The New York Giants blew it on Sunday Night Football when they had a chance to take the lead again in the NFC East. However, thanks to Washington losing earlier in the day and making that possible in the first place, they aren’t dead yet in the division race.
The performance didn’t look good, sure, but the Giants were playing without Daniel Jones and James Bradberry. They still have a chance to win their last two games and take the division, as we’ve seen that this is a different team when Jones is playing healthy. And as for the standings, both Washington and New York losing means that things are the same going into week sixteen.
That’s not to say that the Giants are favored for sure to win the division. A lot of it will come down to their opponent, because they no longer control their own destiny. If Washington wins out in the next two games, they’ll take the division and it doesn’t matter what the other teams do.
But if the Giants win out and Washington loses one of their games, they can make it into the playoffs.
If the Giants have Jones and Bradberry back, their chances look reasonable enough to hold out some hope.
It’s unknown whether or not Jones will be ready to play by the time the Giants take on their next opponent, but with the team still in the race, there’s reason to believe the Giants might not take a conservative approach this time.
“I know he pushed really hard to play this week,” Colt McCoy said of Jones wanting to play during week 15.
Joe Judge, on the other hand, has said that the staff will have to evaluate Jones in practice this week.
The last time the games meant something this late into the season, the Giants pulled off a run near the end of the year which carried them into the 2016 playoffs. They need luck on their side, but they still have a chance to do it again.