NFL Standings 2015: New York Giants Now Favorites to Win NFC East?
After one of the most frustrating 0-2 starts to a season ever, the New York Giants have rebounded with consecutive victories to pull back to .500. Two weeks ago the Giants were two and a half games behind the Dallas Cowboys with two fourth quarter blown leads, but have now pulled even in the win department.
We've all seen this story before. The Giants look dead in the water only to rise up and stun everyone when it matters most, in the end. In 2007 the Giants began the season 0-2 only to finish 10-6 as a wild card and eventually win the Super Bowl. Even the 2011 championship team had its unbearable moments for Tom Coughlin's squad. That year the Giants were embarrassed by the Washington Redskins on opening day, and later even had a four game losing streak pulling their record to 6-6.
Now 2-2, the Giants are the healthiest and most reliable team in the NFC East.
The Cowboys, who won the division last season, have been completely decimated with injuries to key players. There's still no definitive return for Tony Romo or Dez Bryant, Sean Lee is injured, their cornerbacks are hurting, and now Lance Dunbar is out for the season with an ACL tear.
The Giants offensive line has far exceeded expectations. In 2013 Eli Manning had a sack percentage of 6.6, and last season it was 4.5 percent. So far after four games of play, Manning is only getting sacked 2.7 percent, the lowest of his career. Speaking of Manning, there's no doubt he has driven plenty of Giants fans crazy in the past with his bizarre throws and high interception rates. Manning had led the league in picks three times: 2007, 2010, 2013. So far Manning has seven touchdown passes to just one interception this year.
Two of the last three times the Giants have made the playoffs they have won the Super Bowl.
Even without Jason Pierre-Paul on the field, the Giants currently rank first in rush defense. The secondary however has been a huge concern as the Giants rank dead last in passing yards allowed. Victor Cruz is still nursing an injured calf, but Rueben Randle has been filling his void somewhat with Odell Beckham clearly now the No. 1 option in East Rutherford.
Just like 2011, the Giants have to seize the moment and take advantage of an extremely weak division. The Cowboys are hurting, the Redskins are inconsistent, and the Philadelphia Eagles had one of the weirdest offseason in recent memory. Coming off a year in which the Eagles cut DeSean Jackson, they once again lost their best wide receiver, this time Jeremy Maclin. Releasing Evan Mathis has proven to be detrimental for Chip Kelly's team. The Eagles even traded away LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles this offseason. The Eagles' problems have been self inflicted, but what's done is done.
The Giants have to take advantage of the upcoming schedule. The next five games for the Giants will all be against teams that don't have a winning record. Ideally the Giants should win at least four of those games to improve their record to 6-3 after nine games of play. Two of those five games will be against divisional teams (Cowboys and Eagles) so this stretch of the season is critical. In Week 10 the Giants face the New England Patriots at home in a classic Coughlin vs. Bill Belichick duel.
Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1
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