LANDOVER, Md. — Say it.
That, pretty much, was what inquiring minds wanted to cajole out of the Giants this past week.
Say it is a “must-win” game. Say if you win it, you will be in the playoffs. Or, if you prefer the flip side, say if you lose it you can kiss the playoffs goodbye.
Say this is the most important game you have ever played in. Say you did extra-special things to prepare, that you will be more excited and amped up than ever, and that all is lost if you step off that field on the wrong end of the final score.
Say it.
“I can’t say that, because if we lose, we still play the next week after that, and if we win, it’s not guaranteed we make the playoffs,” defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence said.
Try to get coach Brian Daboll to take Sunday night’s game against the Commanders at FedEx Field and raise it to a heightened level and win a prize. He would not do it — not publicly, anyway.
Does this game mean more than the others?
“They all mean something,” Daboll said. “The wins mean something, the losses mean something. Two teams that have winning records that are in the division playing one another. I think everybody understands that this game is important. Last game was important. Week 3 was important. I think you just got to stay with that consistent approach.”
Will the performance of players in this game resonate more as it pertains to their future than other games?
“I think every game does,” Daboll said. “Look, every game is critical. There’s only 17 of them in this league. There aren’t 82 of them or 160, how many in baseball? Every game is critical, so you have to approach it that way.”
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Finally … is this a “must-win” game?
“I view every game as a ‘must-win’ game,” he said. “That’s why you go play them. It’s the next game, it’s important, it’s against a division team. We got to go out there and play well.”
Saquon Barkley acknowledged, “I understand the magnitude of the game and understand that it’s a big game,” but stopped short of calling it the biggest game of his career.
“I wouldn’t say that,” he said.
The math of the moment indicates what this game means. The Giants and Commanders own matching 7-5-1 records, squaring off two weeks after their 20-20 tie at MetLife Stadium. The Commanders last week were resting on their bye as the Giants were getting smoked by the Eagles, 48-22. So, that could be an advantage for the home team this time around.
At present, the Commanders (No. 6 seed) and the Giants (No. 7 seed) would both be in the playoffs if the season ended today, as both teams were aided by the Seahawks (7-7) losing Thursday night to the 49ers. No matter what happens in this game — flexed to Sunday night because of the postseason ramifications — the loser will still be in position to make the playoffs without needing outside help.
Daniel Jones was one of the few players to vocalize the importance of the moment: “Yeah, I think it’s a really big game for all of us. It’s a big divisional game on the road in December. Yeah, it’s a big game for us.”
It actually is easy for the Giants to push aside the more recent domination by one NFC East opponent (Eagles) to try to glean as much as possible out of the tie that felt like a loss two weeks ago. Interestingly, Daboll noted it is not only necessary to study what went right or wrong from that game, but also to project what the Giants did not do that perhaps they should this time around.
“You go back, you look at things maybe you didn’t call in the first game,” Daboll said. “You sit down, maybe there’s some things that hit your mind that, probably, should have put in the first game.”
The Giants were pleased with how they got after Taylor Heinicke in the first meeting, sacking him five times and registering 10 quarterback hits. Now they take aim again.
“I know they’re waiting on us just as much as we’re waiting on them,’’ rookie outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “I feel like because we just played them, and they haven’t seen anybody yet all they’ve been doing is licking their chops. Being able to meet at that stage, unlock those gates, is going to be real fun.’’
