The job’s not finished.
Those words ring in the ears of every player on the Giants as they embark on the second half of the season coming out of their bye week with a game against the 1-6-1 Texans Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
A few weeks ago, with the Giants having already stunned the outside world with their fast start, head coach Brian Daboll played a clip to his players of the late, great Kobe Bryant being interviewed with his Lakers owning a 2-0 lead in the 2009 NBA Finals.
In the clip, it showed Bryant being asked why he didn’t seem happy with his team having a commanding lead and two games away from clinching an NBA title and Bryant, stone-faced, responding: “The job’s not finished.’’
This is the Giants’ mantra at the moment. They’re 6-2 and have put themselves in great position for a run at a first playoff berth since 2016 yet they know that six wins have clinched them exactly nothing.
The Giants are playing a Texans team with one win, meaning the tables are completely turned on them. A short couple of months ago, it was the Giants who entered the season as an underdog, a team not expected to contend. And now they’re facing a game they’re expected to win.
This has spurred some veteran players to remind the younger players that, while 6-2 is an accomplishment, it doesn’t mean teams like the Texans can be overlooked.
“The job’s not done,’’ Giants center Jon Feliciano told The Post. “[Daboll] showed that Kobe clip to us a few weeks ago, but it still resonates. That’s everyone’s mindset. It’s nice to be 6-2, but at the end of the day it means nothing right now.’’
Giants ninth-year defensive lineman Justin Ellis has reminded teammates of his experience with the Ravens last season as a cautionary tale. The Ravens were 8-3 and rolling, lost their final six games and missed the playoffs.
“We talk about that,’’ Ellis said. “One thing I can tell the guys is, ‘Enjoy winning, because winning is tough in this league, but don’t get too high and stop doing what it takes to win every week.’
“You want to play your best ball in November and December, and that [Baltimore experience] right there I think gave them a clear picture of that.’’
Every player on the Giants has looked at tape of the Texans and sees players who post a threat on both sides of the ball.
Feliciano, for example, called out Houston’s 34-year-old defensive end Jerry Hughes, a former Buffalo teammate of his, who already has seven sacks this season.
“Jerry’s still got it,’’ Feliciano said. “People probably were doubting Jerry, but if you watched him against the Eagles, the dude was beating some butt.’’
Hughes had two sacks, two quarterback hits and two tackles for losses against the Eagles on Nov. 3.
On the other side of the ball, Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence looks at the film and sees Texans running back Dameon Pierce, who has 678 rushing yards, a 4.6-yard average and three touchdowns, as a threat.
“He runs like he’s pissed off,’’ Lawrence said.
“I don’t know who said something to him or did something to him to make him so angry, but that might be the angriest runner in the league,’’ Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. “[He] runs mad every time he touches it. It’s going to be [a] tough assignment.’’
The Giants’ toughest assignment on Sunday will be not to take the Texans lightly because of their record.
The handful of players who’ve been on the Giants for the past three seasons know what it’s like to be looked at the way the league looks at the Texans, as weaklings.
Safety Julian Love, receiver Darius Slayton and Lawrence are three of those players who were on the 2021 team that was 2-6 at this point and finished 4-13, the 2020 team that was 1-7 and finished 6-10 and the 2019 team that started 2-6 and finished 3-13.
Those are the players who’ll keep this youthful locker room humble and hungry despite the 6-2 start.
“I tell the younger guys we’ve won six games before and we went 6-10,’’ Slayton said.
“We’re 6-2, so what?’’ Love said. “The job’s not finished. That Kobe clip resonates with all of us.’’
Each of the Giants’ six wins have been by one score. Their average margin of victory is a mere 3.8 points.
“That’s a good lesson; it’s good that we’ve won a lot of close games, because the younger guys see how tough it is to win,’’ Love said.
This is exactly why that Kobe clip Daboll showed his players remains such a powerful mental tool.
“That definitely still resonates with me,’’ Slayton said. “Not only is the job not done, it’s a long way from being close to done. I don’t think it makes any sense to have a mindset that we’ve done what we needed to do.’’
Good answer.