Will the NY Giants be able to capitalize on a relatively manageable schedule down the stretch and win the NFC East in head coach Joe Judge’s first season?
Someone has to win the NFC East, and suddenly after beating the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles in consecutive weeks heading into the bye, the NY Giants just might be in the driver’s seat.
Entering Week 12, the Eagles, Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington all have three wins but the Eagles sit atop the standings by virtue of tying the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this season.
Can the Giants do enough over the final six week sprint to cap head coach Joe Judge’s first season with a playoff berth? Or, will the Eagles finally get right around quarterback Carson Wentz and hold on?
Here are our predictions for how every remaining game for the Eagles, Giants, Cowboys, and Washington along with final standings projections:
Philadelphia Eagles
Week 12: @ Seattle Seahawks – LOSS
Talk about two franchises headed in opposite directions. Russell Wilson could be a unanimous MVP, after going his entire career without receiving a single MVP vote, while Carson Wentz looks broken and the Eagles are staring down the barrel of a historically difficult offseason currently sitting $67 million over the cap. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t seem to have the answers, and there will be many more questions in Philadelphia after Sunday.
Week 13: vs. Green Bay Packers – LOSS
Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts should send alarm bells echoing throughout the state of Wisconsin. But, the good news for the Packers and bad news for the Eagles, is that Philadelphia made Baker Mayfield look like Aaron Rodgers on Sunday, allowing the Browns quarterback to pass for 204 yards in a monsoon. Rodgers might double that output.
Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints – LOSS
Boy, the schedule-makers did the Eagles no favors. There’s a legitimate chance the Eagles are riding a four game losing streak into a matchup against Sean Payton, Taysom Hill and the Saints. Hill looked plenty competent on Sunday, passing for 233 yards and rushing for two touchdowns. The Saints have only lost to the Eagles twice since 2006, going 7-2 over that span. There’s a good chance Payton and Co. collect win No. 8 over the Eagles this year …
Week 15: @ Arizona Cardinals – LOSS
The Cardinals are among the most electrifying and exciting young teams in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Eagles are struggling mightily on both sides of the football. Kyler Murray puts on a show, and puts the Eagles further behind the eight-ball …
Week 16: @ Dallas Cowboys – WIN
There’s a chance the Cowboys will be leading the division at this point, particularly if things go as poorly for Philadelphia as they have the chance to over the next month. But, in this division, it doesn’t seem like anyone has the ability to create real separation. It’s easier to win these kind of potential playoff games when you’ve had a track record of doing so in the past, which is why the Eagles should squeak out with a win over their hated rivals.
Week 17: vs. Washington Football Team – WIN
The Eagles’ Week 1 loss at FedExField wound up being a harbinger of the struggles ahead for Wentz, Pederson, and Co. The Eagles do their part, exacting some revenge to close out the season, before departing for social-distanced viewing of Giants-Cowboys to see if their win is enough win the division and sneak into the postseason.
Projected finish 5-10-1
NY Giants
Week 12: @ Cincinnati Bengals – WIN
The Bengals have a promising future, and an electrifying young core of offensive skill players like wide receiver Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins. However, losing upstart rookie quarterback Joe Burrow — the brightest of the Bengals’ stars, takes much of the wind out of Cincinnati’s sails. The Giants rode some momentum into a tumultuous bye week, and might just vault to the top of the NFC East standings by late Sunday afternoon.
Week 13: @ Seattle Seahawks – LOSS
Even without fans, Seattle remains the toughest homefield advantage in the NFL. Much of the Seahawks’ success, at 7-3 overall and perfect 5-0 start at home, has been built upon quarterback Russell Wilson being in the midst of the most prolific season of his career and his best chance to win the MVP award. Nothing against James Bradberry, but even for the potential All-Pro it could prove difficult to contain Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf, who has been a difference maker while catching 48 of his 77 targets for 862 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns.
Week 14: vs. Arizona Cardinals – LOSS
There’s something special building in Arizona. Last Thursday’s road loss to the Seahawks not withstanding, the Cardinals have been among the most pleasant surprises this season. With an explosive scheme built around budding dual-threat quarterback Kyle Murray, arguably the game’s premier wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins and speedster Christian Kirk on the opposite side, Kliff Kingsbury’s offense has been dictating to opponents for much of this season en route to a 6-4 start. There’s just too much firepower in Arizona’s offense, even for the surging Giants’ defense.
Week 15: vs. Cleveland Browns – LOSS
Watching the Browns the past three weeks, it is becoming abundantly clear that this team is built to grind teams into the ground. Whether it’s the physically imposing backfield tandem of Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb, or Baker Mayfield’s efficiency through the air, the Browns are going to be a tough out down the stretch and seem built to play postseason spoiler. This game could be a coinflip, but the Browns seem to be building steam on both sides of the ball right now …
Week 16: @ Baltimore Ravens – WIN
Lamar Jackson seems to have been figured out, at least in the passing game deep downfield outside the numbers. The Ravens’ offense is broken. Baltimore is 1-3 over the past four weeks, including a crushingly heartbreaking overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The Giants’ defense has been peaking and Daniel Jones’ blend of controlled aggressiveness has helped him improve in ball security. New York will almost certainly be underdogs, but the defense should be enough to get across the finish line and pull off an upset.
