They are tired of being disrespected. Throughout this season, whispers grew louder following every close victory. ESPN’s talking heads have been suspicious of their legitimacy, and the word “fraud” might have popped up a few times.

But they kept winning games, somehow. Their first-year head coach, who arrived with a reputation for maximizing quarterbacks, has done just that. After a few polarizing years, in which the fanbase was divided about that QB’s upside, the quarterback has answered so many of the questions concerning his ability. The team is well-coached, performs in the fourth quarter and often relies on its one game-changing offensive talent.

But enough about the Vikings.

When the Giants visit Minnesota on Sunday for the wild-card round of the playoffs, they will be seeing a team they might as well see in the mirror.

Few have believed in the Giants, whose new regime inherited a flawed roster and the old regime’s problems (and a team that went 4-13). The Giants snuck into the postseason despite being outscored by a combined six points this season thanks, in large part, to surviving games that could have gone either way: In one-possession games — a point difference of eight or fewer — the Giants went 8-4-1. The NFL world kept waiting for the ball to bounce the other way, but the Giants frequently wound up with it.

Few have believed in the Vikings, whose new regime inherited a flawed roster and the old regime’s problems (and a team that went 8-9). The Vikings skipped to the postseason despite being outscored by a combined three points this season thanks, in large part, to surviving games that could have gone either way: In one-possession games, the Vikings went 11-0. The NFL world kept waiting for the ball to bounce the other way, but the Vikings always wound up with it.

In his first season as head coach, Brian Daboll has guided the Giants this far. He ignored the lack of talent at wideout — receivers began dropping faster than the Jets’ playoff odds — and got the best out of Daniel Jones, who emerged as not just a legitimate starting quarterback but a dual threat. The Giants survived fourth quarter after fourth quarter with timely plays from Jones and a resurgent Saquon Barkley.

The questions about sustainability — whether they could continue to escape rather than dominate — kept arising.

“I’d say most games come down in this league to one-score games — a lot of them, a high percentage of them,’’ Daboll said back on Oct. 31, at which point the Giants were 6-2, but had not won by more than eight points. “Usually the teams you’re playing are good. It’s a back-and-forth game. A lot of games are won that way.”

In his first season as head coach, Kevin O’Connell has guided the Vikings this far. He ignored the lack of talent — particularly on the offensive line, which has allowed Kirk Cousins to be hit more than any other quarterback and now is decimated after losing right tackle Brian O’Neill and center Austin Schlottmann for the season (while center Garrett Bradbury is trying to come back from a broken fibula) — and got the best from Cousins, who emerged as a clutch quarterback. The former Washington curiosity threw for 13 touchdowns (and just four interceptions) with a 104.9 QB rating in the fourth quarter, pulling off several comeback victories — including one of the greatest in NFL history, storming back from 33-0 down in the third quarter in Week 15 in Indianapolis. The Vikings have Justin Jefferson, who might be the best receiver on the planet, and who was the difference in plenty of close games.

The questions about sustainability — whether they could continue to escape rather than dominate — kept arising.

“I don’t think it’s an accident that our team continues finding ways to win and doing enough to win,” O’Connell told reporters in early December. “The important thing is in those moments whether it is situational football, understanding how clock management and how our team plays a role in that in all three phases. How we can play smart, aggressive football, but also understand that we’re setting ourselves up to do those things to win those games in the end.

“I do know our team is confident when we can get into the fourth quarter of these games with winnable situations.”

When both teams were supposed to come back to Earth, they instead ascended into a strange first-round matchup. The Giants — the No. 6 seed — are three-point underdogs on the road against the No. 3 seed. The game is a rematch of the Vikings’ 27-24 win at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 16.

Daboll’s crew can talk itself into feeling disrespected: The Vikings are the favorites despite the expected returns of cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and safety Xavier McKinney, neither of whom partook in the Christmas Eve faceoff. The Giants will be better rested, having essentially enjoyed a bye week against the Eagles. The Vikings only won a few weeks ago because Richie James dropped a pass and Minnesota’s Greg Joseph nailed a miracle 61-yard field goal.

O’Connell’s crew can talk itself into feeling disrespected. They are the higher seed. They have the home-field advantage. They have won four more games than the Giants, including a head-to-head victory. Sure, the Vikings escaped rather than rolled, but that is what they do.

Giants-Vikings, on its face, sounds mythical. And just like great myths, no one will believe in this one — or at least believe in whoever advances.

