The New York Giants are 8-5 this season and are clinging to a one-game lead in the NFC East with three games to go.
The Giants have their playoff destiny their own hands, as if they win the rest of their games, they will be NFC East champions for the second straight season. The Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys are both 7-6 and are refusing to give up on the season or the division.
New York has a tough road ahead, with games against the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles left on the schedule. The team will likely have to win out to make the postseason.
The playoffs are not even close to being set yet, but it's never too soon to start wondering about possible matchups and seeding positions. If the Giants win the NFC East, they will likely hold onto the fourth seed, since the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons all own better records than they do.
Luckily for Big Blue, the Giants have beaten all three teams in the past calendar year, including the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers twice (once each in playoffs last year, once each in regular season this year). The Giants will get a chance to add the Falcons to that list on Sunday, as New York travels to Georgia to take on the Falcons.
If all holds, the Giants would play at home against the fifth-seeded Seattle Seahawks (8-5), who currently are in the first Wild Card spot over the Chicago Bears, since they beat them earlier this season. The Giants lost in the regular season in Week 5 last year 36-25 to the Seahawks, but did not face them in the playoffs.
The Giants got on a hot streak last season and won its last two games against the Jets and Cowboys to finish 9-7 before kicking it into high gear for the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl.
The teams New York beat are all the top contenders this year in the NFC and will likely be waiting if the Giants make the playoffs. How does New York stack up against these teams this year as compared to last season?
In the first round of the playoffs last year the Giants hosted the Falcons, who despite having a better record, had to travel to MetLife Stadium because they were not a division winner.
New York was dominant throughout the game, only giving up a safety as they beat the Falcons 24-2. The defense hounded quarterback Matt Ryan all game and held him to just 199 yards passing. The unit also shut down the running game, giving up just 41 rushing yards to starter Michael Turner.
Eli Manning threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns and the Giants took the form their fans had been waiting for all season. The team was finally healthy and clicking on all cylinders when it came time to play the Falcons.
This Sunday will be a good test for the Giants to see if they match up the same against the Falcons as last year. Atlanta is playing much better than last season and is NFC South champs.
If the two teams played in the playoffs, the game would likely be in the Georgia Dome, where Ryan has been stellar throughout his career. But he has still yet to win a playoff game with coach Mike Smith, so the pressure will be on Atlanta and their 11-2 record as the playoffs go forward.
In the NFC Divisional round, the New York Giants traveled to Green Bay to take on the Packers. The two teams played last season in Week 13, with the Packers winning 38-35 after Aaron Rodgers led the team on a last-second drive to kick a field goal. In the playoffs though, the Giants were spectacular, causing four turnovers and putting up 330 passing yards and three touchdowns from Eli Manning.
The Packers had a chance at revenge this season, but lost three weeks ago 38-10 in a game that made the Giants look like favorites in the NFC again. Green Bay was dealing with injuries on defense and gave up nearly 400 yards of total offense. The Giants defense stifled the Packers at every chance, allowing just five third down conversions.
Since playing the Giants through, the Packers have won two straight and are taking the form of the team that won the Super Bowl in 2010. The roster is getting healthier and the Rodgers has found new playmakers in wide receiver Randall Cobb and running back Alex Green.
If the two teams meet in the playoffs again this year, the Giants will have the advantage because they beat the Packers the last two times they played, but that is no guarantee for a victory. For New York to be successful against the Packers in January, they will have to shore up their secondary of Corey Webster and Prince Amukamara so they do not allow big plays.
The toughest rematch for the Giants this year would be against the San Francisco 49ers. Last year in the playoffs, the Giants and the 49ers played an epic, physically brutal battle that ended in a 20-17 overtime victory for New York.
Both teams played exceptional and if not for two Kyle Williams fumbles, it's likely that the 49ers would have made it to the Super Bowl. Eli Manning dropped back to pass 60 times in that game and threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns while not turning the ball over. The Giants neutralized Alex Smith, who threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns, but completed only one pass to a wide receiver.
Earlier this season in Week 6, the Giants stifled any chance at revenge for San Francisco, winning 26-3 on the road to improve to 4-2 on the year. Safety Antrel Rolle had two interceptions in that game, while Smith turned the ball over three times. Another big boost for the Giants: Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 116 yards and one touchdown.
If the Giants face the 49ers again this season they will have the confidence that they can beat their team. One thing they won't have though: a chance to play against quarterback Colin Kaepernick at least once before the matchup.
49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh threw the biggest wild card out there for any team that defeated San Francisco earlier in the year by benching Alex Smith. With Kaepernick at quarterback, the 49ers are a more dangerous and dynamic team. The Giants have never seen the 49ers operate this way and that would be the determining factor if they play again in the playoffs.
No matter the matchups or the past results, the New York Giants are one of the most resilient teams in football, which is the main reason why they have won two Super Bowls in the past five years.
When the team faces a must-win situation, no one is better. Consider this past week against the New Orleans Saints. Early in the afternoon, it appeared as though both the Cowboys and the redskins would lose, giving the Giants a two-game lead in the division. Then within about five minute's time, just as New York started to take the field against the Saints, both teams pulled out last-second victories. The lead was now down to half a game.
So how did the Giants respond to a chance at a three-way tie in the division? They went out and beat the Saints 52-27. Eli Manning threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns, the most he's thrown this season, while rookie running back David Wilson took back a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and amassed a team-record 327 total yards.
The Giants may not be playing as well this season as they did at the end of last year, but as long as they make the playoffs they have as good a shot as anyone to win the Super Bowl.
