Where the bye week falls on the NFL calendar for a team cannot change everything, but it can offer a changed perspective.

Head coaches look for it as soon as schedules are revealed in the spring. So do the players, to an even greater degree. It can be as soon as Week 5, after only four games have been played. It can be as late as Week 14, with 13 games already in the books. Usually, teams prefer to see the bye arrive as close to mid-season as possible, when there is just as much ahead as there was behind, a perfect time to readjust and reassess.

When it comes as late as it did for the Giants, in Week 13, so much has already come and gone.

They did not accomplish what was required of them to earn admission into the playoff adventure ride. A 4-8 record barely gets them into the most inclusive and optimistic postseason graphic scenarios.