This isn’t November football, this is playoff football.
And the pumped-up Giants went about their business that way yesterday. That’s the first step to getting it right after Sunday’s terrible performance against the Cowboys.
If the Giants are really a Super Bowl team, taking care of the high-flying Eagles and Michael Vick on Sunday night, is paramount.
This athletic Giants defense has made some big hits on quarterbacks this season when they’ve made that the top priority, KO’ing five quarterbacks. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, of course, would not reveal his plan, but he concede this is a playoff-like game for the Giants, and his players are excited about making a statement.
“I think it’s because it’s the Eagles and they’re really playing good football,” said a charged-up Fewell. “We have played good football so we’re excited to see what happens. What other place would you rather be?”
That’s exactly the point. The Giants defense is looking at this game as an opportunity to let the world know just how good they can be.
“That’s why you love playing the game,” Justin Tuck said. “It’s going to be on prime-time TV. Everybody is going to be finishing their Sunday dinners and being in front of the TV. It’s a great matchup of two teams with a great history of playing each other. Hopefully, it’s going to be one of those games where it’s very memorable and we come out with a win.”
Tuck and the rest of the Giants know it’s not going to be easy because of Vick.
“We haven’t had that type of monster to deal with this year,” Tuck said. “It’s a complete offense; you can’t just bear down on one thing. Every pass play could turn into a running play.”
Added Fewell, “They’re playing at a championship level right now.”
The Giants think they have the stuff of champions, too. And what better place to prove it than on the opposition’s home turf.
NBC’s Cris Collinsworth was at practice yesterday and made the point that no one in the NFL is Superman, even though Vick played like Superman on Monday in the 59-28 blowout of the Redskins.
How do you stop Superman? You hold onto his cape and hit him hard.
That won’t be easy for the Giants. The Eagles have scored 85 points the last two games, the same number of points the Eagles scored in two games against the Giants last season. But this is a new defense under Fewell. Superman has plenty of help, too, in the likes of receivers DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and running back LeSean McCoy.
“Sometimes you have to take a shot at [Vick],” Fewell said.
You can be sure the Giants will take their shots even if the Eagles are in max protection.
“He’s pinpointing the football from 30 and 40 yards deep,” Fewell added. “He defies all odds. He breaks the mold.”
Fewell compared Vick to a great basketball player who makes everyone better. The Giants need to pressure Vick to get the ball out of his hands quicker than he wants to deliver it.
Fewell said he is sleeping well at night because he is confident his defense will prevail.
“I think they are ranked No. 1 and I think we’re ranked No. 1 defensively, and I like what we bring to the table vs. what they bring to the table,” he said. “I like our defense against their offense.”
So while some Giants talked about this being a chess match, don’t believe it. This comes down to putting some big hits on Vick.
“Hey, we’re going down to win a football game,” Fewell said. “That’s the only reason we’re going down there. We’re taking that crew down and we’re going down and win a football game.”
There you have it. The playoffs come early this year.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com