No one could argue with the logic of Dan Campbell as he ran scenarios around his head.
“We win this game and we’re sitting pretty good,” the Giants’ tight end decided. “We’ll be 2-0 in the division and beaten them head-to-head. I think it’s a pretty good place to be.”
It would be a wonderful place for the Giants to be approaching midseason, sitting even with the Eagles atop the NFC East. That is reality if the Giants on Monday night beat the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Campbell, though, was asked to consider the downside possibility of venturing into Veterans Stadium. What if the Giants lose?
“It’s something we really don’t want to think about,” Campbell said with a sigh. “No doubt if we lose this game it would hurt a little bit.”
More than a little bit.
Does anyone else sense the overwhelming inevitability that the Giants are destined to flirt with playoff contention, fall short and drift off into the blandness of mediocrity?
Everything the Giants are about thus far points to 7-9 or 8-8, good enough to dream and drone on about “mistake-free football” and bad enough to curse their fate and bemoan “not getting it done.”
Which brings us to this upcoming game. When expectations are meager, the Giants have shown an ability to rise out of the mire, meaning a victory over the good but not great Eagles will be a surprise but not a shock. Of course, these Giants would then be just as likely to lose the following week at home to the Jaguars or on the road the week after in Minnesota.
For the Giants to harbor any notion of capturing the NFC East, winning this game is a must. The Eagles, barring a serious injury to MVP candidate Donovan McNabb, are not going to collapse. Without a division title, the road to the playoffs will be filled with land mines for the Giants, as there are only two wild-card spots and they have already lost to the 49ers, Cardinals and Falcons, teams currently in the running and ahead of the Giants.
Beating the Eagles infuses the Giants with instant credibility, at least for one week. Losing brands the Giants as pretenders, perhaps for the remainder of the season.
Other Giants-sized issues:
The Eagles stumbled a bit early (losses at Tennessee and Jacksonville) but they are a quality team doing what good teams do. They are winning at home (3-0) and piling on points (30.8 per game).
These comparisons could frighten off the Giants. The Eagles in six games have scored 21 offensive touchdowns. The Giants have seven. The Eagles have more than twice as many points (185) than the Giants (86). McNabb has rushed for more touchdowns (four) than the entire Giants team. The Eagles on defense have amassed 21 sacks. The Giants on defense have nine sacks.
Plus, here’s other untidy numbers to deflate the Giants: They are 3-10 in games following their bye and 1-5 under Jim Fassel on Monday Night Football, getting outscored 141-72 in the six games.
Giants players recently received a memo put out by the NFL office in response to the Terrell Owens “Sharpie” incident, prompted when the 49ers receiver autographed a football after scoring a touchdown and handed it to his financial advisor in the stands. Every other team received the identical memo.
The message? “If it’s not part of your uniform, don’t bring it on the field,” Jason Sehorn said. “Let me tell you something: This league’s a stop-sign league. They wait for us to mess up before they make a rule.”
More than anything, there was amusement or mild disgust over Owens’ antics. “I thought it was funny,” receiver Ike Hilliard said. “Real creative.”
Members of the Giants defense were not amused by Owens when they nearly shut him out in the season opener and then he started to chirp after finally making a play late in the game.
“I don’t see the entertainment value in anything he does,” Sehorn said.