New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrating his touchdown against the Washington Commanders with quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Giants general manager Joe Schoen isn’t ready to throw in the towel after two consecutive wins over the lowly Washington Commanders and New England Patriots. Both triumphs, backed by a defense that combined to force nine turnovers and allow a combined 29 points in the last 120 minutes of play, have improved their record to 4-8.
“Not where we want to be right now at 4-8, but I am proud of the guys and the way they’ve continued to battle and compete over the last few weeks,” Schoen said. “When things are bad, they can go one of two ways, and I’m really proud of the way the guys have continued to come in and compete. We’ve seen some progress over the last couple weeks and the results to show. We’ve got five games left against NFC teams, against four different teams, and we’re not out of it.”
Technically, Schoen is right. After the Minnesota Vikings’ Monday night loss to the Chicago Bears, the Giants are just two games out of the seventh and final NFC Wild Card spot. The problem is that there are four teams ranked ahead of Big Blue.
As luck would have it, three of New York’s remaining five games this season come against teams that sit above them in the standings and all of whom are outside of that No. 7 spot in the conference.
Following the Giants’ bye week this Sunday, they face the 5-6 Green Bay Packers, currently in eighth place in the NFC, at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Dec. 11. The following week, they travel to New Orleans to play the No. 10 Saints and, after a Christmas Day clash with the juggernaut Philadelphia Eagles, they host the No. 9 Los Angeles Rams in Week 17.
Realistically, the Giants would have to win each of those three games because they’ll be heavy underdogs…
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