Tight race for playoff spot pumps up Giants

With four games remaining in the season, the Giants aren't getting ready to start a run for the playoffs. They feel as if they're already one-third of the way through the race.

"I'd like to think we started the run," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said Monday, the day after the Giants (8-4) won their second straight home game to remain in a virtual tie with the Eagles for first place in the NFC East. "We were kind of down after the Philly game and [Tom Coughlin] just said that we're going to look at it as a six-game season. So far in that six-game season, we're 2-0."

Of course, the NFL does not determine its playoff teams based only on the final six games. Or the final four. The league did change the way it devised its schedule to create more division matchups late in the season, which creates inherent importance for those games. The Giants have two division games in their last four, plus a game against the Packers, also in the playoff hunt.

Coughlin has been using the phrase "keeping pace" for several weeks now. In the final quarter of the season, it's time to start setting the pace.

"We have to win out," guard Chris Snee said. "No question. We're just trying to keep up with everybody else . . . The goal is always to make the playoffs, but we want to win the division, too. The only way to assure that is to win out."

It also leaves the Giants in a bit of a strange position: rooting for the Cowboys.

Cofield said he began pulling for Dallas on Sunday afternoon, even though they were playing the Colts in a game that wouldn't seem to affect the Giants.

"I was actually cheering for the Cowboys this week just so they can stay as a cohesive unit and keep playing good football because I know they have Philly twice on their schedule," he said. "I'm definitely excited about the way they're playing. We're going to need their help."

If the season ended today, the Giants would be the No. 6 and final seed in the playoffs. Besides the division race with the Eagles, the Giants are a game behind wild-card contender New Orleans, tied but holding the tiebreaker advantage with the Packers and a game ahead of the Bucs. The biggest tiebreaker with the Packers would be a head-to-head victory, so the Dec. 26 game in Green Bay looms almost as large as the two division games.

Usually a team with 10 wins is a virtual lock to get into the playoffs, and earlier this year it seemed as though double digits might not even be necessary in the NFC. But lately, with so many of the upper-echelon teams winning consistently, a team with 10 or more wins could be watching from home in January.

"The NFC took a lot of criticism, saying that the conference is mediocre," Cofield said. "It seems like a lot of teams are playing well; you have some teams with good records. You're going to have to finish with a strong record to be in the playoff hunt."

Coughlin wouldn't say what he thinks of the way the schedule is playing out, mostly because he knows he has no control over it. But for the players, they seem to be enjoying the drama. Cofield said he enjoyed Sunday night's Steelers-Ravens game and was looking forward to last night's Jets-Patriots game. "It definitely keeps it interesting," he said.

But what about when you are one of the teams having to face the gantlet?

"It's exciting, actually," Snee said. "You get down to these games that are crucial. You're challenged to play your best. That's when the true competitors step forward, and I feel that we're loaded with those on this team. I'm really looking forward to what we can do here down the stretch."