NY Giants Breakdown: Week 11

After beginning the year 0-6 for the first time since the 1976 season, the Giants have miraculously won four straight games and have forced the critics and analysts to begin small talk of the Giants playoff chances. The Giants dominated Minnesota on Monday Night Football, stole a victory in Philadelphia, won a nail-biter against Oakland, and crushed Green Bay last night. Now, I can't blame any fans that started scouting college players half way through the season, but c'mon now, where's the heart? 

I took the 0-6 start as just another speed bump in their journey. Go back and look at the Giants records over the last six or seven years. You'll see that through the first eight weeks of the season, they started strong and wound up with a 6-2 or 5-3 record. From there, they began to have the midway slump, and dropped three or four games, which made the playoff spots very tight and made Week 17 define the future. I think of this season as "opposite day", as the Giants instead had a weak beginning rather than weak finish. Could it be destiny, I don't know. The only thing I know is that the team has found their swagger, and most importantly, has found their confidence. 

WHAT THIS WINS MEANS:
The 27-13 win over Green Bay puts the Giants in 3rd place in the NFC East. Because of a Redskins loss to the Eagles, Washington has now dropped to 3-7 on the season, and Philadelphia has now full possession of 1st place. The Giants (4-6) trail the Eagles (6-5) by 1.5 games in the division. With that being said, the G-Men also have an opportunity to shake the playoff picture even more, as they host the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday afternoon. A win against Dallas would place the Giants in second place, and also a potential 6th seed wild card spot in the postseason. It's very early to bring out the playoff machine and list all of the scenarios that can occur, but with a little bit of luck and hard work, the Giants have a better chance to be the first team to ever make the postseason after an 0-6 start in the history of football. Here's the Giants remaining schedule:

Week 12 (11/24)   vs Dallas Cowboys (5-5)
Week 13 (12/1)     at Washington Redskins (3-7)
Week 14 (12/8)     at San Diego Chargers (4-6)
Week 15 (12/15)   vs Seattle Seahawks (10-1)
Week 16 (12/22)   at Detroit Lions (6-4)
Week 17 (12/29)   vs Washington Redskins (3-7) 


THIS WEEK'S IMPORTANT GAMES:

Dallas Cowboys at NY Giants
San Francisco 49ers at Washington Redskins 
EAGLES BYE WEEK