The losses have not been stunning or unlucky or particularly galling. They have been decisive, deserved and numbing.
The Giants are losers of their past three games by 18, 38 and 24 points. Even in their opener, they trailed the Cowboys by 12 before a make-it-look-better touchdown with 11 seconds remaining. There has been no fight to the finish; the Giants have been finished long before then.
“Unfortunately in a lot of the fourth quarters with the last 10 minutes of the game in the last three games, we haven’t been in the game,’’ Eli Manning said glumly. “That’s disappointing, and that’s frustrating.’’
Can you imagine what MetLife Stadium will look and feel like, what it will sound like on Sunday if the Giants stick to their miserable 2013 script? As bad as they’ve been, the Giants have spared their paying customers most of the eyewitness unbearable play, losing three of their four games on the road. In their only home game, facing what now looks to be the invincible Broncos, at least the Giants put on a good show for a while, hanging with Peyton Manning’s guys for nearly three quarters.
Thus far it has been sanitized losing. But there’s a special level of ugliness that awaits the Giants if the fans occupying the pricey personal seat license real estate are drawn to the parking lot early after another dreadful performance, this time to the hated Eagles.
The Panthers, Broncos and Chiefs beating up on the Giants was business, nothing personal, but having Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy dance around the Meadowlands would unleash a heretofore unseen fury.
Here’s another “can you imagine?” vision: The look on co-owner John Mara’s face if he sees a quarter-full $1.6 billion stadium in the closing minutes of a loss that drops the New York Football Giants to 0-5 for the first time (in a non-strike year) since 1979.
The Eagles ride in with a three-game losing streak, and after a spectacular opener, the plans for the Chip Kelly bust in Canton have been temporarily waylaid. They are extremely beatable with a ravaged defense but, like that heavyweight with a big left hook, always have a puncher’s chance because of team speed, that wild up-tempo offense and the fast feet of Vick and McCoy.
There’s little doubt the reception awaiting the Giants on Sunday will not be overflowing with good vibes. The expectation level created by the Jerry Reese/Tom Coughlin model is for excellence most seasons and contention every year. These Giants are teetering on the edge of not being relevant before Halloween, unacceptable for a franchise that always views itself as alive on Thanksgiving and a threat around Christmas.
And so, the Giants shouldn’t expect to bask in the glow of unconditional support from a fan base that has endured a September to forget.
“Am I worried about how they’re going to be? No, I’m not worried about how they’re going to be,’’ safety Antrel Rolle told The Post. “We have to go out there and give them something to cheer for. Once we start they can sustain it and we finish it off.
“The fans feed off the play of athletes, that’s the reality of it. We give them something to cheer for, they keep it going, they keep it loud, make it difficult for the opposing team. We’re all one. We love our fans here, our fans are outstanding and they help us out, whether they know it or not. Just their enthusiasm alone, we can hear that.’’
Rolle on WFAN on Tuesday asked for the fans to “bring the enthusiasm, bring the excitement. … We want to hear that loud noise. We want to hear that roar like we heard when we were making our Super Bowl run when we were playing against Atlanta.’’
There likely will be only a hint of that atmosphere at the start from a doubting fan-base, and if the Giants don’t deliver early, enthusiasm will get pushed aside for derision and passion will get replaced by resignation.
In many ways, this is the last chance for the 2013 Giants to prove to their fans they are worth watching. Late franchise patriarch Wellington Mara always said he could tolerate booing because it was the result of an emotional investment by the fans. Empty seats and silence are the by-products of apathy, always the greatest enemy. How much anyone cares after this weekend depends on whether the Giants find a way to win one game.