Giants must aim high to shoot down Birds

The question is not: Why is this happening?

The question is this: How did it take this long?

It was lurking behind every corner for the Giants, because they are what they are, and that they were 6-1 after seven games or 7-2 after nine games into Brian Daboll’s first year as a head coach was not going to transform this team into something it is not.

Struggles and losing were going to come, and now that they are here, Daboll and his rebuilding team must confront it, head-on, or succumb to it, wither away and roll over as the holiday season approaches.

The Eagles arrive Sunday at MetLife Stadium, and this is probably not the best time and place to expect the Giants to make a stand. Hanging in with the best team in the NFL will be a chore, and finding a way to beat their longtime NFC East rivals might be too much to ask for Daboll and crew.

What comes after this, in Week 15 against the Commanders in Landover, Md., will factor in more keenly with the Giants’ playoff chase. What comes now with the Giants, 1-3-1 in their past five games, is a look into how capable they are of ignoring all the negativity this slide has created in order to put a better football product on the field.

“Well, adversity and criticism come with the territory,” Daboll said. “I’ve been in, not this seat as a head coach, but a coordinator for a long time, and it’s a popular game followed by a lot of people. And I appreciate the support. You also appreciate the negativity or criticism. If you want to be mentally tough and strong, this is the sport to be in, whether you’re a coach, whether you’re a player.

“And really, you can’t focus too much on that. You appreciate it. I think we’re all thankful for the support you get, but you just get back to work. There’s adversity after every loss, sometimes there’s adversity after a win. We’ve talked about that since probably April. There’s going to be ups and downs, and to stay mentally strong and focused on the task at hand, that’s not an easy thing to do all the time. But you need to do it.”

What the Giants (7-4-1) need to do to have any chance to knock off the Eagles (11-1) is locate and implement immediate upgrades in every facet of their performance. What they served up lately is not good enough, especially if they are serious about knocking the high-flying Eagles out of the cruise-control mode they’ve enjoyed all season.

The Eagles could go as far as Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz. They are indisputably the favorite to get out of the NFC. The Giants are struggling right now and clinging to the No. 6 seed.

“I wouldn’t say struggling,” Gates said, “we just haven’t played consistent in our last couple of games . ... We just got to get back on track and back to what we do best.”

The task: Get back to what they do best, against the best.