Entering the 2018 season, on paper the NY Giants looked promising with a stacked offense adding rookie Saquon Barkley, a defense with some Pro Bowl talent and a new coaching staff. Week 1, they lose by five to the Jacksonville Jaguars who made it to the AFC Championship in January. So it wasn’t a horrible loss for the Giants until they continued to lose and win only one game until their bye week in Week 9.
Fans started to wave goodbye to the playoffs yet again but Odell Beckham Jr. said not yet. “Win eight games,” Beckham said before their Week 10 game against the San Francisci 49ers. “Go 9-7 and get in the playoffs. Giants been there before, 9-7 and got to the playoffs.”
After Beckham’s statement, the Giants won four of their last five games. So it seemed his optimistic approach worked and the team was winning. However, in the NFC East, nothings that simple. The 8-5 Dallas Cowboys are on a five-game winning streak since Week 10 leading the NFC East. Both the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins are 6-7 putting them ahead of the Giants by one game.
With only three games left, it’s seems inexecutable for the Giants to make playoffs since the “9-7” theory is gone. What about 8-8?
Like Beckham said before, they have to win every game. That’s the obvious but they’re not the only team in the playoff hunt.
When it comes to their division rivals, the Eagles and Redskins cannot win two more games. The Giants don’t want them finish 8-8 since they own the head-to-head tiebreaker. That goes for the Carolina Panthers as well.
The Eagles’ next two games are tough: LA Rams and Houston Texans. Plus, they lost Carson Wentz due to a back injury but reports claim he may return. Seems like deja vu of their last season when Nick Foles came in for Wentz and won the Eagles their first Super Bowl. This season is different. They’re still trying to make playoffs compared to last season they were 13-3. They’re also struggling this season with injuries and the lack of a running game.
The Redskins lost their quarterback as well and signed Mark Sanchez to back up Colt McCoy. Without their starting quarterback Alex Smith, I don’t see the Redskins winning against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.
The other teams Giants need to lose is the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings are currently 6-6-1 and the 6th seed in the playoffs. The Vikings seem to be falling apart offensively and their next three games are against the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears. Giants need the 5-7-1 Packers to lose at least one game and this will probably happen this week against the Chicago Bears.
There’s also the two other 5-8 teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions. Giants want each team to lose at least one game. If Buccaneers end 8-8, they would win the tiebreaker because of their better record in the NFC Conference. The Buccaneers play the Ravens, Cowboys and Falcons. How the Buccaneers been playing recently after the “Fitzmagic” disappeared, I don’t see them winning all three.
Beckham Jr. is out his second consecutive game so Sterling Shepard, Corey Coleman, Russell Shepard, Bennie Fowler and Evan Engram must step it up and make life easy for Eli Manning. The same goes for the offensive line too. Barkley I expect to still get his 100+ overall yards a game as the Titans and Colts defense allow over 100 rushing yards a game and Barkley had 108 yards against the Cowboys in Week 2. Landon Collins is out for the season after shoulder surgery but linebacker Alec Olgetree has picked it up for the defense, getting his 5th interception of the season last game. Giants defense shutdown Redskins Adrian Peterson last game to only 16 rushing yards and they must keep that same dominance against Derrick Henry and Ezekiel Elliott.
A lot things that are not in Giants control has to be done but all they can do and focus on is winning against the Tennessee Titans, the Indianapolis Colts and the finale in Dallas.