Almost time to unwrap present of postseason

PHILADELPHIA — The game, they insist, is the focus, not the reward.

It took some doing and plenty of prying before some of the Giants finally cracked and admitted how satisfying it will be to know, officially, they are headed to the playoffs. The sky does not have to fall to prevent them from getting in, but close. They viewed the scenarios as for the birds, which brings us to Thursday night and the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Giants certainly know if they win, they’re in, and they are concentrating far more on the first part than the second.

“Clinching or not clinching, I think Thursday we have full intentions of coming out and putting our best foot forward,’’ Odell Beckham Jr. said. “Obviously the goal is to win. With the outcome of winning, it would be great as far as us clinching. The main focus is to win a football game and the rest would take care of itself. That’s really where our mind’s at. We have a tough challenge ahead. This has always been a good game. It’s two rival teams so it should be a good matchup.’’

This late surge — winning eight of nine games surely qualifies — positions the Giants (10-4) to require no help to make it into the postseason for the first time in five years. Should they stumble in Philly, they must wait a few days, until the weekend, for only one of the dominoes to fall. If the Lions, Packers, Buccaneers or Falcons lose or tie, the Giants are in as an NFC wild-card team.

Two wins by the Giants and two losses by the Cowboys (12-2) means the Giants are the NFC East champions. That is unlikely, but there are reasons for the Giants to be thinking big. Back-to-back dominant defensive performances carried the Giants to victories over the first-place Cowboys and first-place Lions and heightened everyone’s expectations, prompting first-year head coach Ben McAdoo to circle the wagons even tighter.

“I think it’s important that we don’t take the cheese this week,’’ McAdoo said. “I think it’s important that we focus on the task at hand. Be where our feet are. Not worry about what’s going on outside of the building. Don’t worry about scenarios, the holidays coming up, don’t worry about any of that other stuff. It has nothing to do with the ballgame on Thursday night.”