GREEN BAY, Wis. — After calling the Giants offensive line soft earlier in the week, Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji had a new label for them yesterday: serious Super Bowl contenders.
The Pro Bowl nose tackle, who was born in New York City and starred at Westwood (N.J.) Regional High and Boston College, said the Giants’ 37-20 NFC Divisional playoff upset of his Packers changed his mind dramatically about the team he had mocked just days before.
Asked if the surging Giants can beat the 49ers in San Francisco on Sunday and go on to win Super Bowl XLVI next month in Indianapolis, Raji nodded vigorously.
PHOTOS: GIANTS BEAT PACKERS, 37-20
“I think so,” he said. “Anytime you can come in here against what I thought was the best team in the league and completely dominate almost the entire game, you’ve got a chance.
“They’ve got playmakers, and if they continue to make plays, they’re going to be a tough out for any team. I wish them luck.”
The Giants haven’t needed luck the past two weeks after sneaking into the playoffs on the final day. They routed the Falcons at home in the Wild Card round before steamrolling a Packers team that had gone 15-1 in the regular season.
That sounds a lot like the script Green Bay wrote last year en route to a Super Bowl victory over the Steelers, which is why Raji and other Packers are warning the rest of the field not to overlook the Giants despite a 9-7 regular season.
“That’s the way this game goes: When a team gets hot, it’s hard to slow them down,” Packers cornerback Charles Woodson said. “They’re getting hot at this particular time, so they’re going to be tough to beat.”
Now that the Packers have been eliminated, Raji said the hometown Giants are his new favorite team, at least until this postseason is over.
“I see some definite parallels with us last year, with them coming into the No. 1 seed’s home and winning,” Raji said. “The Giants took it to us and get to play on, and we’ll be watching.”