Giants' Rooting Guide for NFL Playoff Implications of Week 15

The New York Giants' playoff hopes took a hit to the chin again last week, but a Week 15 matchup against the Washington Commanders could give their postseason dreams renewed life.

After a 7-2 start under new head coach Brian Daboll, the Giants were on the path to being a playoff lock. Unfortunately, they are 0-3-1 since that torrid run.

The state of the NFC could help them out. The conference has four teams that have already won double-digit games and then a sizable middle class. Eight teams have between five and seven wins.

FiveThirtyEight's projections give Daboll's team a 52 percent chance to make the playoffs. The number goes up to 90 percent with a win over the Commanders this week. With a loss, it plummets to 35 percent.

Ultimately, the Giants have to come through in a big spot, but they can still get some help from other results around the league. Here are three games that Giants fans should be keeping an eye on.

This game can help the Giants more than any other because the streaking Detroit Lions are one of the biggest threats to a playoff spot and they could lose to an AFC team this week.

The Lions started the season 1-6 and looked like anything but a playoff team. However, Dan Campbell has the team playing much better now, and they've gone 5-1 since, resurrecting their record to 6-7 and knocking on the door of the playoffs.

Now, they'll travel to a Jets team that is going to have to turn the reins back over to Zach Wilson. The former second-overall pick played poorly enough to be benched in favor of Mike White, who is out with a rib injury.

Wilson has thrown just four touchdowns to five interceptions across seven starts this season. Despite his lackluster play, the Jets are 5-2 in the games he has started.

That's good news for Giants fans who are going to have hold their nose and root for the other team that calls MetLife Stadium home.

The clash of the Jets defense, which ranks third in yards allowed per play, and the Lions offense, which ranks seventh in the metric, could be pivotal.

Despite a 6-7 record, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the driver's seat of the NFC South.

That means they are unlikely to factor into the Giants' wildcard hopes, but if any of the other teams in the division happen to catch fire to close out the season they could all of a sudden be a factor.

Fortunately for the Giants, that scenario is less likely as the Bucs prepare to play the Bengals this week. The Bengals appear to be rounding into shape at the right time. They are on a five-game winning streak that includes wins over the Titans and Chiefs, both of which appear to be headed to the playoffs.

Conversely, the Bucs' struggles hit a new low with a 35-7 blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers. They've lost two of their last three coming out of their bye week.

The defense that just gave up over 400 yards to an offense led by Brock Purdy is now going to be tasked with stopping Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase.

That's not a great recipe for success, but it does create the potential for more margin of error for the Giants down the stretch.

The Green Bay Packers have just an 8 percent chance to make the playoffs according to FiveThirtyEight's projections. But even those odds aren't completely comforting talking about a team that won 13 games last year and still has Aaron Rodgers at the helm.

However, a loss in Week 14 against the 4-9 Rams would feel like the final dagger in the playoff hopes of Rodgers and Co. The Packers feel like the most dangerous of a group of three teams that sit at 5-8, but falling to 5-9 would be a season-ender.

The team has acquitted itself nicely during a two-game road stretch. They lost to the NFC-leading Philadelphia Eagles 40-33 then beat the Chicago Bears 28-19 before heading into a bye week to regroup.

Fortunately for the Giants, the Rams are showing signs of life and could help them out.

Injuries at quarterback have forced them to turn things over to Baker Mayfield. The former No. 1 pick had his best game of the season just 48 hours into being a Ram, and he led a 98-yard drive to beat the Raiders on Thursday Night Football.

Ultimately, this game comes down to who cares at this point. This time last year both of these teams were in full-on pursuit of the Lombardi Trophy. Giants fans might want to take solace in the fact that this is Mayfield's only chance to salvage his value as he heads into free agency next season.

That could be enough to help the Rams officially eliminate the Packers.