NFL Playoff Scenarios: Fringe Teams That Stand No Chance of Getting in

It seems as if the New York Giants and Oakland Raiders do not want to make it into the NFL playoffs.

I'll take it one step further though; neither team deserves to be in the playoffs.

Every year only 12 teams get the shot and obviously only one team can make it out with the Lombardi Trophy.

You have to be a good team to make the playoffs. Obviously there are years where a bad team will squeak in, especially if one of the divisions is really weak, but most of the time the teams that are in deserve the chance to fight for the Super Bowl.

Neither the Giants or Raiders deserve that.

Right now they are both fringe playoff teams that still have a shot, but I don't see either team making the playoffs this year.

Let's break it down:

New York Giants

I am convinced that the Giants do not want to make the playoffs and if they don't they will have only themselves to blame.

After beating the Dallas Cowboys 37-34 it looked like the Giants were back on track. They had the lowly Washington Redskins coming into town and a win would put them at a very promising 8-6.

They just needed to win, but instead they blew it and lost 23-10. 

Eli Manning came up extremely small, going 23-of-40 with no touchdowns and three interceptions.

The loss puts them at 7-7 and with both the Seahawks and Lions winning, the wild-card spot is fading away.

That means the Giants will most likely have to rely on winning the division to get in. The Cowboys won though, which puts them a game up at 8-6.

They will face off to end the season, but the strength of schedule favors Dallas.

In the end, I don't see the Giants getting in.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders had an excellent shot to tie for the division lead with the Broncos, but they let that slip away with a loss to the inconsistent Detroit Lions.

The Broncos ended up losing to the Patriots, so with a win the Raiders could have tied them up for the AFC West lead at 8-6.

Instead, they allowed Matthew Stafford to drive the ball 98 yards, find Calvin Johnson in the end zone for the go-ahead score with 39 seconds left and gave away the game 28-27.

They still find themselves behind the Broncos in the division and now they are three games out of the final AFC wild-card spot.

Both teams must face the Chiefs, who just beat the undefeated Packers, but the Broncos have the Bills as their other matchup compared to San Diego for the Raiders.

Either way, the Raiders aren't good enough to get in. While Carson Palmer is a good quarterback, he just doesn't have that "it" factor anymore.

He missed two wide-open passes against the Lions and at least one of them would have been a touchdown, which would have been the difference between a win and a loss.

I'd take the Broncos defense over the Raiders defense as well, who can't seem to stop the running game.

This team doesn't deserve to get in and I don't think they will.