Bragging rights, playoff hopes on line

There are two elements tugging at the Giants as they prepare for their Saturday meeting with the Jets: hype and hope.

Any game between the teams that share a fan base, a stadium and back-page headlines comes with a lot of baggage. The Giants and Jets meet only once every four years in a game that counts. And boy, does this one count.

Which brings up the hope. For the Giants to make the playoffs, they pretty much need to beat the Jets. A win would mean that no matter what else happens Saturday, they'll be playing for the NFC East title Jan. 1 against the Cowboys. A loss, and they'll have to sweat out an uncomfortable Christmas Eve waiting to see if the Eagles can do them a favor by beating Dallas.

But even that would provide only a Band-Aid on the wound; the Giants not only would need to beat Dallas in Week 17 but have the Eagles lose to the Redskins to prevent Philadelphia from winning the NFC East title.

If the Giants lose and the Cowboys win Saturday, it's over.

"It's going to be do or die," Mathias Kiwanuka said. "We have two teams that are fighting. For us, the only thing we're concerned about is achieving our ultimate goal, which is winning a Super Bowl. Our playoffs have already started. Fortunately, we still have another opportunity to accomplish that goal. This week is going to be huge for us."

The Giants are coming off another perplexing loss in which they played down to the level of what seemed an inferior opponent. This time it was the Redskins, who walloped them, 23-10.

Kiwanuka said the Giants aren't a trash-talking team, then said they are better than the Jets, throwing a dagger at Rex Ryan. Kiwanuka noted it wouldn't matter which team this Week 16 game was against.

"I think it's irrelevant because of the situation that we're in," he said. "If it was a hype game or not a very publicized game, we would still approach it the same way.''

But even stoic Tom Coughlin had to recognize that there is more than just a possible playoff berth on the line for both teams.

"Let's face it, you have a city that has certainly divided," he said. "You would think half would be in favor of one team, half the other. Certainly you're going to sense it. I don't think you need any more [hype] to understand how important the game is to both teams.

"If you played it in the parking lot, for what's at stake, [it would be important], and both teams will realize this."

The Giants do, even if they don't talk about it as much as the Jets do. Eli Manning hardly ever gives any ammunition to a rivalry, no matter how small. And he stressed Monday on a conference call that the most important part of Saturday's game is to keep the Giants' playoff dreams alive.

"It's still not so much about the Jets, it's about what we need to accomplish and what we are trying to do to enhance our season and extend it," he said.

This game's hype is so big, so deep, though, that not even Manning can traverse it without comment. "When you have two teams in the same area, the same city and using the same stadium, you want to have success," he said. "You want to be your best, and if you see them having success, it makes things worse."

There might be nothing worse for the Giants than success by the Jets on Saturday.