THERE’S A BIG

Schedule & weak division mean Giants aren’t done

Pat Shurmur’s 2-4 Giants are only one game back in the NFC East, with the easiest remaining schedule in their division, but their head coach was terse and tense on Monday anyway. This set something of an urgent but realistic tone for Big Blue’s Week 7 visit from the Arizona Cardinals (2-3-1). The Giants need to correct their own shortcomings from Thursday night’s 21-point loss at New England or Sunday’s losses by the Cowboys (3-3) and Eagles (3-3) won’t matter at all.

“Our focus is on Arizona,” Shurmur said. “You control all of that by winning games, and that’s our focus.”

Shurmur’s players were in lockstep and wouldn’t even entertain the division race talk, despite opening as three-point favorites over the Cardinals.

“We’re trying to go 1-0 this week,” tight end Evan Engram said. “If we stay focused on where our feet are, I think we’ll be good.”

The players stayed grounded even though the Giants’ remaining opponents have just a 41% combined winning percentage, by far the most favorable in the NFC East compared to the remaining slates of Washington (59%), Dallas (55%) and Philadelphia (54%).

“Not really worried about that,” the normally brash Jabrill Peppers said. “We’re worried about what we have to take care of week by week, day by day, and right now that’s getting prepared for Arizona.”

Shurmur’s demeanor, however, also seemed connected to frequent questions about several key injured players and their availability for Sunday.

Specifically, wide receiver Sterling Shepard (concussion), who is projected out longterm and is still in the protocol, was surprisingly in uniform and on the practice field on Monday.

So were Saquon Barkley (high right ankle sprain) and Engram (left MCL sprain), who are both optimistic for Sunday returns. So was Wayne Gallman (concussion).

“I really don’t want to talk about all of this, guys,” Shurmur said after handling a number of concussion-related questions. “When the guys that have concussions are ready to play, I’ll be made aware of it and so will you guys.”

Shepard, though, is recovering from a second concussion in a five-week span. And heightened concern for his condition is natural given his circumstances.

Namely, Shepard was allowed to stay on the field in Week 1 at Dallas after getting his bell rung on a block. He missed the Giants’ next game. And then in Week 5 against the Vikings, Shepard was allowed to return to the game after being removed by the NFL’s concussion spotters, only to be ruled out “a while” the next day, per sources.

Shepard and Gallman are still in the protocol, so it is not believed they practiced Monday despite running some routes in the early periods.

Shepard was in the locker room afterward, but players in the concussion protocol are not allowed to do on-the-record interviews with the media. And even an off-therecord conversation with Shepard was monitored by the Giants.

Shepard still is expected to be a long way away. That explained Monday’s re-signing of wideout Bennie Fowler, as the Daily News first reported, to bolster a thin receiving corps.

The Giants cut fringe linebacker Nate Stupar to make room for Fowler. So their three moves since losing to the Patriots have been to cut depth RB Austin Walter and re-sign third-string QB Alex Tanney; to cut RB Jon Hilliman and sign veteran RB Buck Allen; and to add Fowler in favor of Stupar.

The key players remain the same, then, led by quarterback Daniel Jones plus Barkley and Engram, if the latter two can suit up for the game.

Barkley sounded like he was ready in a Sunday night tweet that read “I’ll be back soon,” with a smirk and fingers crossed, and video of his own highlights. He wouldn’t say a word on Monday to confirm.

Engram is “pretty optimistic,” and the Cardinals struggle at covering tight ends, so his return would be a big boost. But it’s not clear yet whether he’ll be ready to go by Sunday. That’s a wait-and-see situation.

Such uncertainty is connected then, clearly, to the Giants’ refusal to buy in to the hype around the tightened NFC East race.

Yes, the numbers say their goals are still within reach. Yes, they still have four headto-head division games remaining and a favorable schedule overall to take advantage.

But there are plenty of other variables jeopardizing their ability to handle Kyler Murray and Arizona on Sunday and to sustain success. They have lost two straight, while the Cardinals have won two in a row.

And while the Giants are just one game out of first place, the harsh reality is they are also only a game ahead of last-place Washington (1-5). And a third straight loss could be just as catastrophic as a bounce-back win would be cleansing.

“You just do everything that you can to win the next game,” Shurmur said. “All of that other stuff outside, standings, where you’re at, all that, none of that matters. You have to put all of your efforts into winning the game, and then the rest of it will take care of itself.” In 2017, ex-Giant Odell Beckham Jr. had lent a borrowed BMW to a friend, who then crashed the expensive car inside the Lincoln Tunnel. Now the three-time Pro Bowler, not his friend, is being sued for it, according to TMZ.

Two years ago, luxury car dealership Celebrity Motors had allowed Beckham to drive a luxury car on a loan. On October 24, 2017, Beckham let Blake Anderson, a friend from Louisiana drive the car.

Anderson then drove the car through the Lincoln Tunnel, and destroyed the car after “carelessly” cutting across “several lanes of traffic” to exit, crashing into another car in the process, according to TMZ’s description of the suit.

According to the lawsuit, filed by Celebrity Motors’ insurance company, Lexington Insurance Company, they’ve claimed Beckham knew Anderson was not a good driver and did not have experience driving a car with “this kind of power” and can’t afford to pay for the $38K in damages he did to the $103K car.

Beckham signed a five-year, $90 million extension with the Giants in August 2018 — making