Sorry, Bears; Giants have their own interests to consider

So first place in the NFC North won't be decided until the last weekend. Perfect. The question now is: Considering everything that's at stake, how will the New York Giants approach their game with Minnesota?

Answer: However Tom Coughlin chooses.

That is his right. He won the NFC East. He has a first-round bye. He has home-field advantage. So he can do what he wants to do.

He can play his starters. He can rest his starters. He can play his starters one quarter, or he can play them one half. He can play them four quarters if he likes.

And whatever he does he is right.

I can already hear the caterwauling from Winnetka to Barrington, with outraged Chicago Bears' fans insisting that Coughlin has an obligation to play for keeps, to try to win a game that means so much to the Vikings and Bears.

After all, a playoff spot is at stake. If the Vikings win, they're in. If the Vikings lose, and Chicago wins, the Bears are in. It's as simple as that. So the Giants must, absolutely must, do whatever they can to win a game that is important to two teams -- if not for the Vikings and Bears, then for the integrity of the game.

Wrong.

The Giants must do what is in the best interest of the New York Giants, not the Minnesota Vikings and/or Chicago Bears. They have a raft of injured players, starting with cornerback Aaron Ross and running back Brandon Jacobs, and if Coughlin thinks by resting them he enhances his chances of going deep into the playoffs then he should.

Remember, this is a team that will play for the 13th straight week since a Sept. 28 bye, so Coughlin not only has injured players, he has tired ones, too.

He also has a quarterback who started every game, and it might be wise to have Eli Manning sit down for part or all of a game that means nothing to New York. I know the Vikings' chances for success improve with Manning's benching, but so what? Critics can bray, but imagine the outcry if Manning were hurt and sidelined for the playoffs.

I covered a San Francisco 49ers team in 1994 that won 10 straight entering its last game with playoff-bound Minnesota. The 49ers had clinched home-field advantage, so the only question entering the game was Steve Young setting a single-season record for passer rating. The 49ers had him play a quarter, then sat him down ... along with other starters.

They lost. Young set the record. And a month later the 49ers won Super Bowl XXIX.