Dallas Cowboys’ win makes playoff bye a tough get for Giants
Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after scoring a touchdown by jumping into a Salvation Army red kettle during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium on December 18, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. Credit: Getty Images / Tom Pennington
The good news, in a way, is that the Giants remain the only team to have beaten the Cowboys. It’s always nice to be unique.
The bad news is that Dallas’ win over the Bucs on Sunday night dimmed the Giants’ chances of winning the NFC East even further. The 10-4 Giants trail the 12-2 Cowboys by two games with two remaining, leaving them no margin for error if they hope to get a home playoff game and the playoff bye that almost certainly will come with the division crown.
To be specific, the Giants need to win in Philadelphia on Thursday night and at Washington on Jan. 1, while the Cowboys would have to lose at home to the Lions on Dec. 26 and then lose at Philadelphia on Jan. 1. That would land both teams at 12-4 for the regular season and, as all Giants fans are very aware, the Giants hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Back to some good news, though. Dallas’ win was Tampa Bay’s loss, which means that the Giants are in much better position to get into the playoffs and win the top wildcard spot as the number 5 seed.
If Washington loses to Carolina on Monday night, the Giants would be a virtual lock to make the playoffs. They still would not clinch, though, according to the NFL, because of complicated potential tiebreakers among a bunch of teams all tied at 10 wins.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
