Giants’ playoff chances take huge hit with loss to Arizona

“First-place New York Giants.” Writing that was nice while it lasted, but that’s no longer the case after the worst-case scenario unfolded for the Giants on Sunday.

The offensively-challenged Giants were pummeled by the Arizona Cardinals, 26-7. The other three teams in the NFC East won their games.

• The Washington Football Team (6-7) took over sole possession of the division lead with a 23-15 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
• The Dallas Cowboys took out a season’s worth of frustrations on the hapless Cincinnati Bengals in a 30-7 rout.
• The Philadelphia Eagles marked the debut of Jalen Hurts as their starting quarterback with a 24-21 upset of the New Orleans Saints.

So, not only did the Giants fall out of first place, but the Eagles and Cowboys closed ground on them.

Before Sunday, the various statistical models that predict playoff odds had the Giants with a more than 50 percent chance of winning the NFC East. No longer.

• Football Outsiders now gives the Giants just a 22.8 percent chance of winning the division, a drop of 29.8 percentage points from last week’s 52.6 percent. Washington is listed with a 68.2 percent chance of winning the division.
• ESPN’s Football Power Index drops the Giants from a 57.2 percent chance to 24.4 percent, a 32.8 percent fall. FPI has Washington with a 68.6 percent chance of being division champion.
• FiveThirtyEight drops the Giants from 54 to 15 percent, a 39 percent drop. Washington is given a 74 percent chance of winning the division

The dream of going from 0-5 to NFC East champions isn’t dead. It certainly, though, took a massive hit on Sunday.

2021 NFL Draft order

No longer being in first place in the division means the Giants would no longer have to wait until 19th to make their first selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. As of today, the Giants would pick No. 10 overall.

Here is the top 10, per Tankathon:

It’s still possible for the Giants to end up picking anywhere from No. 4 to No. 19.