The Giants can be convinced of the idea that they would never be ready to compete for a place in the playoffs this season.
Not with first-year head coach Joe Judge in place, feeling his new team out, figuring out what he has on the list and what he needs to add.
Not with quarterback Daniel Jones trying to find his footing in his second NFL season.
Not with a rebuilt offensive line and many new pieces on defense.
And certainly not once they lost runner-up Saquon Barkley, their best player, to a knee injury that ended the season early in the second game of the season.
But as the Giants (5-9) play the Ravens (9-5) on Sunday, they will face reality overloaded with a surprising and unexpected missed opportunity.
Two weeks after sitting in the driver’s seat to win the NFC East, feeling good about his season and playing the December games as a result of the postseason for the first time since 2016, the Giants face elimination Sunday.
If the Giants lose to the Ravens, who are favored by 10 points, and the Washington football team wins the Panthers (4-10), then Washington would win the division and the Giants would play a trash season finale in home against the Cowboys on January 3rd.
When and if this scenario happens, the Giants will only be to blame.
“I don’t think our progress as a team will necessarily be measured in making the playoffs,” the judge said Monday. “I’m not minimizing the playoffs. We are all here to compete. We are all here for the top prize in all sports. We all know what that is. At the same time, I firmly believe that we only look at what the immediate goal is and that the long-term goal will take care of itself. “
The problem is that the long-term goal, the playoff berth, now seems like a long shot, in large part because they can’t add points, which is a prerequisite for winning the NFL.
The Giants ’offensive error has produced 13 points in the last two games: a 20-6 loss at home to the Browns last Sunday night and a 26-7 defeat at home to the Cardinals last week.
Only the Jets, with 14.7 points per game, have scored fewer points than the Giants, who average 17.4. And sharing the same phrase with the Jets will never result in a compliment.
Sunday’s Giants data is simple – they almost certainly won’t win if they get the average points this season.
The Giants have scored 20 or more points in just six of their 14 games. In four of their games, they haven’t gotten the two digits. They have scored 30 points in a single game.
By contrast, the Ravens, who have averaged 28.8 points per game, have scored 40 and 47 in each of their last two games. They have scored 30 or more points in seven of their 14 games and have only scored 20 on two occasions.
“As coaches, we have to make sure we always put our players in the right position,” the judge said Thursday. “It simply came to our notice then. Number two, when the works are about to be done, we have to do them. We have put ourselves in various positions. Through a multitude of reasons, we need to move on and finish the units better. When we get down there, we have to come out with points. “
Coach Freddie Kitchens, who has been working as an offensive coordinator for the past week, while Jason Garrett was working through COVID-19 protocols, said the offense is “near,” but quickly added, “It’s about the end result.”
The Giants know exactly where they are with the Ravens, who will hit them in the mouth as soon as they get off the team buses.
This is what John Harbaugh’s teams do: they play more physically than you. And most often they win.
The Giants ’job begins right there: be more physical than the Ravens on either side of the ball, or watch their wavering hopes of winning the NFC East fade to black.
“We need this to be the most physical game of the year,” Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said Thursday. “That’s what Baltimore wants. This is what you want it to be. Let’s see who stays in the end. “