The New York Giants’ postseason advantage over the Washington Football Team lasted all of 24 hours. While few expected New York to pull off an upset on the road against the Seattle Seahawks, fewer still expected Washington to hand the Pittsburgh Steelers their first loss of the season. And yet that’s exactly what Washington did.
The 23-17 upset of the unbeaten Steelers means that, while technically in second place as of Monday night, Washington still has a clear advantage and a much easier path to get to the playoffs via the NFC East Division crown than the Giants.
Using the ESPN Playoff Tracker, it becomes clear that Washington’s road to the postseason is the easiest of the four teams. There is also a path to a Wild Card berth, something unthinkable just two days ago.
First, the obvious… meaning an automatic spot via the division. Washington’s December schedule is much easier than New York’s. The Burgundy and Gold go to Arizona Sunday to play the displaced San Francisco 49ers followed by home games against Seattle and the Carolina Panthers before wrapping up the regular season in Philadelphia against the Eagles.
New York plays three of its last four at home but that schedule has the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns at the Giants home in the Meadowlands the next two weeks followed by a trip to Baltimore to play the Ravens and then a home finale against the Dallas Cowboys.
Let’s look at Washington’s path first. Currently, the 49ers sit one game behind Arizona and the Minnesota Vikings for the last Wild Card spot.
San Francisco is getting healthier but still has an injured reserve list with names like Nick Bosa, George Kittle and Jimmy Garappolo on it. For those scoring at home, that amounts to a starting quarterback, a tight end and an edge rusher that won’t be on the field.
San Francisco is 5-7 coming off a Monday night loss to the Buffalo Bills. Washington is 5-7 coming off a Monday night win against Pittsburgh. The NFL is built on parity. It does not take many intangibles to tip a game one way or the other.
The Seahawks looked to be the biggest issue in Week 15 after the Steelers but Seattle showed last week it can lay an egg at any time. And of course, Washington just beat the best team in the league on the road.
Carolina’s biggest weapon, RB Christian McCaffrey, has been in and out of the lineup in an injury-plagued year and the Eagles are officially a hot mess.
As mentioned before, New York must go through Arizona, Cleveland, Baltimore and Dallas.
Both the Cardinals and Baltimore are talented and now desperate. Both got off to fast starts but have not only come back to their respective packs, they’re also currently on the outside looking in at the playoffs. For the Giants, the task is to beat a team lead either by Kyler Murray (the Cardinals) or Lamar Jackson (Ravens).
In between those games come the Browns.
Browns QB Baker Mayfield, RB’s Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt; and a No. 3 defense overall have led Cleveland to its first winning season in 2007. Finally, Big Blue has a home game against Dallas in Week 17.
The chalk suggests New York goes 1-3 down the stretch which would leave them 6-10. That’s not to say the Giants can’t over-perform but it’s a tough road.
If this scenario holds, Washington will head to Philadelphia, most likely, knowing a win over the Eagles gives them the NFC East crown. Both Dallas and Philly are still alive in the race but their paths require even more going right for them than does Washington.
The win over the Steelers also helps Washington’s playoff positioning. At 5-7, Washington is just a game behind Minnesota. If Washington wins its next two to get to 7-7, there is a good chance the team climbs into the last Wild Card spot at least.
The next three weeks are critical. If Washington can win two out of its next three contests, it may be looking at its first postseason trip since 2015.
Buckle up.