Now the G-Men are 5-3, have slipped behind the Cowboys and Eagles in the NFC East standings and the postseason is no longer a lock.
Coming off a three-game losing streak that no one saw coming, the Giants are faced with a home game against San Diego that will lead them into their bye week in Week 10. And while the Giants should be in a stretch of their schedule hoping to just play .500 football, they are now in a situation where they have to win every game.
"If there’s a must-win game of the season for the New York Giants, it’s this week," Antonio Pierce told Mike Francesa on WFAN. "This is the biggest game of the year. People said the Saints game was the Super Bowl? No. This is the Super Bowl for the New York Giants team. Going into our bye week we do not want to be going in on a four-game losing streak."
If 10 wins turns out to be the magical number for a postseason berth in the NFC this year, the Giants will need to finish out the season 5-3. But if it's 11, then a 6-2 record becomes the goal.
After giving up what should have been an easy win at home against
Arizona in Week 7 and losing in embarrassing fashion to New Orleans and
Philadelphia in Weeks 6 and 8 respectively, the Giants are now faced
with one of the toughest schedules in the entire league over the final
nine weeks.
The Giants have San Diego (4-3), Atlanta (4-3), Denver (6-1), Dallas (5-2), Philadelphia (5-2), Washington (2-5), Carolina and Minnesota (7-1) remaining on their schedule.
A loss to the Chargers on Sunday will give the Giants their fourth straight loss in a row, and put them on the outside of the postseason picture looking in. Three weeks ago it was comical to think the Giants would find themselves in this position. But because of their recent slide, the playoffs will start a little earlier for Big Blue this season. It's just that no one thought they would start in Week 9.
