NFL power rankings, Week 14: Texans rise, Packers fade
. 4-8. Previous: . New York Giants. 27. team. 31
Recap: Pat Shurmur’s club looked to bounce back from last year’s disastrous second half at Philadelphia and hoped to end the Chicago Bears’ five-game winning streak. And thanks to some opportunistic defense and a little razzle dazzle, New York won for the third time in its last four outings. Linebacker Alec Ogletree had a pair of interceptions, one of those returned 28 yards for a touchdown for the first score of the game. Odell Beckham Jr. caught one TD pass and threw another to teammate Russell Shepard. And running back Saquon Barkley continues his big rookie year, running 24 times for 125 yards in the upset victory.
Next Week: The Giants take a winless divisional record (0-4) into their appearance at FedExField to face a Redskins’ team that defeated them earlier this season, 20-13, in Week 8 at East Rutherford. A year ago on Thanksgiving night, New York fell at Washington, 20-10. Big Blue is 2-4 in its last six meetings in this rivalry.
Playoff hopes: There was talk this past week that Eli Manning could return as the team’s starting quarterback in 2019. What effect that has on this team for the remainder of this season is anyone’s guess. But this is a team playing better football as of late. And it’s more than capable of making a few teams nervous down the stretch.
Next: No. 26