. I wouldn't even call it an upset. I think a lot of people saw that might happen." 

In Week 18, the Eagles defeated the Giants 22-16, clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC East. However, the Eagles had trouble putting New York away even though the Giants, who had already sewn up a playoff berth, were resting their starters. 

The Eagles came with what looked like a vanilla game plan two weeks ago. In hindsight, the strategy makes sense if Kelce and the Eagles had an inkling of a future meeting with the Giants. 

The NFC East rivals have met only four times in the postseason, splitting their meetings 2-2. Saturday's meeting will be the first since the 2009 NFC divisional round, which saw the Eagles come away victorious, 23-11. 

Recent history also favors the Eagles. Philly has won three games in a row over the Giants, including a season sweep this year, and 11 of 13 go back to 2016. 

Ahead of Saturday, the Eagles remain a 7.5-point favorite, per Oddschecker.

Mike Santa Barbara

Mike Santa Barbara is a Wilmington, Delaware native (Yes, it's a real place) with over a decade of sports writing experience. A diehard Philadelphia sports fan, he has two dogs named after Flyers and cried real tears when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII. You can follow him on Twitter at @mike__sb

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