he New York Giants. At 5-9 and officially eliminated from the playoffs the Giants have to finish the season by playing two games that can neither help them reach the postseason nor avoid ending the year with a losing record.Head coach Pat Shurmur has been preaching a “play for each other” mantra to the players all season. This week Robert Thomas Color Rush Jersey , he said the Giants would “stay in the moment” and try to prepare to defeat the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday.BBV Radio — ‘Dwayne Haskins or bust’Will players, however, do those things? Will they continue to prepare the same way they have the first 15 weeks of the season? Will they play with the same intensity, putting their body on the line when the moment calls for it? Or, will their thoughts turn to offseason vacations? When it is their time to make a play will they instead make what is often called a business decision?Shurmur and GM Dave Gettleman have spent much of the year since they were hired trying to change a losing culture. The Giants haven’t won enough games in 2018, but in many ways it has seemed that the cultural change they sought has begun to take root. Perhaps we will learn more about how successful that effort has been over the next couple of weeks.“I know from my standpoint and I know our players in the locker room, we’re going to try to get the most out of these next two weeks and try to win two football games because that joy that you feel from winning, even though we’re not going to be able to go on this year, that’s something that we want to feel,” said Shurmur.“Come out here and put something good on tape these last two weeks, regardless of what our scenario is because all our names are on this tape,” safety Michael Thomas said when asked about what he expected from his teammates the final two weeks. “You don’t want to be that guy who will turn down a block, not working, not going hard, not on your assignments. That tape is going to stick with you for the rest of your career.”Wide receiver Sterling Shepard voiced a similar sentiment.“We’re still going to work,” he said. “Guys are still upbeat in here and we’re going to work and try to win these next two games. That’s what our focus is.”Quarterback Eli Manning said the goal is to “end the season strong.”“I think it’s important to everybody. We’re all fighting for jobs, fighting to play good football. That’s the goal every Sunday, is to go out there and to win Cody Latimer Color Rush Jersey , and try to do your job to the best of your ability. Coaches are going to be coaching. Players, we’re going to be practicing. We’re going to be game planning. We’re going to be watching film. We’re going to be putting in the work, putting in the effort,” he said. “Sunday, that’s the fun day. That’s the day where you go get to celebrate. You get to go feel good, score touchdowns, and be with your team, and compete. You definitely want to end the season strong.”Numbers that matter9 — That is how many points the Colts, winners of seven of their last eight games, are favored by. Indianapolis has rallied from a 1-5 start to have a shot at an AFC wild-card playoff berth. Nine is also where the Giants are in the current 2019 NFL Draft order.28-of-29 — That is what Pro Bowl kicker Aldrick Rosas has done this season on field-goal attempts.4,000 — Eli Manning needs 311 passing yards to reach 4,000 for the seventh time in his career.387 — Manning (331) needs 57 completions over the final two games to break his single season record for completions, which he set in 2015.The Saquon section 1,153 — Saquon Barkley is third in the NFL in rushing behind Ezekiel Elliott (1,349) and Todd Gurley (1,251).1,809 — That is Barkley’s total yards from scrimmage. He needs 191 over the final two games to become the third rookie in NFL history with 2,000. 82 — That’s how many receptions Barkley has. He needs seven catches to break Reggie Bush’s record for receptions by a rookie running back (88 in 2006). Barkley needs 10 receptions to break the Giants franchise record for receptions by a rookie. Odell Beckham Jr Evan Engram Color Rush Jersey , had 91 in 2014.12 — Barkley has 12 games this season with at least 100 scrimmage yards, tying Edgerrin James (12 games in 1999) for the second-most games with 100+ scrimmage yards by a rookie in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson (13 games in 1983) has more such games.5 — Barkley (4) needs one receiving touchdown to break David Meggett’s record for a Giants rookie running back (4 in 1989).10 — Barkley (9) needs one rushing touchdown to become the first Giants’ running back to reach double digits in that category since Brandon Jacobs (15 in 2008).