Rivers also was indifferent about facing New York. He said he never talked to any Giants front office personnel after they drafted him and he had no hard feeling in the wake of the trade.

“Again, I know it wasn’t just a straight trade me for Eli or vice versa,” Rivers said. “There were some very key picks and players involved in what the Chargers were able to acquire and, honestly, players that have had a huge impact over this past six years and continue to have. So I’m sure both teams are happy the way it worked out.”

If the Giants have an advantage it should be their running game against the Chargers’ defense, which is giving up 132.1 yards per game. New York plays its best when the running game allows Manning to pick when he throws.

With veteran C.C. Brown stuggling in recent weeks, the Giants decided on Friday to start former Green Bay Packer Aaron Rouse at safety in New York’s final game before a bye week. Brown had taken over for Kenny Phillips (IR) in September.

Tomlinson said road games against NFC East teams can be tough.

“We just kind of expect when you go play physical teams like these, with the big crowds, fans are really into the game, it becomes a tough place to play,” he said. “It’s somewhere that we’re really not used to. It’s different from Kansas City and Oakland and Denver. It’s a little bit more.”

For the Giants, this game has also come to mean a little bit more.

“Guys are running around, flying around, making a lot of noise,” Jacobs said of recent practices. “Everyone has been that guy this week to get on someone else when they are not doing it right, make them do it the right way. I said on Wednesday morning that I was going to be that guy to come in here and jump on people’s backs when it doesn’t look like they are working hard. And about 40 other guys had the same mentality.”

Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips isn’t concerned how the Giants feel.

“We can’t look at that, the Giants lost three in a row,” he said. “I mean, they’re still a good football team, and they’re one of the better teams in the league. So, them losing three straight has nothing to do with us. But we can’t control what they do. We can control what we do. As long as we continue to have that mentality, I believe we’ll be OK.”

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