The front of the towels to be distributed for today’s Giants-Eagles battle read “Win & In.” The Giants hope the flip side does not need to say “Lose & Pray.”
Those towels will be waving this afternoon, turning Giants Stadium into a swirl of sight and sound and energy. The curtain comes down on the regular season, but the Giants are in no mind to close up shop. Not now, not when they’re playing their finest football, not when they’ve eliminated the need for aid from anyone and everyone, not when they’ve succeeded in simplifying their playoff chances to a most basic requirement.
Win and In.
It is what every athlete desires, the opportunity to complete the job with no need to hang a “Help Wanted” sign. A complex, combustible four months led the Giants on a mystery ride full of starts and stops, a journey seemingly headed to an end after this game against the Eagles. A late rush has the Giants thinking big, winners of three straight, and the payoff for the December run is a wild-card playoff berth, if the Giants can seal the deal.
This is the way it should be, with a bitter division rival standing in the way of the Giants and the postseason, perhaps the league’s best team coming to town, riding a five-game winning streak, determined to put a dagger through the Giants’ playoff hopes.
“The schedule-makers knew what they were doing,” receiver Amani Toomer said.
There is a fallback position for the Giants, one they are desperate to avoid at all costs. The Giants gain a spot in the playoffs with a victory, but they aren’t eliminated with a loss. If they are beaten, the Giants claim an NFC wild-card spot if the free-falling Saints lose tomorrow to the Panthers in New Orleans. The Giants are not anxious to entangle themselves in such a scenario.
“It’s a playoff game for us; win and keep going or lose and very possibly pack your bags,” Jim Fassel said yesterday.
“If we win, I’ll be chilling and happy and nice and relaxed,” said running back Tiki Barber, “but if we lose I’ll be sitting on the edge of my couch waiting for New Orleans, waiting for [Carolina coach and former Giants assistant] John Fox to find a way to beat New Orleans.”
The Eagles (12-3) with a victory can wrap up the home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs; they’ve already clinched a bye next weekend. They beat the Giants 17-3 back on Oct. 28 but no longer have the creativity of Donovan McNabb to lean on; he’s missed the past five games with a broken ankle. Since then, the Birds have gone 5-0, with A.J. Feeley at quarterback and winning the past four games.
The Giants (9-6) want to believe they present a greater challenge this time around. They’ve averaged 36 points in their three-game winning streak, with Barber, Toomer, Kerry Collins and Jeremy Shockey providing staggering production. No one is anticipating a scoring fest against the rock-solid Philly defense, but the way the Giants have operated lately, they are bursting with confidence.
“They’re a great team and we think we’re a great team,” left guard Rich Seubert said.
“Right now,” said tight end Dan Campbell, “we feel like we can play with anybody.”
A place in the playoffs must be earned, and the Giants fully understand who is standing in their way.
“Every time we play these guys, it’s a brutal war,” Barber said. “I feel worse after this game than every game I play all season, because they hit us, we hit them, and we expect that same kind of intensity this time.”
The towels will be waving, stating the Giants mission for all to see.
Win and In.
Lose and Pray.