There has never been a game like this for Saquon Barkley. There has never been a game like this for most of the players who will suit up for the Giants on Sunday.

If there indeed is a face of the franchise, Barkley is it. In some ways, he is the Giants’ heart and soul, as well. He has never set foot on a field wearing a Giants uniform with a chance to lock up a playoff berth. He has not sniffed the postseason. The closest he has come to picking up the scent was last week, when the Giants battled to the end with the Vikings before falling to the NFC’s No. 2 seed on a 61-yard field goal as time expired.

That game in Minneapolis gave Barkley a vibe he has never before felt.

“Last week was like a playoff game,’’ Barkley said. “I’ve never been in one, but I would assume.

“Just how it came down. How loud it was. How it came down to a field goal. Just showed you, obviously it’s like that every week but especially in a game like that. I guess. I don’t really know, I’ve never been in it.’’

No, Barkley really does not know.

“It was faster,’’ he said. “Guys were moving around. That’s what it felt like, I guess you could say.’’

Pardon Barkley for not expressing himself with extreme clarity. This is foreign to him. What comes next should expose Barkley to the most frenzied and possibly festive atmosphere of his five-year NFL career. The crowd at MetLife Stadium will be ready to percolate and party, with the Giants (8-6-1) in a win-and-in driver’s seat. If they beat the going-nowhere Colts (4-10-1), the Giants will be in the playoffs for the first time in six years and just the second time since 2011.

“I think it will be a fun atmosphere,’’ Daniel Jones said. “Our fans have come out all year. We’ve felt a lot of support, a lot of energy from them all year. We certainly expect that on Sunday. We appreciate the support so far and we’re excited to get out there.’’

Jones has never before stepped onto a field knowing if he could direct the Giants to a victory, the playoffs would be guaranteed. The closest he has come to this was Week 17 in 2020 — Joe Judge’s first season as the head coach — when the Giants had the opportunity to keep themselves alive for the postseason if the beat the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. Barkley was on injured reserve. Jones was terrific, tossing two touchdown passes in a 23-19 victory. But the Giants, at 6-10, were eliminated from the playoffs later that night when Doug Pederson’s Eagles did not exactly put the pedal to the metal in a loss to Washington.

The last time the Giants treated their fans to a win-and-in celebration was more than a decade ago, in the 2011 regular-season finale. A week earlier, Victor Cruz took it 99 yards to beat the Jets, setting up a wild Meadowlands scene on New Year’s Day. The Giants trounced the Cowboys, 31-14, to win the NFC East at 9-7. They kept playing and kept winning until they won the Super Bowl for the second time in four years.

No one is equating those Giants to these Giants. This team has already trashed the meager expectations thrust upon it even after general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll were brought in to change the course of the franchise. The anticipation was to lay the groundwork for winning without much expectation for actual winning. A playoff berth? Not realistic.

But here they are. The Giants will get into the NFC tournament if they win one of their last two games. If they get upset by the Colts, the Giants will have another shot to make the playoffs in Week 18 in Philadelphia. The Giants want no part of that scenario.

“It’s meaningful, it’s big and we’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity we’ve got,’’ outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari said. “Why not take this opportunity and make the most of it?’’