Washington clash marks end of latest Giant error

It has become a rite of winter for the Giants: playing games at the start of a new year, at the end of an old, rotten season. There is a strong sense of finality, manifesting itself in very different ways depending on whether you are on the inside or the outside.

There is a good-riddance vibe from fans who want out with the present and in with the new. There is hope for at least some continuity within the locker room from players who do not want to be cast aside. There is evidence — often sketchy — shared by the head coach that the situation is not as grim as the win-loss record reveals it to be and what is being built takes time.

That the Giants (4-12) face Washington (6-10) on Sunday at MetLife Stadium will soon be a footnote to what happens next. Rain is expected and a damp chill is guaranteed, with those bothering to brave the elements and show up doing so to voice their displeasure about the Giants’ sad state of affairs.

This will be the last game in a Giants uniform for many players, because who wants to keep together a roster proven to be lacking? This will be the last game for Dave Gettleman as the general manager, as his four-year stay, wholly unsuccessful, comes to an end, presumably on Monday.

The main question: Will this be the last game for Joe Judge? The arrow seemed to be pointing upward when, as a 39-year-old rookie head coach, his team went 5-3 in the second half of the 2020 season to finish 6-10. The arrow is unquestionably all bent and tilted after a terrible second act for Judge, who is nearing the end of a dismal season devoid of much of the fight and competitiveness the Giants showed in his first year.

There are no compelling reasons to keep Judge, who signed a five-year contract, other than the idea of giving him one more year because jettisoning him now would go against the promise co-owner John Mara made Jan. 8, 2020, the day Judge was introduced as the 19th head coach in franchise history.

“It’s up to us to show a little more patience with this coach than perhaps we have over the last few years because he is a first-time head coach,’’ Mara said, cognizant that he and co-owner Steve Tisch fired Ben McAdoo 12 games into his second year and Pat Shurmur after two seasons.

Keeping Judge would make good on the “little more patience’’ Mara said must happen. Has the season deteriorated so badly and Judge’s hold on his job slipped so clearly that Mara has reason to go back on his word?

It is debatable whether the Giants are fighting all the way to the end.

“We’re trying to win games,’’ said safety Xavier McKinney, a bright spot in a dark season. “Nobody is trying to get anybody fired, nobody is trying to help anybody keep a job. We’re all just trying to win games at the end of the day. I think as players and as coaches, we know that, the coaches, they know that.’’