5 things that must happen for the Giants to sneak into the playoffs

Well, somehow we're here. After an abysmal 2-8 start, the NY Giants have won three straight, sit at 5-8 and are jut one game back of the No. 7 seed in the NFC. A month ago, fans like myself were wondering how we could sneak our way to the first pick and now we're wondering how to sneak our way into the playoffs.

The Giants will always keep us on our toes and that's why we love them. Tommy DeVito has effectively captured the hearts of America, and while this new generation "Linsanity" run is awesome, the Giants still need a few things to break their way if they want to make the postseason:

5. Help from the AFC

The Giants sit behind five teams for the final playoff spot: Green Bay, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta and New Orleans. Although they have the head to head over Green Bay and could potentially get it against Los Angeles and New Orleans, the Giants already lost to Seattle and don't play Atlanta.

Obviously, having these two teams lose out would be the thing to hope for, but in reality, that's not incredibly likely. What the Giants faithful can hope for is help from the other conference. Seattle and Atlanta play a combined three games against the AFC within the next month and these games could be huge for the Giants playoff chances.

When it comes to the playoff picture, losses in these games would be just that - there's no head to heads at stake, no home field, just a huge blemish on a potential playoff resume. The best part, Seattle and Atlanta are facing teams that will likely be hungry for a playoff spot of their own. Seattle takes on Tennessee and Pittsburgh; Atlanta takes on Indianapolis. Not exactly easy games to begin with, but even tougher with the postseason on the line.