EAST RUTHERFORD - Admittedly, I am not one of the believers.
When the Chargers rallied from six points down with a game winning touchdown with 0:20 left, that was for me the last straw.
The embarrassing loss on Thanksgiving was the ultimate red flag that this team did not have it this season. Nearly seven weeks of mediocre football drew the conclusion that this team could not hack it.
How could any person with an ounce of sense not declare the season over?
Of course, the NFC decides when over truly is over and as of this moment, it allows the Giants are still very much in the hunt not only for the playoffs, but can even win the NFC East if certain results fall into place.
By virtue of their 31-24 season saving victory over the Cowboys, the Giants look up at the standings and see themselves only one game out of first place.
They have even records with the team they have now beaten twice this season. It has made their showdown this Sunday night against the Eagles of even greater significance because of the new ramifications involved.
A victory over the Eagles would put the Giants in first place by way of a three-way NFC East tie that they would lead based on division record. The following two games are eminently winnable, with their last game possibly against a Minnesota resting its starters.
What a difference a week makes.
For the last eight weeks, we had seen a lethargic Giants team that lacked intensity and showed no emotion. Perhaps an extreme sense of hubris had set in with this team where they felt they no longer needed to continue to play at a high level because they were winning without playing their best.
This may work when you are facing the Redskins, Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders, all teams that rank among the dregs of the league. However, against higher-level competition, playing adequate is never good enough to succeed. The Giants found this out the hard way in blowout losses to the Saints, Eagles and Broncos.
As losses mounted, the team margin for error continued to shrink. From a 5-0 start to four consecutive defeats evaporated their division lead and then see their season in peril after the loss in Denver.
Sunday, a different team showed up.
In the first half, it appeared to be more of the same. Dallas was moving the ball and the Giants still could not get out of its own way. Trailing 3-0, Ahmad Bradshaw put the ball on the ground, turning it over to the Cowboys who quickly marched to make it 10-0, administering a body blow that it did not look as if the Giants would recover.
Getting within 10-7 before the half got them back in the game with less than two minutes remaining, but when Mathias Kiwanuka stripped Marion Barber of the ball and the Osi Umenyiora recovered, the entire team was given a gift. Capitalizing on the turnover, the Giants turned it into seven points and took the lead.
No longer was bench sulking. Energy and hustle now replaced sluggishness. The way the defense moved around amidst the changes made before the game. Kiwanuka and Chris Canty replaced Umenyiora and Fred Robbins on the defensive line and each did admirable jobs. Linebacker Jonathan Goff replaced Chase Blackburn and Clint Sintim saw more time on the field to provide more speed on defense.
The results were striking. Nothing against Blackburn or Danny Clark, but they were not able to perform at the speed needed for this Giants defense to compete with some of these offenses. Defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan was able to utilize numerous coverage and blitz schemes to move Tony Romo’s feet in the pocket.
While Romo completed 41 of 55 passes for 392 yards and 3 touchdowns, the defense sacrificed the pass at the expense of shutting down the Cowboys running game and in the end was successful.
They took another hit when Dallas took advantage of an interception to regain the lead, but all it took was one play, a 74-yard catch and run by Brandon Jacobs for a touchdown that electrified Giants Stadium.
Domenik Hixon sealed the game when he turned a routine punt return that the Cowboys appeared to have shut down, but never giving up, he maintained his balance, found space to the outside, and raced 79 yards to the end zone for a 31-17 lead.
The stadium was going crazy. The sideline was going crazy. You can see the emotion on Coach Tom Coughlin’s face after that play, pumping his fist and cheering in celebration.
For so long they have wanted to feel this way and had not been able to. Big plays were being made and their appeared to be a feeling that they had finally found themselves.
What we all have to be mindful of it is that is just one game. All of these good feeling are immediately erased if they lose to Philadelphia at home.
The playoffs are back in reach. However, they have to defeat the team that has been their roadblock the last three times. Since December of last year, the Giants have played their rivals from 90 miles away three times and have lost all three times, including the playoff game disaster in January.
No need for style points Sunday. Win the game. At the end of the day, isn’t that what we all care about?
Take advantage of the opportunity given.
Or face an off-season of regrets.
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