A Giant Step Is Taken in NFC

By ROBYN NORWOOD

Dec. 24, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —

So, is anyone ready to guarantee the New York Giants won’t be in the Super Bowl?

They’re a team many find it hard to believe in--and for good reason.

But it’s no longer that safe to say the Giants won’t be in Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 28 after their frantic finish for a 28-25 victory over Jacksonville on a frigid Saturday at Giants Stadium.

That’s because by winning, the Giants--already the improbable NFC East champions--did what was until recently unimaginable: They claimed home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Over the last quarter-century, 29 of the 50 teams that earned home-field advantage have reached the Super Bowl--including five of the last seven from the NFC.

After a bye next week, the Giants are two victories on their own field from earning a trip to Tampa.

Here they are, Super Bowl contenders, despite all their flaws.

“What you consider elite teams--it’s only speculation,” cornerback Jason Sehorn said. “At this point, it doesn’t matter.”

Sehorn is right: At this point, all that matters is results, and that’s all the Giants get.

Sehorn might not yet be at his best after returning from a broken rib. But he made the big play that helped hold off a Jaguar comeback in the final two minutes, fielding an on-side kick and returning it 38 yards for a touchdown and a 10-point lead after Jacksonville had cut the lead to three.

Jacksonville scored again with 19 seconds left--the teams combined for 36 fourth-quarter points--but Sehorn corralled the final on-side kick as well.

Clinching home-field advantage seemed so unlikely for the Giants in November that when Coach Jim Fassel “guaranteed” his team would make the playoffs after losing two in a row at home, people thought he was cracking under the strain.

Practical sorts said Fassel’s boldness didn’t matter: If the Giants didn’t make the playoffs, he wouldn’t have to live with his words much longer. He’d be fired.

As it turns out, what Fassel should have said was the Giants would win their final five, finish 12-4, win home-field advantage and leave Minnesota and St. Louis wondering what went wrong.

The date was Nov. 22, after consecutive losses to St. Louis and Detroit.

“That was when Jim had his stroke of genius, it looks like now,” quarterback Kerry Collins said. “That, more than anything, put us back on track. A lot of guys at that time were probably wondering what was going to happen next. Jim erased all doubts.”

It was no silly motivational stunt to safety Shaun Williams either.

“When your coach takes the responsibility on himself, it takes it off the players,” Williams said. “Coach had his back against the wall, and he took the pressure off us. We said, ‘Let’s make his words right.’ ”

Williams did his part Saturday, recovering a fumble and putting a hit on Jacksonville receiver Jimmy Smith that knocked him out of the game. And Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor, who criticized the Giant defense during the week, also was knocked out of the game with a thigh bruise and finished with only 52 yards--ending his streak of 100-yard games at eight.

Fassel wasn’t exactly gloating Saturday, but he did suggest he’ll have another guarantee when the team comes back to work Wednesday.

He also bristled at the idea the Giants somehow aren’t yet a legitimate threat to win it all.

“Yeah, God, I hope so,” he said. “We are the No. 1 team out of the NFC. If we are not a bona fide contender, what . . . is that all about?”

Well, there’s this:

* The Giants have only one starter in the Pro Bowl, linebacker Jessie Armstead.

* They have beaten one playoff team--Philadelphia, twice.

* Their offense ranks a modest 11th in the NFL, and the passing offense is 17th.

What the Giants have going for them is a fourth-ranked defense and a rushing defense that ranks second only to Baltimore.

They have Tiki Barber, a dual-purpose back along the lines of Marshall Faulk who also returns kicks and punts and went over 1,000 yards rushing and 2,000 all-purpose yards for the season.

“He’s our X-factor right now,” receiver Ike Hilliard said. “When we go out and line up in different formations, it creates great matchups. He wins a lot of those matchups.”

When Barber left the game momentarily late in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a foot injury, it caused general panic among the Giants and the crowd.

“Yeah, I was worried,” Collins said. “He’s the most valuable player on this team.

“I definitely was happier to see him running off the field than being helped off.”

There’s one other thing the Giants seem to have--a knack for making plays when they need to.

They trailed, 10-7, after three quarters, twice wasting field-position inside the Jaguar 40, and twice turning the ball over on downs instead of attempting field goals.

Collins was herky-jerky for much of the game before throwing fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Hilliard and Amani Toomer, who finished with eight catches for 193 yards.

What Collins did was put what went wrong--including an interception early in the third quarter--behind him.

“Not everything is going to go your way all the time. That’s a lesson for life,” said Collins, who has acknowledged he struggled with alcohol earlier in his career with the Carolina Panthers.

“One thing I’ve learned from all this is you keep going,” he said. “I made a mistake and threw the ball to the guy. You just keep going.”

That’s what Collins did Saturday, completing 22 of 39 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns.

And that’s all the Giants have done the last five weeks.

Once 7-4, they are 12-4.

“Nobody gave us a chance to do a lot of things,” Collins said. “That’s the way it’s been all year.

“Here we are standing with home-field advantage and a bye.”

Williams likes the view.

“It doesn’t matter what people say about us--whether they say we’re Super Bowl contenders or don’t have a chance,” he said. “We’ve just got to stay focused and do our job.”

NFL / WEEK 17

SATURDAY’S OTHER GAMES

Denver 38, San Francisco 9

Buffalo 42, Seattle 23

* COVERAGE, D11

TODAY’S SCHEDULE:

ON TV

N.Y. Jets at Baltimore 10

Channel 2

St. Louis at New Orleans 10

Channel 11

Carolina at Oakland 1:15