John Harbaugh: Space in NFC East only exists if New York Giants win

The NFC East supplied the backdrop. New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh refused to let it become the assignment, and running back Cam Skattebo was even less interested in the standings.

Asked how much the Giants take notice of the rest of the division, with the Dallas Cowboys losing Thursday night and the Philadelphia Eagles working through their own week, Harbaugh said the results are tracked. They are not studied like a game plan.

“Yeah, I think you take notice," he told reporters on Friday. "It’s talked about, probably not too specifically. It’s more like you talk about it probably at work with your colleagues and friends and stuff. ‘You see the game last night?’ You kind of keep track a little bit of the division, certainly more than

the other teams that you’re playing against. So, we certainly know what happened in the game. I didn’t stay up for it. It was too late. But I saw the highlights in the morning, and guys were talking about it.”

General manager Joe Schoen stayed up for the Cowboys’ game and gave Harbaugh the rundown. The Eagles were part of the conversation, too. The week, Harbaugh said, still belongs to Washington.

“The Commanders are the ones we’re kind of focusing on this week. So, you spend more time on the game that you’re playing," he said.

A follow-up pressed the opening in front of the Giants, who can create space in the division. Harbaugh granted the point and then set it aside.

“Yeah, I mean there is an opportunity. We might mention it, but it’s more offhanded. I think everybody understands really none of it matters unless you play well," he said. "You’ve got to play well enough to win and then find a way to win the game. That’s what creates the space for you. It’s not really talking about it. You’ve got to go play well.”

That split showed up again in the locker room. Skattebo was asked how critical the chance is to take hold of the division after Dallas lost, and whether a three-game lead is something the Giants cannot let slip. His answer drew a line between what the coaches may be tracking and what the players are willing to discuss.

“We’re not really thinking about anything -- obviously, coaches and stuff are thinking about that stuff, but we’re thinking about going 1-0. As a team, we’re not worried about games four weeks from now. We’re worried about this game, not really worried about first place yet," he said.

"We’re still going into our second division game. Yes, it matters, but when is it going to matter down the road? We’ve just got to go out there, execute, go 1-0, and we’ll be 2-0 in the division, and we’ll continue to work from there.”

Harbaugh has said building a roster with the Eagles, Commanders, and Cowboys in mind is part of the job, because Philadelphia has been the team mostly winning the division. Principle and the players still come first.

On Friday, the practical version of that idea was the same in the meeting room and at Skattebo’s locker: Know what happened around you, then go win the game on the schedule.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: John Harbaugh: Space in NFC East only exists if New York Giants win