Week 16 Power Rankings: New York Giants Never Do It the Easy Way

The New York Giants never seem to do anything the easy way.

Going into Week 15, the Giants’ clinching scenario in the NFC East involved beating either the Washington Redskins or New York Jets, then beating the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17. But after a 23-10 loss to the Redskins at MetLife Stadium that was nowhere near that close of a game, the Giants' backs are against the wall.

New York must win it final two games to have a shot at the postseason party as the division champion. If the Giants finish 8-8, they either lose the division to the Dallas Cowboys, if the Cowboys finish 9-7, or—incredibly—the Philadelphia Eagles, if the Eagles can win out to get to 8-8.

It seems like forever ago that the Giants were 6-2, leading the division by two games and coming off a huge win at Foxborough over the New England Patriots.

Now, in the midst of yet another second-half swoon, desperation time has arrived.

So can Big Blue pull it off? Can the Giants right the ship in time to sneak into the playoffs?

Based on the sense of urgency displayed by the team in the loss to Washington, I’m dubious. It is almost unfathomable that a team could come out so flat for a game that was so meaningful, particularly against a team that—while already out of playoff contention—had beaten them convincingly on the opening Sunday of the season.

But what happened to the G-Men on Sunday was par for the course. There were nine games pitting teams with winning records against teams with losing records. So of course it stands to reason that the better teams—based on standings, anyway—were 2-7 in those games, right?

The New Orleans Saints, with their big win at Minnesota, and the Cincinnati Bengals, who won at St. Louis, were the only teams to buck that trend.

The Green Bay Packers had their 19-game winning streak snapped at Kansas City. The Baltimore Ravens got pummeled at San Diego. T.J. Yates suddenly looked like a rookie fifth-round draft pick as the Houston Texans fell to Carolina.

The New York Jets were humiliated at Philadelphia, both by the Eagles and by Santonio Holmes’ inexplicable decision to celebrate the touchdown that got the Jets back to within 18 points.

The Giants were on that list, getting hammered by Washington. The Chicago Bears continued their post-Jay Cutler, post-Matt Forte slide in a loss to Seattle.

And the Tennessee Titans did what no team wanted to do this season—become the first victim of the Indianapolis Colts.

So through 15 weeks, here’s how I see the NFL. These rankings reflect an entire season's work and are not based merely on the flavor of the day (all games Sunday unless otherwise noted):

Team/Record	Pvs	Last Week	Next Week
1. Green Bay (13-1)	1	Lost at Kansas City 19-14	vs. Chicago
2. San Francisco (11-3)	3	Beat Pittsburgh 20-3 (Monday)	at Seattle (Saturday)
3. New England (11-3)	5	Won at Denver 41-23	vs. Miami (Saturday)
4. New Orleans (11-3)	4	Won at Minnesota 42-20	vs. Atlanta (Monday)
5. Baltimore (10-4)	2	Lost at San Diego 34-14	vs. Cleveland (Saturday)
6. Houston (10-4)	6	Lost to Carolina 28-13	at Indianapolis (Thursday)
7. Pittsburgh (10-4)	7	Lost at San Francisco 20-3 (Monday)	vs. St. Louis (Saturday)
8. Detroit (9-5)	8	Won at Oakland 28-27	vs. San Diego (Saturday)
9. Atlanta (9-5)	11	Beat Jacksonville 41-14 (Thursday)	at New Orleans (Monday)
10. Dallas (8-6)	12	Won at Tampa Bay 31-15 (Saturday)	vs. Philadelphia (Saturday)
11. N.Y. Jets (8-6)	9	Lost at Philadelphia 45-19	vs. N.Y. Giants (Saturday)
12. Chicago (7-7)	10	Lost to Seattle 38-14	at Green Bay
13. Seattle (7-7)	18	Won at Chicago 38-14	vs. San Francisco (Saturday)
14. San Diego (7-7)	19	Beat Baltimore 34-14	at Detroit (Saturday)
15. Cincinnati (8-6)	16	Won at St. Louis 20-13	vs. Arizona (Saturday)
16. Tennessee (7-7)	13	Lost at Indianapolis 27-13	vs. Jacksonville (Saturday)
17. N.Y. Giants (7-7)	15	Lost to Washington 23-10	at N.Y. Jets (Saturday)
18. Denver (8-6)	14	Lost to New England 41-23	at Buffalo (Saturday)
19. Philadelphia (6-8)	21	Beat N.Y. Jets 45-19	at Dallas (Saturday)
20. Oakland (7-7)	17	Lost to Detroit 28-27	at Kansas City (Saturday)
21. Arizona (7-7)	22	Beat Cleveland 20-17 (OT)	at Cincinnati (Saturday)
22. Miami (5-9)	23	Won at Buffalo 30-23	at New England (Saturday)
23. Buffalo (5-9)	20	Lost to Miami 30-23	vs. Denver (Saturday)
24. Carolina (5-9)	26	Won at Houston 28-13	vs. Tampa Bay (Saturday)
25. Kansas City (6-8)	28	Beat Green Bay 19-14	vs. Oakland (Saturday)
26. Washington (5-9)	25	Won at N.Y. Giants 23-10	vs. Minnesota (Saturday)
27, Jacksonville (4-10)	24	Lost at Atlanta 41-14 (Thursday)	at Tennessee (Saturday)
28. Cleveland (4-10)	27	Lost at Arizona 20-17 (OT)	at Baltimore (Saturday)
29. Tampa Bay (4-10)	29	Lost to Dallas 31-15 (Saturday)	at Carolina (Saturday)
30, Minnesota (2-12)	30	Lost to New Orleans 42-20	at Washington (Saturday)
31. St. Louis (2-12)	31	Lost to Cincinnati 20-13	at Pittsburgh (Saturday)
32. Indianapolis (1-13)	32	Beat Tennessee 27-13	vs. Houston (Thursday)