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What NY Giants loss means for NFC East Race

By Danny Friedman

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 13: Running back Kenyan Drake #41 of the Arizona Cardinals lunges over the pile for a touchdown in the third quarter of the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 13, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 13: Running back Kenyan Drake #41 of the Arizona Cardinals lunges over the pile for a touchdown in the third quarter of the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 13, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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NY Giants
Dec 13, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) reaches out to recover a fumble caused by Arizona Cardinals linebacker Haason Reddick (left) as umpire Mark Pellis (131) observes the play during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /

NY Giants NFC East Standing and Playoff Chances

The NY Giants did not look like the same team that just won four in a row. Today, they looked more like the NFL team that has led the league in losses from 2017 to 2019.

We won’t rehash what was said on the first slide but the Giants really looked dreadful today offensively. They couldn’t move the ball at all and their first play in Cardinals’ territory didn’t happen until the second half. They had four fumbles on offense and another on a kickoff return.

Jones fumbling three times is again a huge concern. His league-leading turnovers since last season only shot up today with three more fumbles with one lost on the opening drive.

The NY Giants came into Week 14 tied with the WFT for 1st place in the NFC East at 5-7. Big Blue owns the head-to-head tiebreaker and thus were in control of 1st place.

With this loss, NY dropped to 5-8 and confirmed the Giants’ 4th straight season without a winning record. This was a winnable game against a reeling opponent and they couldn’t take advantage of their early stop on defense to get ahold of this game.

To make matters worse, NY could have been firmly in the Wild Card picture with a win in this game. The 7th playoff spot in the NFC is the Vikings, who also lost Sunday and they are now 6-7. Arizona moved up in the Wild Card with a win and that avenue is basically now out the window with the Bears, Cardinals, and 49ers owning the head-to-head on Big Blue. With a win, the Giants could have used the wild card race as a potential backdoor cover to make the playoffs if they collapsed in the NFC East race.

For the time being, NY will drop to lone second place in the division pending the results of the Washington game. If the 49ers beat Washington, the Giants will move back to 1st place of the division by virtue of their H2H tiebreaker.

Giants fans will have to put on their rooting caps for New Orleans and San Fran to get the wins this afternoon. If Washington wins, the Giants will enter Week 15 in second place and staring at another season without the playoffs.

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