[E-mail Ed at bigblueview@gmail.com or via the Big Blue View Contact Page | Follow Big Blue View on Twitter | ‘Like’ Big Blue View on Facebook | Follow Big Blue View on Instagram] CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Wide receiver Torrey Smith chuckled at the notion that Eric Reid’s return to the NFL this week might be a distraction for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday when they host the New York Giants.Smith said Reid’s stance on racial injustice hasn’t been an issue in the locker room, adding that “no one cares” if he kneels or not during the national anthem.He said Reid’s new teammates are more eager to see what he does on the field rather than what he does before the game.“It’s not like he’s out there and coach calls ‘Cover 3’ and he’s going to take a knee and let a guy run by him. If that was the issue, it would be a problem,” Smith said with a laugh. “But that’s not the way it works. Eric knows what is best for Eric and we all know what he is fighting for.”Reid, who knelt alongside Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco during the national anthem to bring attention to racial and social injustice, hasn’t said if he will demonstrate Sunday in his first game since filing a collusion grievance against the NFL alleging that teams wouldn’t sign him because of his protesting.Regardless of Reid’s beliefs, the Panthers (2-1) are excited to have the 2013 Pro Bowler, who is expected to start at safety after Da’Norris Searcy was placed on injured reserve last week with a concussion.Cam Newton said the Panthers “got a steal” when they signed the 26-year-old Reid.“He’s a great player,” Newton said. “We’ve accepted him with open arms. We know he’s going to be an impact player for us, and that’s all I care about.”Reid, who is African-American, said after signing a one-year contract with Carolina that he plans to “continue to speak for my people” and use his platform to talk about injustices.“I’m going to stand by him and none of that will be a distraction as far as us winning football games,” Newton said. “What he does on the football field is going to impact this team. I know that.”Things to watch in Sunday’s game:FAMILIAR FACESWhen Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly turned on the film this week, he saw plenty of familiar plays being run by the Giants. New York’s offensive coordinator is Mike Shula, who worked as Carolina’s offensive coordinator from 2013-17. So Kuechly saw just about every one of Shula’s play calls over the last five years in practice.Of course, what Kuechly didn’t see too much of on tape this week were zone read options Patrick Omameh Color Rush Jersey , something Shula ran frequently with Newton as his quarterback. That’s not something the Giants are running with the slow-footed Eli Manning at the helm. “If Eli runs like Cam does, then we are in trouble,” Kuechly said.Moving the ball and scoring points has been a struggle this season for the Giants under Shula.ON THE RUNGiants coach Pat Shurmur admittedly didn’t use rookie Saquon Barkley enough in the loss to the Saints last weekend. The running game was limited to 65 yards on 15 carries. Barkley had 44 yards on 10 carries, with 28 coming on a sprint around end. New York usually doesn’t win unless it can establish some kind of run game to set up the play-action pass. Expect Barkley to either double his carries this week or have backup Wayne Gallman carry more than twice. The Panthers are allowing 110 yards per game on the ground.Jonathan Stewart, Carolina’s all-time leading rusher, was placed on injured reserve last week by New York.VERNON’S BACKThe Giants are optimistic that outside linebacker Olivier Vernon will see his first action of the season after a strong week of practice. Shurmur thinks that could give the defense a boost, saying “when you have a fresh body that has the talent, the skill and abilities of a pass rusher, it helps your defense. Certainly adding him back to the mix will help.”Vernon has 40 ½ sacks over the past five seasons while playing mostly defensive end. He missed the first four games after suffering a high ankle sprain in late August.DEFENDING RUSHING QBSThe Giants’ defense has struggled against opposing quarterbacks in the run game. In four games, opposition QBs have gained 151 yards on 20 carries, a 7.55 average. That could be a major problem this week with Newton taking snaps. The 2015 league MVP has carried 28 times for 136 yards and three touchdowns in three games. He has rushed for at least 700 yards in each of the last three seasons, joining Michael Vick as the only NFL quarterbacks with three 700-yard seasons rushing. The Saints used a new wrinkle last weekend against the Giants, having backup quarterback Taysom Hill rush four times for 28 yards.MORE McCAFFREYAided by Newton’s skills as a runner , the Panthers have the league’s No. 1-ranked rushing offense, while the Giants are 29th against the run. So it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out what Carolina wants to do Sunday. Christian McCaffrey is coming off a career-high 184 yards rushing on 28 carries in a 31-21 win against the Bengals before the bye week. But given that offensive coordinator Norv Turner is known to mix things up from week to week, it wouldn’t be a shocker if Turner leans a little more heavily on backup running back C.J. Anderson this week.