The New York Giants (5-7) are remarkably the fourth overall seed in the NFC right now and, as a division leader, would host a postseason game in the wild card round of the NFL Playoffs if they started this week.
In the new NFL playoff format, seven teams in each conference will qualify for the postseason — four division winners and three wild cards. Only the team with the best overall record in the conference would draw a first round bye. They others get thrown into the fray.
The Giants, ironically, would host the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round. New York defeated Seattle this past Sunday, 17-12, at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Currently in the NFC, the New Orleans Saints (10-2) are the top seed and would draw the bye. The wild card round would be as such: Minnesota (7) at Green Bay (2), Tampa Bay (6) at L.A. Rams (3) and Seattle (5) at N.Y. Giants (4).
The Giants have not hosted a postseason game since January 8, 2012 when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 24-2, in the wild card round en route to their Super Bowl XLVI victory. To date, it is the only postseason game to be played at MetLife Stadium, which opened in 2010.
If the Giants were to defeat Seattle in this hypothetical scenario, they would only host a home game the rest of the way if they were paired up against a wild card team.
The Giants have not qualified for the NFL Playoffs since the 2016 season, when they finished 11-5 under head coach Ben McAdoo. They lost to Green Bay in the wild card round.
After that game, the Giants went 12-36 over the next three seasons and then opened this season 1-7 before going on a four-game winning streak that has jettisoned them into first place in the NFC East with four games remaining in the season.
The Giants can also qualify for the playoffs via the wild card, but that is an unlikely scenario that has them and another NFC East team winning out their schedules. Yesterday, the Giants’ victory over the Seahawks was the first one over a team with a winning record by and NFC East team this year.
[lawrence-related id=660979,660973,660969]