Giants face Commanders with rare NFC East chance hanging in the balance

Résumé détaillé

See how the 5-2-1 Giants can tighten their NFC East grip against the Commanders as J.J. McCarthy makes his first home start.

He could have played if it was absolutely imperative for him to do so.

Cam Skattebo was able to run and it came down to the wire, about 90 minutes before kickoff for last Sunday’s game in Philadelphia, before the second-year running back and head coach John Harbaugh decided not to push it with his slightly strained hamstring.

“If you take all the emotion out of it, it was a game I needed to miss to make sure I was healthy for the next nine, 10 games,” Skattebo said.

“If that was a make-or-break for the season, I was there. If that was a playoff game, I was there. If it was the Super Bowl, I was there. It was safe to say, that game was important, but there’s more important games down the road and they wanted me to be healthy for those.”

It has been a while since a Giants player could say that in mid-November: There’s more important games down the road. It is a road less traveled for this franchise for most of the past 15 years since the last Super Bowl triumph.

In that span, there were only two playoff seasons. It sure looks as if Harbaugh in his first year at the helm is positioning the Giants for the NFC East title, which would guarantee the second MetLife Stadium playoff game, ever.

The Giants kick off Week 10 in the NFL with Thursday night’s game against the Commanders. The Giants will be in their Vintage White uniforms, and it is designated as a White Out evening, with all fans asked to wear white. By the time this weekend is complete, the Giants might have forced the rest of their division to raise a white flag.

The Giants are 5-2-1. Last week, they buried the Eagles (2-7), sending them into sell-off mode. After playing to a 27-27 tie with the Commanders (2-5-1) a month ago, the Giants can bury them as well with a victory in the rematch. That would make the Cowboys (4-5) the only remaining threat in the division but they face the 7-1 49ers on Sunday.

“As long as we handle business, it’s our division,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said.

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