Giants face must-win game vs. Commanders as playoff race tightens
The New York Giants came into the 2022 season with some clear goals. Firstly, incoming general manager Joe Schoen had to clear oodles of salary, which meant making some difficult roster decisions. He did a masterful job of turning that into his favor considering the mess he inherited.
Secondly, he and head coach Brian Daboll needed to change the culture. Check. Lastly, they hoped to be playing ‘meaningful’ games in December.
Check to that as well. The Giants (7-4) host the Washington Commanders (7-5) this Sunday at MetLife Stadium in a matchup between the sixth and seventh seeds in the NFC Playoff picture.
It’s the first ‘must-win’ game for this new regime here with the Giants. The winner gets to remain in the picture. The loser could be dropped down to eighth depending on how the Seattle Seahawks fare against the Rams in Los Angeles next week.
The NFC East, which in recent years has been mocked as the NFC ‘Least,’ currently has all four teams in playoff contention. The Philadelphia Eagles (10-1) are the top seed in the NFC, while the Dallas Cowboys (8-3) hold the 5th seed followed by the Giants and Commanders at Nos. 6 and 7.
The NFC East is the second division in which all four teams have at least seven wins through Week 12 since the NFL realigned in 2002, joining the AFC North in 2014.
The Giants and Commanders are currently long-shots to win the division while Dallas is two full games behind the Eagles, who won the first meeting between the two teams.
The website Team Rankings gives Philadelphia a 100 percent chance at qualifying for the postseason. Dallas is at 99.7 percent, The Commanders have a 67.5 percent shot and the Giants are being given a 63.4 percent chance at the playoffs.
The Giants have a very difficult road ahead: Washington and Philadelphia twice each, at Minnesota and home against Indianapolis.
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