Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The Giants are aiming for a wild-card spot and
third-straight playoff berth.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants are in a class by themselves in the NFC.
They are not nearly as good as the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers, both 9-1 and the only teams to beat them. They are, though, third best in a conference where only six of the 16 teams are playing above .500.
With six games left in the regular season, and barring a collapse by any of the top three, the Giants (7-3) appear a lock for a wild-card spot and a third straight playoff berth.
“We have to play to try to stay there and work our way into the playoffs and get another shot at those upper-tier teams that we have already played,” defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. “We have so much to play for, so much still on our plate, and so much still to be excited about. There is no time to mope.”
The playoffs are certainly there for taking. Of the six opponents left on New York’s schedule, only the undefeated Patriots have a winning record. That game won’t be played until the final weekend of the season.
“We know we are a good football team,” defensive tackle Fred Robbins said.
“We know we have three losses; we just have to keep moving on. We can’t get high on ourselves. We have to go out and perform. This is crunch time, where teams are making their push and we have to do the same thing.”
Here’s where things stand in the NFC heading into crunch time:
UDallas had a two-game lead in the East over the Giants.
UGreen Bay is three up on Detroit in the North.
UTampa Bay (6-4) has a two-game lead in the South.
USeattle is one up on Arizona in the West.
New York leads Detroit (6-4) in the race for the top wild card, and it has the tiebreaker should the teams finish with the same record after beating the Lions last Sunday.
Tom Coughlin’s team also has a two-game lead over Philadelphia, Washington and Arizona (all 5-5) and a three-game edge on the 4-6 crowd — New Orleans, Carolina, Minnesota and Chicago — in the wild-card race.
While it all sounds nice, middle linebacker Antonio Pierce thinks the Giants have a shot at catching the Cowboys. That would be tough because Dallas swept the season series and has the tiebreaker if they finish tied.
“We’re not quitting or giving up on that,” Pierce said.
The Cowboys’ toughest game will come a week after Thanksgiving, when they play the Packers on a Thursday night in Dallas.
The winner probably will have home-field advantage on the postseason road to the Super Bowl.