The Giants, en route to 1-6, have insisted all along that they’re thisclose to being a good team and that they’re better than what their record says they are.
On Sunday at MetLife Stadium, they get a chance to prove it and they get to do it against the perfect opponent.
Considering the way the Giants’ season of promise has devolved into its current state of chaos, they could not have dialed up a better opponent to play Sunday than the 4-2 Redskins, who not only are a division rival, but reside in first place in the NFC East.
So a win Sunday might represent something more than merely putting an end to a four-game losing streak.
The Giants cannot erase all of their sins from the first seven games in the span of one three-hour game Sunday. A win isn’t going to make up the three-and-a-half games they find themselves behind the Redskins in the division.
But a win over the Redskins would validate what the Giants have been telling us all along — that they might not be the lost cause they’re perceived to be.
“It’s kind of the perfect storm,’’ Giants linebacker Kareem Martin told The Post on Friday. “It’s a division game. They’re rivals. They’re in first place. We have to think of this game as the most important game we’ve ever played, considering we have so little room for error.’’
The mood inside the Giants locker room Friday, two days before kickoff, did not seem somber. There was little evidence of any shock from management trading away two key defensive players — defensive tackle Damon Harrison and cornerback Eli Apple — earlier in the week.
“Everyone in this building is working hard, and for us not to have the return on the investment is frustrating for everybody,’’ guard John Greco told The Post. “You’re under a microscope and you’re looking for answers and you’re reaching for everything and … a win takes that all away. We know that we’re this close.”
Indeed, for as poor as their record is (which is tied with the 49ers and Cardinals for the worst in the NFL), the Giants have not been getting blown out every week. They lost to the Jaguars by five points in the season opener, lost by seven to the Cowboys, two to the Panthers, who beat them with a 63-yard field goal in the final second, and three to the Falcons on Monday night.
So here come the Redskins, who haven’t exactly looked like one of the NFL’s elite so far, an eminently beatable team — even by an emotionally wounded 1-6 team like the Giants.
No, the Giants aren’t likely to change the entire course of their season with a win over Washington. A win won’t right all the wrongs from the first seven games. But what a win would do is immediately relieve some of the excruciating pressure that has mounted on the team and first-year head coach Pat Shurmur.
“It would be extremely significant for a variety of reasons if we were able to get a win this week,” Greco said. “At this point we’re hungry for a win no matter what. But would it be a little sweeter because this is a division opponent and a rivalry? Absolutely. What better way to gain our confidence back than getting a win at home against the division leaders?’’
Greco then thought back to the Giants’ only win this season — their 27-22 victory in Houston on Sept. 23.
“After the Houston game, there was such a different level of excitement and belief that we haven’t had since,” he said. “You can’t get to 6-6 after this game. But you’ve got to start somewhere. You look at these teams that started off 0-3 and all of a sudden they’re 4-3.’’
The Texans, whose last loss came to the Giants in Week 3 and dropped them to 0-3, are one of those teams. They’re now 5-3 and lead the AFC South.
One thing the Giants cannot do is become consumed with the big picture.
“If you try to look at the big picture,’’ Martin said, “it’ll be overwhelming.’’
Beat the Redskins, muddle the NFC East picture and show how close they really are entering their bye week and the Giants can take a breath entering their next two games against the 49ers and Buccaneers, hardly NFL powers, and maybe they can still reset the narrative to this season.
“A win could get us back on the right track,’’ receiver Sterling Shepard said. “And maybe we can start fresh from there.’’
Nobody needs a fresh start more than the Giants. But that doesn’t come without a win over the Redskins on Sunday.
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