Today’s back page

Read more:

🏈 O’CONNOR: Bill Parcells loves Brian Daboll’s Giants approach: ‘Keep being yourself’

🏀 Knicks blow big lead in streak-ending loss to Bucks … VACCARO: Knicks are such a tease right now

🏈 CANNIZZARO: Jimmy Garoppolo is simple answer to Jets’ QB problem with jobs at stake

⚾ Carlos Correa opens serious talks with Twins in growing Mets concern

Frogs splashed

Well, we got two competitive College Football Playoff games at least.

Georgia survived Ohio State, and TCU just barely outgunned Michigan in a couple of fun semifinal matchups, which turned out to be all the intrigue that was left in this college football season. There was zero drama — and zero doubt — as Georgia demolished TCU, 65-7, in Monday’s national championship in Inglewood, Calif.

The Bulldogs finished off a perfect season (15-0) and became back-to-back champs with the largest-ever margin of victory in a national title game. Stetson Bennett, the cult hero quarterback, did it again with six total touchdowns, finishing his Cinderella college career with one more victory cigar.

If you missed Kirby Smart’s offense go to work, here were the outcomes of Georgia’s possessions:

Touchdown
Field goal
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
Punt
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown

This was never a game. This was a Horned Frogs beatdown.

Let’s see what the Nets are made of

Kevin Durant is on the mend, and the Nets are on the clock.

The organization failed this test a season ago. Its pencils are now out because its superstar forward is sidelined.

Durant will miss at least a few weeks with an isolated MCL sprain of the right knee. After sustaining the injury Sunday in Miami, he won’t be evaluated again for two weeks. Even if he heals quickly, there would then be a ramp-up period. At this juncture in early January, the Nets are second in the Eastern Conference at 27-13.

Last season, Durant went down in mid-January, when the Nets were second in the Eastern Conference at 27-15. With the same MCL sprain — although what appears to have been a more severe one — Durant missed 21 games and returned to a plunging, 32-31 Nets club that never truly recovered.

The damage done during the season leaked into the offseason. Durant requested a trade. When the request wasn’t granted, he reportedly demanded then-head coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks be fired.

According to Durant, he wanted out because of how his team fared when he was not around.

“When I went out with the injury, we lost 10 in a row,” Durant said at September’s Media Day. “We shouldn’t be losing some of these games. I was more so worried about how we’re approaching every day as a team. I felt like we could’ve fought through a lot of stuff that held us back.”

This time, the Nets have Jacque Vaughn and Kyrie Irving, who is no longer being limited by his vaccination status, and should be better equipped to survive without Durant.

But they should now understand the stakes, which likely go beyond their visions of this season.

The ax swings on Black Monday

Black Monday came and went, and everyone around these parts was spared. The Giants are still playing, while Matt LaFleur remains employed as the Jets’ offensive coordinator (for now at least).

A sad day commenced around the league, though, where the Cardinals followed the Texans’ lead in firing their head coach, joining the Panthers, Colts and Broncos as clubs with vacancies. A roundup:

Texans: It will be four head coaches in as many seasons. First-year Texans coach Lovie Smith was fired after a 3-13-1 season that ended spectacularly: Smith’s team kept playing long after it had been eliminated, got creative with its play calls and pulled off a come-from-behind 32-31 victory over the Colts on Sunday that cost the Texans the No. 1 draft pick. The Bears will pick first, and the Texans dropped to No. 2.

Cardinals: After four seasons, a 28-37-1 mark and one postseason game, Kliff Kingsbury is done. Arizona fired the 43-year-old it once hired to pair with Kyler Murray, who will have input on the next head coach, owner Michael Bidwill told reporters.

Falcons: Defensive coordinator Dean Pees — who started coaching football in 1979 with D-II Findlay, cracked into the NFL as linebackers coach for the 2004 Patriots and just finished his 18th NFL season — has retired.

Titans: Mike Vrabel survived, but his lieutenants were hit hard. Offensive coordinator Todd Downing, offensive line coach Keith Carter, secondary coach Anthony Midget and offensive skills assistant Erik Frazier were fired after the 7-10 Titans lost their final seven games and missed the postseason.

Browns: Joe Woods was let go after three seasons as Cleveland’s defensive coordinator. The most intriguing name floated as a possible replacement: Steelers linebacker coach Brian Flores, who is suing the league for discrimination after being fired as Dolphins head coach last offseason.

Elsewhere, Bill Belichick announced he will be back for his 24th season as Patriots head coach; Sean McVay remains in limbo, uncertain if he will return to the Rams; and the Broncos reportedly will interview Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton for their head-coaching gig.