NFC playoff picture: Giants remain in good position despite loss to Minnesota Vikings

Victory would have clinched spot for New York

The New York Giants missed an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2016 with Sunday’s last-second 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The 8-6-1 Giants, though, remain in good position to reach the postseason. FiveThirtyEight now lists the Giants with a 90 percent chance of reaching the playoffs after the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders all lost on Saturday.

If the Giants can win one of their final two games against either the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17 or Philadelphia Eagles in Week 18 they will reach the playoffs.

The Giants currently hold a 1.5-game lead over the Seahawks and Lions with two games to play. If the Giants get to nine wins, they will finish ahead Seattle and Detroit regardless of what those teams do over the final two weeks. The Seahawks lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 24-10 on Saturday and the Lions lost to the Carolina Panthers 37-23 The Giants also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over the 7-7-1 Commanders, who lost to the San Francisco 49ers 37-20.

“We’re disappointed we lost,” said quarterback Daniel Jones. “That [missing a chance to clinch] is not something we were focused on.”

The current NFC playoff standings that concern the Giants are as follows:

No. 6. Giants, 8-6-1
No. 7. Commanders, 7-7-1
No. 8 (out of playoffs) Seahawks, 7-8
No. 9 (out of playoffs) Lions, 7-8