For the Commanders and Giants, the playoffs start on Sunday
The New York Giants and Washington Commanders play for the second time in three weeks on Sunday. This time, it’s essentially a playoff game.
No need to wait until month for the postseason. It’s coming on Sunday night.
Yes, for the New York Giants and Washington Commanders, the playoffs begin in earnest when the two meet for the second time in three weeks, with the venue switching to FedEx Field.
After tying in Week 13, both sit at 7-5-1. Going into the weekend, the Commanders and Giants are the NFC’s sixth and seventh seeds, respectively. The Seattle Seahawks sit eighth, now at 7-7 after losing decisively on Thursday night to the San Francisco 49ers.
For both New York and Washington, a victory almost assures them of a postseason berth. While anything is possible, getting to nine wins seems a playoff ticket, especially considering they’d win all deadlocks with other nine-win teams via their tie.
To that point, the Seahawks and ninth-place Detroit Lions would need to win out to reach 10 wins, and nobody behind Detroit has any realistic chance of making a push.
Looking at 538’s model, the Commanders have a 78 percent chance of making the playoffs. However, a loss to the Giants plummets those odds to 42 percent while a win moves increases them to 93 percent. Meanwhile, New York sits at 52 percent. A loss and the odds shift to 36 percent but a victory launches it to 91 percent.
Of course, Sunday night’s winner will have eight victories and only need one more to all but clinch a playoff berth.
Glancing at the Giants’ schedule, the most-likely win is when they host the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17, as they have road trips to Minnesota and Philadelphia on before and after. The Commanders have a pair of home games to finish their season, with the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys visiting. While Dallas is terrific, there’s a good chance the Cowboys are resting starters come Week 18 in preparation for the Wild Card round.
Over the years, New York and Washington have played some memorable games. The 1986 NFC Championship Game comes to mind. But few in recent memory have had such an impact.
On Sunday, the Giants and Commanders will meet once more.
For the winner, it’s elation and likely an 18th game. For the loser? The 18th green.