Giants vs. Seahawks 2017, Week 7: Giants are 5.5-point underdogs

The 1-5 New York Giants need to “start stacking” victories. That was how coach Ben McAdoo put the situation after the Giants got their first one on Sunday, defeating the Denver Broncos, 23-10.

If they are going to accomplish stacking a second victory on top of last week’s unexpected one in Denver, the Giants will do it this Sunday as 5-5-point underdogs at home against the 3-2 Seattle Seahawks.

No team has ever made the playoffs after starting the season 0-5. Can the Giants be the first?

FiveThirtyEight uses its predictive formula to give the Giants a 4 percent chance. Football Outsiders used 50,000 simulations and came up with a 0.7 percent chance the Giants could be a playoff team. ESPN’s Football Power Index puts the chance at barely above 2 percent. PlayoffStatus.com puts the probability at 1 percent.

So, no matter how you slice it no one is giving the Giants much of a chance of doing something unprecedented in the NFL.

The Giants have their bye week after Sunday’s game. A win Sunday would put them at 2-5, perhaps giving them a glimmer of hope entering the second half of their season.

While no team has made the playoffs with an 0-5 start, there have been playoff teams that had similar winless streaks during the season.

• The 2014 Carolina Panthers lost six straight, but won the NFC South with a 7-8-1 record.
• The 2013 Green Bay Packers had an 0-4-1 stretch, but made the playoffs at 8-7-1.
• The 2010 Seahawks lost five of six and seven of nine, but won the NFC West at 7-9.

McAdoo was realistic about where the Giants are.

“We have a great locker room full of players and all they want to do is win. They’re not selfish in nature. They’re a team-first outfit downstairs. It’s great to get the first one. Now, we have to start stacking them,” he said. “But, this is pro sports. Not everybody gets a ribbon.”