The New York Giants won on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, and the game has more impact than just the one on their immediate record. With the win, the Giants not only moved up to become a four win team, but also took first place in the NFC East. They’re currently tied in the wins column with Washington, but they keep the top spot after taking both games in their season series with their regional rival.
The lead might not last that long. The Eagles are a three win team right now and they can move into first place if they beat the Seahawks on Monday Night Football. But the Eagles winning isn’t a guarantee, and there’s still enough games left to be played that the Giants are in control of their own destiny regardless.
Specifically, there’s five games left in the season with one of them being in the division – the season ending game against Dallas. This last stretch of the season should prove more challenging to the Giants as they’ll have a tougher strength of schedule. Their last opponent was one of the worst teams in the league and was missing their starting quarterback, and still came within a few points of winning.
On the other hand, the next opponent of the Giants is the Seahawks, who have a 7-3 record and would have an 8-3 record by the time they meet the Giants if they beat the Eagles on Monday. After that, the Giants are set to take on the Cardinals, who also have a winning record. And they may have to play Seattle without Daniel Jones, depending on how his injury recovery goes.
But after the poor start to the season, it’s hard to complain about the Giants being in the mix at all right now. Regardless of how their chances are to go further and maintain first place in spite of the tough stretch coming up.