Victor Cruz was a rookie with two catches to his name when he played his first game at Lincoln Financial Field in 2011. He left that game with 110 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career, beginning the breakout campaign that would fuel a Giants Super Bowl. One year later, Cruz returned to score another touchdown, adding 109 yards.
But when the Giants receiver thinks about playing in the rival city, one memory overshadows everything else.
“The only thing that comes in my mind when I think about Philly and being on that field is pain,” Cruz said. “I’m excited to make some new memories and make some new thoughts to think about. … It won’t be until I get there and walk on the field where I’ll start to feel certain emotions.”
On Thursday, Cruz returns to play his first game in Philadelphia since Oct. 12, 2014, when the Giants star receiver left the field on a cart after suffering a torn patellar tendon, covering his face as he cried hysterically into his gloves.
Cruz, who wouldn’t play again for nearly two years, said he planned on returning to the back corner of the end zone where the injury occurred before Thursday’s game against the Eagles, appreciating how far he’s come since one of the worst nights of his life.
“I don’t think I need to, but I definitely will,” Cruz said. “Just to kind of reflect on that moment, reflect on that time, reflect on that feeling and then kind of wash my hands of it.”
Though the 30-year-old has just one touchdown this season and hasn’t recorded more than one catch in six straight games, perspective has been easy to find for Cruz.
“Just to come back and play on a team that’s got 10 wins … I’m just happy that this year for me individually, as well as the this team, has been a dream come true,” Cruz said. “To hopefully catch a couple balls and get into the end zone one time in that game, it would just be the icing on the cake on a year that’s been so fruitful for me, in my opinion.”