Down To Seven
By Staff
The Giants magic number to clinch the NFC East is down to seven thanks to the Washington Redskins loss last night. But even though the Giants need a combination of their own wins and Redskins losses to equal seven, the division race could be over this Sunday.
Right now the G-Men sit at 7-1. The Redskins at 6-3. The Eagles at 5-3. And the Cowboys at 5-4. With Washington and Dallas both having a bye week this coming weekend, the Giants can basically win the East with a win over the Eagles on Sunday.
If the Giants win on Sunday here is how the Beast will look (with the division record in parentheses):
NYG 8-1 (3-0)
WSH 6-3 (2-1)
DAL 5-4 (1-2)
PHI 5-4 (0-3)
For the Giants to just make the playoffs, 10-6 should do it, which would be a 3-5 record from here on out. Here is the Giants remaining schedule:
11/9 @ PHI (5-3)
11/16 VS BAL (5-3)
11/23 @ ARI (5-3)
11/30 @ WSH (6-3)
12/7 VS PHI (5-3)
12/14 @ DAL (5-4)
12/21 VS CAR (6-2)
12/28 @ MIN (4-4)
There are definitely three wins in there for the Giants and possible even a few more. But if they can beat the Eagles on Sunday then that will make things a whole lot easier and make the division title theirs.
Here is the playoff picture in the NFL as of right now:
NFC
1. New York Giants (East) – bye
2. Carolina Panthers (South) – bye
3. Arizona Cardinals (West)
4. Chicago Bears (North)
5. Washington Redskins
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
AFC
1. Tennessee Titans (South) – bye
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (North) – bye
3. New England Patriots (East)
4. Denver Broncos (West)
5. Baltimore Ravens
6. New York Jets
The AFC is a little tricky because right now the Jets, Patriots, and Bills are all 5-3. Now the Patriots beat the Jets, but the Jets beat the Bills, and the Patriots and Bills haven’t played each other yet.
The NFL tie-breaking format for a division tie goes like this:
1. Head-to-head
2. Best PCT in games within division
3. Best PCT in games within conference
Since head-to-head is the first tie-breaker, it is tricky to use because all three teams have not played each other, but you can’t skip to No. 2, so I put the Patriots as the East winner even though that is not necessarily the case until they play the Bills this Sunday.
Basically right now the AFC is an absolute mess. It is wide open with the exception of the Titans (8-0) who are going to make the postseason unless they lose the remainder of their games. The Steelers are locked in as well at 6-2, though there is a chance they could miss out on the playoffs with an absolute collapse. But after that the remaining four seeds are open for grabs and everyone except the Raiders, Chiefs, and Bengals have a chance to get into the playoffs. So if you pencil in Tennessee and Pittsburgh, there are potentially 11 teams fighting for four playoff spots. There are eight chaotic weeks left in the NFL season.