You don’t win one home game against your three division opponents, you don’t deserve to make the playoffs.

This is not an axiom but it does make some sense. Winning in the division is always critical and winning at home is always imperative. When a team cannot do either, how is it going to find a way into the postseason?

The Giants want to come up with an answer to this. 

They blew their last chance to win a game within the NFC East at MetLife Stadium this season when they were hammered on Sunday, 48-22, by the Eagles. A week earlier, the Giants failed to defeat the visiting Commanders, wasting several opportunities to come out ahead before settling for a 20-20 overtime tie. Back in Week 3, the Giants lost at home to the Cowboys, 23-16.

That is it for this season, as far as home games against division rivals. The Giants finished 0-2-1 when facing the NFC East at MetLife Stadium, the first time since 2018 they did not win a division home game. The Giants are 0-3-1 against the NFC East, with road games remaining at Washington and Philadelphia.

Whenever a new regime arrives it often sets as a starting point to win at home and take care of business in the division. The Giants have done neither. Their division record is deplorable and they are 4-3-1 overall at MetLife Stadium. General manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have more work to do.

Of course, after going winless in their last five games, if the Giants (7-5-1) can get their act together and find a way to score one more point than the Commanders (7-5-1) on Sunday at FedEx Field, their pathway to the first playoff berth for the franchise since 2016 will be nice and clear. The Giants can go 1-4-1 in their division and still find a way into the postseason. Imagine that. It is also possible that all four NFC East teams make the NFC tournament. While you’re at it, imagine that, as well.

— When the season goes south this always comes north. Mention of the ‘E’ word.

As in: “Coach, what do you think of the effort your team gave today?”

Brian Daboll was hit with that one — for the first time in his first season as head coach — after losing to the Eagles by 26 points.

“Yeah, I think the guys strained,” Daboll said. “They gave effort. [The Eagles] got off to a good, fast start, which they normally do — which is not how you want to play against that team.”

Daboll went on to say “the guys are busting their tail. We just got to do a little bit better.”

Rarely does a coach stand up and say “we quit” or even “the effort was lacking.” If a head coach cannot get his team to play hard and compete from start to finish, it is an indictment on that coach. The preference for the guy in charge is to dwell on execution and missing out on opportunities rather than admitting the team was not prepared or did not try hard enough. 

Did the Giants cash out against the Eagles?   

At halftime, the Eagles ran the ball only eight times and yet were in control, leading 24-7, and Daboll knew what was on tap for the second half: “We knew it would probably flip a little bit,” he said. He knew the Eagles, secure with the lead, would try to pound away on the ground and he warned his players of this. So, what happened? The Eagles ran it 21 times in the second half for 192 yards, an average of 9.1 yards per attempt.

It looked as if the run defenders stopped competing. Stopping the run has been a problem for the Giants even when they were winning games earlier in the season. This is less about effort and more about ability. What this means is this defense will likely have two new starting inside linebackers in 2023. That position has been in flux and finding the right combination has proven to be impossible.

The 253 rushing yards by the Eagles was the most given up by the Giants in more than eight years. They allowed 350 rushing yards to the Seahawks in 2014. Not having Leonard Williams available is a killer, as he is a productive run-stopper up front. Williams did not miss a game in his first seven seasons but at age 28 his body has broken down a bit. He missed three games earlier this season with a sprained knee and did not play against the Eagles because of a neck injury.

— This was the most lopsided loss to the Eagles for the Giants since a 27-0 loss in 2014. It was the most points the Giants allowed to the Eagles since a 49-21 loss on October 4, 1959.

— It is rare indeed that the Giants are involved in such a blowout — either ahead or behind — that they empty their bench in the closing minutes. That is what went down in this game. Starting offensive tackles Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal and starting right guard Mark Glowinski took a seat in the fourth quarter and Tyre Phillips, Matt Peart, and Jack Anderson finished up the final 12 offensive snaps. Center Jon Feliciano and left guard Nick Gates were the only offensive linemen to play all 64 snaps.

— Azeez Ojulari is making up for lost time. After missing seven consecutive games with a calf injury, Ojulari has three sacks in his last two games, finding a way to salvage what was turning into a lost season.

— Four players on defense — cornerbacks Nick McCloud and Fabian Moreau, safety Jason Pinnock and inside linebacker Jaylon Smith — were on the field for 55 or more of the 68 snaps on defense. All four players were not with the Giants in training camp. The plan was for Adoree’ Jackson, Aaron Robinson, Xavier McKinney, and Blake Martinez to fill these roles. Jackson, Robinson, and McKinney are all injured and Martinez and the Giants parted ways in the summer — Martinez hooked on with the Raiders before deciding to retire.

— Tony Jefferson was in for 22 snaps on defense, filling a hybrid/linebacker role. The well-traveled 30-year-old veteran missed time with a foot injury and has not been much of a factor since he was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 1. Jefferson being ahead of Landon Collins in the plans is all anyone needs to know about what this coaching staff thinks of Collins. It was a nice story back in early October when Collins was signed to the practice squad, returning to the franchise that made him a second-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Collins was elevated to the roster and played in Weeks 7 and 8, logging 30 snaps on defense in a victory in Jacksonville and a loss in Seattle. He has not been seen since, relegated back to the practice squad. This could be it for Collins, who is only 28 years old but has not come all the way back from Achilles and foot injuries the past two seasons in Washington.