Giants Motivated By, But Not Focused On Playoff Berth

The Giants know they have a chance to win the NFC East, but they're not about to let that overtake the bigger goal this week of beating Dallas.

The Giants might insist that their focus is on taking things one week at a time, but they're also not oblivious as to what taking care of business this weekend might mean.

If the Giants defeat the Dallas Cowboys, their focus on the coming week, they say, and the Eagles beat the Washington Football Team Sunday night, New York will win the NFC East for the first time since 2011. 

While as of Monday, the Giants were locked in on the week ahead, during their train ride home from Baltimore Sunday night, several players and coaches might have checked in on the outcomes of the Cowboys-Eagles and the Washington-Carolina games.

"Being on the train, we had the game streaming in the background," head coach Joe Judge said. "Everyone’s kind of checking scores around the league. Last night was no different. Some division games were going on that we were conscious of. We checked those, we streamed those, and watched the end of those games.

"It would be naïve or ignorant to pretend that they’re not paying attention as well," Judge said. 

Still, other players like center Nick Gates and linebacker Blake Martinez tried to immerse themselves in the film to get a jump start on the new week. But they too were aware of what was happening in the division--and if they weren't on the train, Judge made sure to let them know about it when they arrived back home in East Rutherford.

"When we got back, I grabbed the team and just kind of let them know what the situation is, but really, reaffirm the importance of staying focused on Dallas. That’s all we can control," Judge said.

For the Giants, not only would the chips falling their way mean a playoff berth, but it would also be a historical moment as they'd become the first 6-10 playoff team and the first team to start 0-5 and make the playoffs in NFL history. 

The Giants have shot down talks of playoffs ever since they worked themselves into a position to make a run. But at the same time, there's no denying that the players have a little more pep in their step as they have something meaningful to play for in Week 17, something the Giants haven't had since 2012 outside of a chance to play spoiler against the Eagles last season. 

Even when the Giants made the playoffs in 2016, they were already locked into their spot as the fifth seed and only played their starters to knock Washington out of the sixth seed that year.

But now, a potentially division-deciding Week 17 game will officially give Judge and his young players a full 16-game season of meaningful football with all the pressure and motivation that comes with it. 

"Our coaches hit it best. They said you always want to have meaningful December football games. This game will be in January, so meaningful January games," said Martinez. "To be able to have that, every competitor, especially in the NFL, wants to have that opportunity.

"We have the opportunities ahead of us. You have to take advantage of it. I think that’s the biggest thing, kind of finishing the season off. Doing whatever we can to take advantage of what’s presented to us."

Still, while the opportunity to make the playoffs is a good motivator for the team, it won't be their central focus this week. 

The playoff conversation is not expected to carry into the team's meetings this week as they are focused on preparing for the Dallas Cowboys. Focusing too much on playoff scenarios could prove to be a toxic distraction for an opponent, the Giants are itching to beat regardless of playoff scenarios. 

The Giants have lost seven straight contests to their division rival, including a gut-wrenching 37-34 loss back in Week 5 that dropped the Giants to 0-5. 

Now, this week the Giants have a chance to come full circle from that defeat and pull off a historic comeback if they defeat Dallas and get the help they need later in the day. 

The Giants and Cowboys meet at 1 p.m., but regardless of who wins, the new division winner won't be officially crowned until after the Eagles-Washington game ends around 11 p.m. that evening. 

So until then, Judge has made it very clear on what he expects: Focus on the Cowboys and not the playoff possibility,

"I think the goal is always, somebody asked this question I think it was a few weeks ago, about playing relevant games in football. I think you want every game you ever play to be relevant," he said.

"That being said, this same situation in front of us, the same opportunity that’s in front of us is the same opportunity that was in front of us in Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and so on. We have to make sure we take care of our business every week along the way and improve as a team. At the end of the year, it’s the collective record that matters. 

"Right now, the emphasis has to be on the Cowboys. We have to play our best game. This is a much different football team than we played early in the season. We’re a different team, too. We have to re-learn the Cowboys and really study them and get ahead on it. 

"Our players have to understand the opportunity that’s really sitting in front of us is the opportunity to play a division rival and play the last game of the season with our best football. That’s the opportunity that we have to take advantage of."