You know Giants Pride when you see it.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be Lawrence Taylor steaming around the edge wrecking a game, because let’s face it, there was only one Lawrence Taylor.
But it can be LT willing his 1988 team to victory with a torn pectoral muscle that was barking so loudly that everyone inside the Superdome could probably hear it, and recording three sacks with two forced fumbles anyway.
It can be Tom Coughlin’s 2007 Giants refusing to give in to the Arctic cold at Lambeau Field and Eli Manning weathering a Brett Favre storm in the NFC Championship game. It can be Coughlin’s red face daring frostbite to deny his Super Bowl dream.
It can be a great leader like Michael Strahan instilling belief on the sidelines before Manning found David Tyree for that Helmet Catch to upset a perfect Tom Brady-Bill Belichick Patriots team in Super Bowl XLII.
“When I think about the legacy of the Giants,” Leonard Williams said, “I think back on Strahan and [Justin] Tuck and Osi [Umenyiora], all those like tough guys that have been here before.”
It can be Manning taking a frightful beating and persevering in San Francisco in the 2011 NFC Championship game.
It can be Manning at his retirement press conference saying: “Once a Giant … only a Giant.”
It can be the 2005 Giants honoring Wellington Mara’s passing with a 36-0 rout of Washington at Giants Stadium and then honoring Bob Tisch with a 27-17 home win over the Eagles a month later.
It is past time for the 2023 New York Football Giants to play with Giants Pride. Because the 2023 season is already on the line on before kickoff Sunday at 1 p.m. at MetLife Stadium.
Come Sunday at 1, it must be quarterback Tyrod Taylor igniting some kind of offensive fire and a junkyard dog offensive line selling out to protect him and Saquon Barkley running to daylight and a defiant defense that has their back every step of the way.
Giants Pride is picking yourself up off the mat and fighting for your season against all odds and against the Commanders. It is believing in yourselves when no one else believes in you.
It is Tiki Barber carrying the 2006 Giants into the playoffs with a 234-yard rushing night with three touchdowns at RFK Stadium.
It is Jeff Hostetler replacing an injured Phil Simms in December and warhorse Ottis Anderson powering his way to MVP to lead the underdog Bill Parcells Giants past the Bills in Super Bowl XXV.
It is Parcells coaching a game with kidney stones.
It is captain Harry Carson damaging his brain at the point of attack time after time after time and refusing to stop being the ultimate warrior.
It is ultimate Giant Frank Gifford leveled by Chuck Bednarik at Yankee Stadium and winning Comeback Player of the Year at a new position, flanker, after sitting out for 18 months.
It is Sam Huff welcoming Jim Brown and Jim Taylor into his violent world.
It is Mark Bavaro dragging 49ers defenders with him on national television.
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It is Carl Banks wrecking John Elway’s running game in Super Bowl XXI.
It is Jumbo Elliott stoning Bruce Smith in Super Bowl XXV.
It is 22-for-25 from Phil Simms in Pasadena.
The 2023 Giants are 1-5, and Shaun O’Hara isn’t coming back to play center and Chris Snee isn’t coming back to play guard and David Diehl isn’t coming back to play tackle and nobody cares because there is no crying in football.
There was enough Giants Pride on display last Sunday night to at least scare Josh Allen and the Bills and avoid another prime-time humiliation.
The Giants are not dead. Not yet.
“The Michael Strahans, the Eli Mannings of the world, those guys come to mind, and how would I explain that they did it — it would be tough, competitive, do it the right way,” Barkley said, “and just find a way to win.”
The schedule turns more forgiving now. The next three opponents — Commanders, Jets, Raiders — are in the Giants’ weight class. Those are all winnable games.
Win them.
Win this one first.
And remind us, and remind your fans, and remind yourselves, what Giants Pride is supposed to look like.