With all the tension and drama that surrounds the play-offs, there is an argument to be made that it is perhaps the best way to win promotion.

Former right-back Tommy Smith, who won the Championship play-off final with Huddersfield Town in 2017 and played in the Premier League for the Terriers, says it is the “jeopardy” which makes it so unique.

“The play-offs do strange things to you. Moments in time. It brings out things in games that you just don’t see in a normal season. There’s a key word in it and that’s jeopardy,” he told BBC’s Football Daily 72+ podcast.

Smith described winning the play-off final as an “unbelievable” and “incredible” feeling that will stay with him for the rest of his life.

“Ultimately I’ve got pictures around my house now, I’ve got the medal to show for it,” he added.

“It’s only afterwards when it sinks in that you actually realise what you’ve achieved. It’s a surreal day and a surreal feeling.”

Lyle Taylor, who won promotion via the play-offs from the Championship, League One and League Two with Nottingham Forest, Charlton and AFC Wimbledon respectively, said it is a “feeling you can’t really describe”.

“It’s strange. I remember walking up there [the Wembley steps] and it hasn’t hit you that you’ve done it,” he said.

“I saw my parents after the finals and the emotion gets you at that point. It’s mad because it’s such a momentous day, it’s such a big part of your life and if you’re lucky enough to do it as a footballer, it’s incredible.”

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Thursday provided the first glimpse of a John Harbaugh practice, as the New York Giants’ third OTA was open to the media. Aside from an extended special teams period to open practice — and no music being played outside of team periods — it didn’t look drastically different from any other NFL practice.

The Giants worked in their indoor facility because of rainy conditions. Here are some notes and observations from my first viewing of a Harbaugh practice with the full 90-man roster:

Taking attendance

As always, it’s important to note OTAs are voluntary. But attendance is taken, and the following players weren’t spotted at Thursday’s practice: QB Jameis Winston, RB Cam Skattebo, FB Pat Ricard, DL DJ Reader, DL Shelby Harris, DL Sam Roberts and CB Dru Phillips.

WR Darius Slayton (sports hernia surgery) and rookie CB Colton Hood (undisclosed) came out to practice late but didn’t participate. Skattebo (ankle), Nabers (knee) and Roberts (undisclosed) are recovering from documented surgeries. There was no word on the absences of Winston, Ricard, Reader, Harris or Phillips.

Harbaugh’s update on Nabers, who recently underwent a second surgery to remove scar tissue from his knee, wasn’t particularly encouraging.

“He’s in the middle of (his rehab),” Harbaugh said. “It’s such a hard thing. It’s an ACL and whatever else he had in that knee. Not a simple knee, you know. So he’s in the slog of it, the grind of it, I would say. So he’s fighting through it. He’s here every day, working hard at it. Just impossible to predict. I mean, the goal is to start the season and get out there sometime in training camp. That would be the goal. We’ll see what happens. If he’s out there, great. If he’s not out there, great. We’ll be ready to go either way.”

That’s a far cry from previous updates this offseason when Harbaugh and general manager Joe Schoen expressed optimism that Nabers would be ready for the start of training camp.

Harbaugh said Slayton had been trying to work through the sports hernia, but “we all agreed: just get it fixed.” Harbaugh said Slayton will be 100 percent for the start of camp.

Injury report

Defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris limped off the field midway through practice. He left the practice field and went into the facility after trainers examined his right leg.

Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt appeared to get injured while running routes early in practice. He rode an exercise bike briefly on the sideline before watching the rest of practice.

Left tackle Andrew Thomas didn’t participate during 11-on-11 periods. That’s part of a ramp-up plan for the All-Pro, who has struggled to stay healthy. Thomas is dealing with a “lingering” shoulder injury, and there’s continued maintenance on his foot after he suffered a Lisfranc injury during the 2024 season. Thomas said the lighter workload is precautionary, with the focus on being ready for the season.

Six observations

Dart’s day: Harbaugh said the ball shouldn’t be on the ground too often in an OTA practice because the absence of contact prevents defensive players from fully contesting catches. That was the case for quarterback Jaxson Dart during 11-on-11 periods, when he mostly threw short passes. Running back Tyrone Tracy caught four of Dart’s 10 completions. Dart was less efficient when pushing the ball downfield in a seven-on-seven period.

There’s a lot on Dart’s plate as he enters his second season while learning a new offense. He said there are elements to the offense he hasn’t done before, including more under-center play-action and increased control at the line of scrimmage.

