Taking a break from a promotional appearance, Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz declared this a must-win week.
(Checks calendar. Yep, still September).
Of course, there’s a natural urgency on both sides in a meeting between the 0-2 Giants and the 0-2 Panthers.
“I think we have to win [Sunday],” he said, via Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News. “Every game’s a must-win for us, regardless of who we’re playing, home or away, every game’s a must-win for us, and we have to do that. We’re excited for the opportunity. . . .
Of course, going 14-2 would put them in good shape to make the playoffs, but at the moment, the Giants need something to ease the pressure that’s building after a sloppy start. But because they overcame an 0-2 start in 2007 to win a Super Bowl, there’s an institutional sense that it can be done.
“Even if you weren’t a part of that team, it’s definitely motivation to see how they battled back from that and won the Super Bowl,” said Cruz, who was in college watching that team. “We definitely use that as motivation, but we have to write our own story and understand how we want this season to go for ourselves. So we’re taking it one game at a time, but ’07 will definitely be motivation for the rest of this season moving forward.”
Not falling to 0-3 at the hands of another winless teaam should be enough.