It does not always have to be all cold and calculated, but sometimes it has to be. So, the theme for the Giants this week, more than anything else, is this:
Move on.
Move on from Saquon Barkley, the former face of their franchise, who has so far enjoyed a career resurgence down the road in Philadelphia.
Move on from Andrew Thomas, the invaluable left tackle, who is no longer of any value on the field this season for the Giants.
Move on from the grim history of domination by this particular opponent.
Move on from the home-field disadvantage and Daniel Jones’ brutal performances playing at MetLife Stadium.
Move on from all the negativity and do something to salvage a season. Win a darn game against a despised rival that has not impressed anyone thus far this season.
Harping on deficiencies and dwelling on what they do not have will do the Giants (2-4) no good Sunday, when it will be spring-like weather for their game against the Eagles (3-2) — the first time Barkley ever plays against the team that made him the No. 2-overall pick in the 2018 draft and immediately anointed him as the next great one.
Emotions in the building will be high, and patience for the Giants will be low if Barkley runs through them, and the Eagles do what has become commonplace for what seems like forever and stick it to their closest geographic punching bag.
The Giants need to move on, the way one of their newest players, left guard Jon Runyan Jr., drained sentiment and personal feelings out of the equation when seated at his locker earlier in the week. The adjacent locker to his left was empty, as Thomas was not on the scene, recovering from surgery in Charlotte, N.C., to repair a Lisfranc injury to his left foot that has him pointing to a return … in 2025.
“He’s a great player, great teammate, great person,’’ Runyan said, getting through the pleasantries. “He’s resting up now. His locker is right there.
“I hate to say it, but we’re moving on from him at this point. He’s not going to be able to help us on the field any more this season. He can help us in the locker room and off the field, stuff like that. We’ll miss A.T., but we got to go forward without him. That’s just how this league is.’’
That is how it must be for the Giants. Move on.
Doing that, against this particular foe, has been exceedingly difficult.
The Giants are 6-27 (including the playoffs) in their past 33 games with the Eagles. More recently, they are 3-13 in this series and have lost five of their past six games.
The lone victory, in Week 18 last season, was achieved with the Giants ending their season, and the Eagles taking their foot off the pedal and resting starters for the playoffs down the stretch of that game.
So, this has been a public mauling more often than not.
To try to prevent that once again, the Giants must overcome the loss of one of the top left tackles in the league.
They likely will turn to Josh Ezeudu, a 2022 third-round pick who early last season failed as Thomas’ replacement, under extenuating circumstances.
He had worked almost exclusively at guard and was thrust into an unfamiliar spot.
This year, he has worked as the backup left tackle for this break-glass-in-case-of-emergency situation.
The return of rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, out the past two games in the concussion protocol, will help, perhaps significantly.
The Giants are coming off a laborious, 17-7 loss to the Bengals, with Jones’ longest pass completion just 15 yards.
Nabers should factor in stretching the field against a young Eagles secondary.
Who knows, Nabers might help Jones actually throw a scoring pass.
Jones has no touchdown passes and at least one interception in five consecutive home games (dating back to last season).
That matches ineptitude shared by Jimmy Claussen (2010) and Trent Dilfer (1995-96) for quarterbacks since 1975. That is really bad.
No matter what happens, Barkley afterward will be the centerpiece for any story that is crafted.
Either the Giants get him, or he gets the Giants.
Then, maybe, both sides can move on.