The offense emphasized hard counts Thursday, and Dart was proud he got the defense to jump offside multiple times. Defensive tackle Darius Alexander was the offending party in one instance, and the second-year pro did pushups after the period. The entire defense had to do 10 pushups after practice as a result of the penalties.

O-line seems set: The depth chart is fluid at the skill positions, especially with Skattebo, Nabers and Slayton sidelined. But the offensive-line pecking order was static throughout practice.

Marcus Mbow stepped in as the first-team left tackle for Thomas, alongside left guard Jon Runyan, center John Michael Schmitz, right guard Francis Mauigoa and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor. The second-team offensive line was LT JC Davis, LG Aaron Stinnie, C Lucas Patrick, RG Daniel Faalele and RT Josh Ezeudu. The third-team offensive line was LT Reid Holskey, LG Jake Kubas, C Bryan Hudson, RG Evan Neal and RT Ryan Schernecke.

The centers pulled a lot during drills early in practice. It makes sense that’s a featured part of the offense considering Harbaugh had the athletic Tyler Linderbaum at center for the past four seasons. It will be interesting to see whether Schmitz can thrive in this scheme.

State of the defense: There was a clear divide at outside linebacker, with Brian Burns and Abdul Carter getting almost every rep with the first-team defense and Kayvon Thibodeaux working with the backups. Tremaine Edmunds and Arvell Reese were the starting inside linebackers. Edmunds, who signed in March as a free agent, and Reese, who was the fifth pick in this year’s draft, took every rep during install periods.

Greg Newsome was the starting cornerback opposite Paulson Adebo. Ar’Darius Washington was the first-team slot corner with Phillips missing. It’s hard to draw any conclusions about the defensive line since projected starters Reader and Harris were absent. Robertson-Harris, Alexander and Zacch Pickens were the top defensive linemen Thursday before Robertson-Harris’ early departure.

Nubin steps in: The Giants spent the first 16 minutes of practice working on punt coverage. Safety Tyler Nubin filled the important role as the personal protector with the starting punt team. In recent years, that role had been filled by Dane Belton, who signed with the New York Jets in free agency.

The punt returners were Gunner Olszewski, Calvin Austin, Xavier Gipson, Devin Singletary, Jevon Holland and Damon Bankston.

Quick look at kickers: There’s not enough time to get live field goal reps in every practice for all three of the Giants’ kickers. Ben Sauls went 2-for-4, and Jason Sanders went 4-for-6 on Thursday. Dominic Zvada didn’t attempt any field goals during live periods during practice.

Maras in attendance: Co-owners John Mara and Chris Mara watched the beginning of practice together.

Play of the day

Third-string safety Beau Brade got a good break on a post route from backup quarterback Brandon Allen and intercepted the deep pass during a seven-on-seven period. It was the lone takeaway on a day that featured limited big plays for either side.

Quote of the day

“I’m not close to that. I’m not like Tim Tebow.” — Jaxson Dart on being leaner but not too muscular

Next up

The Giants conduct their fourth OTA on Wednesday after an extended break for the holiday weekend. Their next practice open to the media is May 29.

Arne Slot has refused to confirm whether Mohamed Salah will play a part at Anfield on Sunday, in what would be his last appearance for Liverpool.

In a social media post last weekend, Salah called for Liverpool to change their style of play in what came across as an attack on their football under manager Slot.

The Reds great will leave the club this summer after nine years at Anfield.

“I never say anything about team selection,” said Slot, when asked about Salah’s involvement against Brentford, a game in which Liverpool need a point to confirm Champions League qualification.

Earlier this season, Salah, 33, was left out of the squad for a Champions League game away to Inter Milan after saying in an interview that his relationship with Slot had broken down.

Asked how he felt about the Egypt forward’s comments, Slot said: “I don’t think it is that important what I feel about it. What is important is that we qualify for the Champions League on Sunday and I prepare Mo and the whole team in the best possible way for the game.

“I was very disappointed after our loss against Villa because a win would have given us qualification for the Champions League which we didn’t get. Now there’s one game to go which is a vital one for us as a club.

“We both want what’s best for the club, we both want the club to be successful and that’s the main aim.

“I have to find a way to evolve this team now and definitely in the summer and in the upcoming season to be successful again, and to play a brand of football that I like. And if I like it then the fans will like it as well because I haven’t liked a lot of the way we played this season.

“But we try to evolve the team in a way that we can compete but definitely also play the brand of football, the style of football the fans, I, and hopefully Mo if he’s somewhere else at that moment in time will like as well.”