The New York Giants are facing a huge uphill battle. Like the Pittsburgh Steelers before them, the New York Giants are trying to climb their way back into the playoff race after a very slow start to the season. The Steelers are getting back into the mix after just a 0-4 start. The Giants, however, lost their first six games of the season, making their task that much more difficult.
The Giants aren’t without help. Also like Pittsburgh, the Giants are in a relatively week division. With such a low mark likely required to win the division, the Giants are certainly down, but by no means out of the race.
On Sunday, the Giants will be visiting the Philadelphia Eagles in a bid to get within two games of the division leader who, conveniently enough happens to be the Eagles. That simple point shows just how weak the NFC East is. Like last year, the division may come down to one game late in the season, and with a winning streak, every team in the division is still in the race.
To win the NFC East, however, the Giants have to start getting out of their own way. Beating the Vikings was certainly a step in the right direction, but beating the Vikings is no huge leap for a team that has been losing to exceptionally talented teams.
In the Giants lone win of the season, the Giants weren’t spectacular on the offensive side of the ball, but their defense allowed them to play a conservative, efficient game. Most importantly, Eli Manning led an offense that didn’t turn the ball over in the most inopportune moments. Sure Josh Freeman and the Vikings didn’t put up much of a fight, but that doesn’t take the win off the board.
The Giants’ season and current position shows just how strange this season has been. At 0-6, the Giants should have been packing it in, but they’re not out of the playoff race by any stretch. With a win this weekend, the Giants will pull within two games of the NFC East division leader. It’s still an uphill struggle, but the Giants aren’t done just yet, and with so much veteran leadership on the team, there’s no reasons they can’t stay the course and get back where they need to be.
