The two Jets routes that can emerge from this Eagles test

The Eagles have a way of quickly spoiling opponents’ optimism.

Just ask the Giants, who were smacked 38-7 by Philadelphia in the NFC Divisional Round last season, the last of three losses to their despised rivals.

The Giants were riding high after beating the Vikings for their first playoff win in 11 years, full of newfound ambition for their near-future.

But the loss bluntly exposed just how far the Giants truly were from competing with the NFL’s elite and perhaps served as a precursor to the team’s woes this season.

For opponents, the Eagles often provide a harsh reality check.

Now in a similar situation, what will they demonstrate about the Jets’ reality?

The Jets have found new life in the past two weeks. They’re coming off an emotional win over the Broncos after staying stride for stride in a spirited loss to the reigning champion Chiefs.

They’ve found a bona fide identity since the shocking loss of Aaron Rodgers, pounding the ball on the ground, particularly with stud running back Breece Hall, and relying on their brash defense to keep opponents at bay.

Hall rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown while averaging eight yards per carry against the Broncos. After the game, his teammates raved about him as “special” and “an inspiration.”

Sound familiar?

Saquon Barkley recorded 109 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the Giants’ Wild Card win over the Vikings, and his teammates similarly glowed about him.

Then against the Eagles, Barkley recorded just 82 yards from scrimmage and no touchdowns, and all that momentum came to a screeching halt.

Hall and the rest of the Jets’ momentum now face the same challenge.

Will their good vibes survive the Eagles, who are a perfect 5-0 and have the NFL’s No. 2 offense and No. 10 defense in yards per game?

“What’s cool is the NFC champs are walking into our building, and it’s an opportunity for us to get after,” head coach Robert Saleh said on Wednesday. “We’ve played some good football teams. We took Buffalo and Kansas City down to the wire. We got another great one coming in. So, hopefully it’s a fun game for everybody, and hopefully we’re on the right side of it.”

If they do end up on the right side of it, the result can have the opposite effect.

It would mean they beat one of last year’s Super Bowl teams and nearly beat the other within three weeks, proving their winning formula stands up to the NFL’s elite.

It also exponentially would grow the team’s positive vibes heading into the bye week, setting up expectations the Jets should be firmly in the mix to earn their first playoff appearance in 12 years.

Two different realities lie on the other side of the Eagles.

When the Eagles provide their reality check to the Jets, which will emerge?

Today’s back page

Two bigs to fail

Joe Schoen and the Giants did this to themselves.

The team’s offensive line is as bad as it’s ever been, in a state of disaster that’s crippled their offense amid a nightmarish 1-4 start to the season.

They’ve surrendered an NFL-high 30 sacks, allowing Daniel Jones, who is now unlikely to be available for their Week 6 clash against the Bills due to a neck injury sustained on one of those sacks, to be pummeled.

The crisis stems back to Schoen’s decisions this offseason in building that offensive line.

The Giants questionably cut swing tackle Tyre Phillips, who started five games for the team last year and appeared in 12. It left them with Matt Peart as the only backup tackle on the active roster.

Yet since Andrew Thomas injured his hamstring in Week 1, it’s been Josh Ezeudu — who spent all of training camp working as a guard — filling in at left tackle.

If Peart is not capable of being the backup, why is he on the roster? If he’s unable to fill in, Schoen entered the season without a credible backup at a crucial position.

The Giants also opted not to bring back Jon Feliciano, who can play both guard and center. The interior of their line has been a rotating circus, with Mark Glowinski, Ben Bredeson, Marcus McKethan, Jalen Mayfield and Shane Lemieux each getting cracks at guard — with nightmarish results.

Liberty need 3s of a kind to trump Aces

When the Liberty have needed Sabrina Ionescu the most, she’s vanished.

The former No. 1 overall pick has struggled mightily as the Liberty have been dominated by the Aces and pushed to the brink of elimination — facing an 0-2 hole in the WNBA Finals as they head home to Barclays Center for Game 3 on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ABC).

Ionescu averaged 17.0 points and 5.4 assists per game during the regular season, and set a WNBA single-season record with 128 3-pointers made while shooting 44.8 percent from behind the arc.

But in the first two games of the finals, she’s scored just seven and 10 points, respectively, and recorded just eight total assists. She’s shooting a combined 4-for-17 from the field, including 3-for-12 on 3-pointers.

To mount any semblance of a comeback against the Aces, the Liberty need the best version of Ionescu, the one capable of shooting fireworks.

Their season — and the ambitions of New York’s superteam project — likely depends on it.

MLB scoreboard

Phillies 3, Braves 1: Nick Castellanos slugged a pair of homers for the second consecutive game, delighting his son in the stands at Citizens Bank Park and sending the Phillies to the NLCS by eliminating baseball’s best regular-season team from the playoffs, also for the second consecutive year.