It looks like déjà vu all over again for the Giants, who went from 7-7 last season to a Super Bowl victory.
At 8-6, they need to win their final two games against the Ravens and Eagles to secure at least a wild-card berth. Yet, the Giants aren’t going to depend on history to repeat itself.
“I don’t want to hear that. To me, that’s all bullcrap,” Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul said. “Yeah, we have done it before, but this is a whole other year. Each year is a totally different year. You don’t have the same guys on the team as last year. Who knows who is going to be here next year.
“Right now, we can do it for now, and that’s what we have to do.”
Safety Antrel Rolle wasn’t about to get nostalgic either.
“Last year was a totally different year,” he said. “If we get caught up in what we did last year, we’re going to find ourselves in a hole we don’t want to be in. The only thing that’s going to help us out is our determination and our will to go out there and get it done. We can’t base this year’s performance off last year.”
The Giants made their magical run last season by first beating the Jets on Christmas Eve, then capturing the division with a victory over the Cowboys. They then defeated the Falcons, Packers, Niners and Patriots in the playoffs. The only thing history does is show the Giants it can be done. But there are no guarantees.
“I think you have to prepare for this year and understand what our circumstances are, who our players are,” quarterback Eli Manning said. “[It’s] different teammates, different guys and it’s a new season. Our confidence will come from the players that we have in this locker room, our character, our preparation, our coaches giving us a great game plan and the fact that we know we can go out there and play at a high level.”
Tight end Martellus Bennett wasn’t on the Giants last season.
“It’s a new team and new story,” he said. “It’s a chance for this team to write its history. It’s good to have guys who’ve done it before to influence the guys who haven’t. They say history repeats itself. Hopefully, it repeats itself early.”
george.willis@nypost.com