Pride. Honor. Dignity.
Elimination.
Tom Coughlin wanted to see the attributes that forged a Super Bowl title last year come to the surface, even for only one last time, knowing he and his players controlled almost nothing about the miniscule chances they all had to slip into the playoffs. Coughlin saw what he desired in Sunday’s 42-7 rout of the moribund Eagles and afterward the Giants reacted strangely and appropriately as a lopsided victory could not undo all the ills that brought 2012 to an unceremonious end.
“The first thing is you never rely on anyone else in this business,’’ Coughlin said. “You have to take care of your own business. And we certainly had our chances.’’
The Giants needed to win and have three other games go their way, not an inviting scenario after losing in weeks 15 and 16 by a combined 67-14. They held up their end and for a while were teased as the Lions came back on the Bears but a few minutes after the Giants walked off the field at MetLife Stadium the stinging finality of Bears 26, Lions 24 meant the Giants were eliminated.
“There’s no shoulda, coulda, wouldas or what might have been,’’ Antrel Rolle said. “Our season ends today. Earlier in the week I said if we had pride and we cared about our profession, we cared about being Giants it would show on Sunday and I think it definitely showed up today.’’
How different one season is from the next, as the 2011 Giants won the NFC East at 9-7 and never stopped amazing their fans and the league until they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in Indianapolis. This 9-7 record doesn’t get the Giants anything other than remorse and confusion.
“There is no enjoyment in not going to the playoffs,’’ Eli Manning said. “Obviously I know we’re not playing football next week and it’s slowly kicking in.’’
Coughlin said he is anxious to ask his players “What in the world was the last two weeks all about?’’ As the head coach he doesn’t have any answers. Rolle says he has some ideas he wants to run by Coughlin. Others are admittedly clueless.
“If he asks me I will tell him I don’t know,’’ guard Chris Snee said.
As for the game, it was no contest, as the Eagles (4-12) clearly were unwilling and unable to give Andy Reid a respectful going-away-present after 14 years of largely successful football. The Birds mailed in this one, standing aside as Manning for the first time in his career threw five touchdown passes in a game, three in the first quarter – two to rookie Rueben Randle – for a greatest-of-ease 21-0 lead.
Ahmad Bradshaw (16-107) and David Wilson (15-75) ravaged the Eagles on the ground and Michael Vick provided no spark to the Eagles, as he was intercepted by Stevie Brown in the first quarter to set an immediate trend. It was 35-7 by halftime and the Eagles looked as if they were already on vacation.
“Today we performed like we were supposed to,’’ said Osi Umenyiora in what likely was the end of his 10-year Giants career. “Today we performed like World Champions.’’
There were loud cheers midway through the third quarter when the jumbo screens posted news that the Lions has pulled within 20-17 of the Bears and even a few chants of “Let’s Go Lions!’’ Justin Tuck said he was “absolutely’’ watching the scoreboard.
“We got the word in the locker room that it wasn’t going to work out the way we wanted it to,’’ Manning said.
The Giants know they blew their playoff hopes in Atlanta and Baltimore and that the Lions merely made it official.
“We can’t be mad at anyone but ourselves,’’ Rolle said. “You can be disappointed, knowing what kind of team we are, unfortunately our season ends today. But we had several chances to close it out and not leave it in the hands of other opponents. We didn’t do that.’’
Mathias Kiwanuka called the afternoon “a good end to a disappointing season.’’ Coughlin said he knew when he got home and put on the Cowboys-Redskins night game for the NFC East title he’d be wondering why the Giants weren’t playing for the division crown.
“It’s frustrating and it will be for quite some time,’’ Snee said. “I believe we’re a better team than 9-7, I have no ground to stand on though, that’s our record. The way we played the prior two weeks, we don’t deserve to be in the playoffs.’’
And because of the way they played the last two weeks, they’re not.