Giants' Jon Runyan isn't giving up on the season quite yet

Save the obituary to your drafts.

Turn down the volume on the funeral dirge.

Because the Giants’ season has not met its untimely demise, regardless of what has taken place at MetLife Stadium the last two Sundays. Just ask Jon Runyan, who was part of the 2023 Packers squad that reached the NFC divisional round after starting the season 2-5.

“Last year, the team I was on, we were 2-5 at this point in the year,” the Giants left guard said during a Zoom call with reporters Wednesday. “Just like we are here. Two-and-five going into Week 8 and a tough matchup Monday night in Pittsburgh, and both scenarios are definitely not where you want to be. But this doesn’t mean you’re dead, the season’s over. There’s still a lot to play for.

“It only takes seven to eight wins to get a playoff spot in this league and I think we’re definitely capable of doing that the rest of the way.”

But, with that said, Runyan, wide receiver Darius Slayton and linebacker Bobby Okereke were emphatic that, if the Giants are to find themselves in the playoffs come January, their path must start with a win Monday night against the Steelers.

“We [have] to have a one-game-at-a-time mentality,” Okereke said. “Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers is a great [chance] to go win one.”

Certainly, Monday night presents an opportunity for the Giants to end their two-game slide. But it is against a Steelers squad that is 5-2 and has won two straight.

Oh, and then there’s that small matter of 15 losses in 16 prime-time games during the Daniel Jones era.

“From what I’ve heard, it’s an intense football environment,” Slayton said of the crowd at Acrisure Stadium. “Obviously very hostile. They’re very passionate fans over there in Pittsburgh. That’s what I’ve heard from all accounts and obviously on film their defense is very talented. They have a really good front. They’ve got talent and youth in the back end. They’ve got [aggressive linebackers] . . .

“The Steelers have lived up to a standard on defense and they’ve maintained that for a really long time, and they still hold that true. It’s obviously going to take a physical, four-quarter game for us to be able to beat them.”

And to score points. Which has been something of a season-long sore spot as the Giants’ 99 points scored is tied with rebuilding New England for second-fewest in the NFL. However, the Giants are averaging 22.6 points in their three road games, compared to just 7.75 points in four home games.

Why is there such a dramatic difference between points scored on the road and home?

“I couldn’t necessarily point to anything specific,” Slayton said. “It’s just so happened this year that we’ve played better on the road than we have at home. Obviously, we want to play better at home. That’s the fun part, being able to play in front of your own fans and score and be able to celebrate with your 70,000-plus strong.

“But, obviously, this week we’re on the road again. So hopefully we do continue to play at a high level on the road. That will bode well for us. But whenever it does come time for us to play at home again, obviously we plan and hope to put a better performance out there.”

In order to score more points, they are going to need to keep Jones upright, which was an issue against the Eagles last Sunday. In the 28-3 loss, the Giants’ offensive line yielded eight sacks.

And the Eagles do not have a pass rusher like Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (26 tackles and 4.5 sacks).

“Just the way the game was going early, we had some trouble with protection, and I think that kind of hurt us in our pass game. From our perspective as offensive linemen, I think it didn’t help our quarterback,” Runyan said.

“You’re not going to win many games giving up eight sacks in this league. We understand that and we own that as an offensive line. We [have] to work to be better, for sure.”