Mark Cannizzaro

Mark Cannizzaro

NFL

Winless Giants somehow still in division race

Tom Coughlin was reluctant to use the F-word, because it is not a regular member of his vocabulary’s inner circle.

So when asked Friday if he felt “fortunate’’ the rest of the NFC East has struggled almost as badly as the 0-4 Giants, leaving open the preposterous chance that a win over the Eagles on Sunday at MetLife Stadium might allow his team go to bed a mere game out of first place in the division, the coach shifted uncomfortably.

“I don’t know … that word would be a stretch for me,’’ Coughlin said. “Really, all I do is worry about our team. The idea that we haven’t played as well as we can play is something that is of major concern to me.’’

Fair enough. The Giants do need to take care of their own business and not rely on anyone else.

But, whether he wants to concede to it or not, the respective poor starts by the Eagles and Redskins (both 1-3) and the Cowboys leading the division at a pedestrian 2-2 provided an indispensable tool for Coughlin in motivating his players this week.

As bad as the Giants have been — and they have been bad, outscored 69-7 the last two weeks — the Eagles, Redskins and Cowboys have provided them more hope than anyone could possibly have predicted they would have while mired in an 0-4 hole.

Asked if he has reminded his players of the rare circumstance that 0-4 isn’t as deep a hole as it should be thanks to their NFC East brethren, Coughlin said: “Over and over.’’

“First thing Monday morning, I put the standings up there and we talked about it,’’ he said. “In our team meeting on Friday morning, [I] reiterated where we were and where the division stood.’’

Coughlin even revealed he “briefly’’ referenced to his players the 1992 Chargers, who are the only team since the AFL/NFL merger to overcome an 0-4 start and make it to the playoffs.

Here is the Giants’ best-case-scenario Sunday in its simplest form: If they beat the Eagles and the Cowboys lose to the 4-0 Broncos, the Giants will be 1-4 and just one game behind the 2-3 Cowboys.

Though their coach was reluctant to use the F-word, his players were not shy acknowledging how fortunate they are to be in the thick of the divisional race despite not yet having won a game.

“You don’t get that kind of situation very often — being that we do not have the record we want yet all of our goals are still attainable, right there on the table,’’ defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said Friday. “That’s what we’re focused on. If we get one win [over the Eagles] and things go our way [Dallas loses to Denver] we’re right there in the hunt.’’

As it has been all week, the mood inside the Giants locker room on Friday was one of surprising upbeat quiet confidence.

“We are going to win,’’ defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said twice as he walked past me speaking to linebacker Mark Herzlich at his locker. “Put that in the paper.’’

Herzlich, unlike Coughlin, was unafraid to acknowledge the Giants’ fortune.

“As bad as we have dug a hole, I think we’re super lucky that we are in the position we’re in in the division,’’ Herzlich said. “People are saying NFC East is a bad division, but in order to make the playoffs, you just have to win your division. We’re fortunate and very lucky that we do still have a chance to compete.

“We’ve played only one division game [a loss to Dallas], so we can still beat Dallas, beat the Eagles and Redskins twice and it’s in our hands.’’

Fortunately for Herzlich, Coughlin was not walking past his locker while he uttered those words, because that is looking way too far ahead for his coach’s comfort.

“Really what it boils down to is us,’’ Coughlin said. “We can talk all we want. We have to play. We have to play a lot better than we’ve been playing. Guys are in a good frame of mind. They’ve had a good week. Let’s see this thing come together this weekend.’’