:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52505061/630439646.0.jpeg)
Who will the New York Giants play in the first round of the NFL playoffs? That is what every Giants fan wants to know heading into Week 17. We won’t find out, of course, until the games are concluded. The NFL, though, has made figuring out all the potential scenarios simple.
Below, a handy chart from the league listing the potential results and how the seeds would then line up. The Giants are locked into the No. 5 seed. On Wild-Card Weekend, they will face whichever team ends up seeded No. 4.
Here are all the possible NFC playoff seeds based on the winners in the 4 Week 17 games that will affect seeding (assumes no ties) pic.twitter.com/UCiUcV0QB1
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) December 29, 2016
Look at the chart and you see the most likely scenario for the Giants is a trip to the Pacific Northwest to face the Seattle Seahawks. That is the result in eight of the 16 scenarios (50 percent). The Giants have a 25 percent chance of ending up at Lambeau Field facing the Green Bay Packers, and a 12.5 percent chance of facing either the Atlanta Falcons or Detroit Lions.
Earlier in the week, defensive captain Jonathan Casillas said the Giants should “should embrace whoever we get Week 1 or for the wild card.”
Wednesday, coach Ben McAdoo deflected the question when asked if he had a preferred playoff opponent.
“We’re excited to play Washington this week,” he said. “We have some coaches upstairs that are working on some things for down the road. We’ll be ready to play whoever we play in that 17th game.”
Whoever it ends up being against.