On Tuesday morning, the NY Giants will either be ready to go all-in to try and make the playoffs, or just about every Big Blue supporter will throw in the towel on 2023 and fully focus on the NFL Draft next spring.
At 4-8 on the year, it's been a rough fall for the G-Men, but back-to-back wins have people believing in what Brian Daboll is doing. With a W over the Packers on Monday Night Football, NY will improve to 5-8 and be just one game back for the No. 7 seed in the NFC. That's right, the Giants are still in the hunt.
The #Eagles drop from the No. 1 seed to the No. 5 seed in the NFC with their loss to Dallas.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 11, 2023
NFC playoff picture:
• 1) 49ers
• 2) Cowboys
• 3) Lions
• 4) Buccaneers
• 5) Eagles
• 6) Vikings
• 7) Packers
Philly still controls the path to win the NFC East, but right now…
NFC playoff hunt before Monday Night Football
- San Francisco 49ers
- Dallas Cowboys
- Detroit Lions
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Minnesota Vikings
- Green Bay Packers
In the hunt: LA Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants
Despite the Giants having a huge mountain to climb to keep their season going beyond Week 18, they're not out of things yet. Last week, running back Saquon Barkley turned plenty of heads when he said, "We're still in this (expletive)."
That kind of passion from Barkley was amazing to see, as he himself has battled a ton of adversity in 2023. Barkley suffered a high-ankle sprain during the Week 2 comeback against the Arizona Cardinals. He's missed a large chunk of the campaign, but Barkley has looked strong in recent weeks.
The Pro Bowler will be looked at to help out Tommy DeVito in a massive way against the stingy Packers defense. Speaking of defense, the Giants received some amazing news on Monday morning, with it reported by Jordan Raanan that Dexter Lawrence is expected to play. Lawrence missed Week 12 with a hamstring injury and is now healthy enough to get back on the field.
Soon enough, we'll find out if the Giants will capture their fifth win of the year and push for the postseason, or if a MNF loss will result in the team pretty much being eliminated from contention. The Packers are riding high after last week's win against the Chiefs, but you never know what might happen in this one. A third consecutive upset win for the Giants could be on the way.