Week 17: vs. Dallas Cowboys – WIN
The Cowboys showed signs of a pulse, going into Minnesota and beating Kirk Cousins and the Vikings on Sunday. But, after a tumultuous season that produced a horrific injury that ended quarterback Dak Prescott’s MVP caliber start to the season and raised questions about whether Mike McCarthy will be a one-and-done coach, the Cowboys will be thinking more about the golf bags in their cars awaiting their return to DFW Airport than beating the Giants.
Predicted finish: 6-10
Dallas Cowboys
Week 12: vs. Washington Football Team – WIN
The Dallas Cowboys in the midafternoon on Thanksgiving are as essential to the holiday as the turkey, stuffing, and your crazy uncle spouting Qanon nonsense around the table. As dreadful as the NFC East has been, at least there is a divisional game with real consequences to keep us from fighting off the Tryptophan. Dallas was embarrassed in the first meeting between these teams, particularly when Andy Dalton was concussed on one of the ugliest hits you’ll see on a football field and his teammates just lackadasically went back to the huddle as he lay motionless on the turf. Revenge time for the Cowboys.
Week 13: @ Baltimore Ravens – LOSS
The Ravens are a mess right now. Lamar Jackson has struggled mightily when teams force him to throw, the defense has wilted late in games. But, at least Baltimore has a defense — which is more than can be said about the Cowboys right now. This feels like the classic get-right game for the Ravens …
Week 14: @ Cincinnati Bengals – WIN
Without Joe Burrow, the Bengals look like, well the vintage Bengals. Washington ran roughshod over Cincinnati on Sunday in the shadow of the nation’s capitol, and there’s little reason to think the Bengals will be able to pick themselves up off the turf against their remaining NFC East opponents, the Cowboys included.
Week 15: vs. San Francisco 49ers: LOSS
The Cowboys have already played the Seahawks, Cardinals, and Rams to three losses by a combined score of 96-58. Why should this game against the 49ers, who will badly need a win to keep pace both in the NFC West and Wild Card races go much differently ?
Week 16: vs. Philadelphia Eagles: LOSS
The first meeting between these teams was a mistake-riddled mess for both quarterbacks in Philadelphia. Carson Wentz isn’t going anywhere, but might be feeling some pressure to renew the organization’s faith in him down the stretch. Meanwhile, if Dallas enters having lost two of their last three games, it might be about time they start folding up the tent around head coach Mike McCarthy.
Week 17: @ Giants: LOSS
There’s a legitimate chance that this game decides the division. The Eagles own the tiebreaker over the Cowboys, so Philadelphia’s rooting interests are clear. It won’t matter though, because at this stage, the Giants are simply the better — and far more motivated — team.
Predicted finish: 5-11
Washington Football Team
Week 12: @ Dallas Cowboys: LOSS
Washington crushed Dallas in the first meeting between these two teams, but the Cowboys have the tailwind of Sunday’s win over the Vikings filling their sails and the experience of playing on Thanksgiving in their corner. This will be closer than people think, but in the end, Dallas gets it done.
Week 13: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: LOSS
The Steelers are the most complete and dominant team in the NFL. Pittsburgh is going undefeated. Washington’s merely a speed bump.
Week 14: @ San Francisco 49ers: LOSS
A revenge game for Alex Smith. But, regardless of who is at quarterback for the 49ers, San Francisco has the far more talented roster on both sides of the ball and will need this game much more.
Week 15: vs. Seattle Seahawks: WIN
For whatever reason, Seattle struggles mightily when they need to fly to east. Russell Wilson will likely be the MVP, but this feels like a game the Football team — on the back of rookie edge rusher Chase Young, can steal.
Week 16: vs. Carolina Panthers: WIN
A revenge game for head coach Ron Rivera! Matt Rhule is doing a commendable job turning around the culture in Carolina, but has gotten far too inconsistent quarterback play of late to be relied upon. Smith gets the win, and the game ball for his head coach.
Week 17: @ Philadelphia Eagles: LOSS
Washington took care of business against the Eagles back in Week 1, but the Eagles might simultaneously be the more desperate team and the team that needs a win the most in the regular season finale. That’s a daunting combination to overcome.
Predicted finish: 5-11
Final standings:
- Giants (6-10)
- Philadelphia Eagles (5-10-1)
- Washington Football Team (5-11)
- Dallas Cowboys (5-11)
It really is a farce that any of these four teams get to make the postseason, and host a home playoff game. Especially if things stay as bunched up and pathetic as they have been through the first 11 weeks.
However, if the Giants wind up sitting atop the division, with victories over the Eagles (snapping an eight-game skid), and teams like Baltimore and Dallas, this will have been a testament to Joe Judge’s ability to quickly cultivate a winning culture and a credit to a coaching staff that managed to get consistent improvement from a rather under-talented roster over the final 12 weeks of the season.
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.