As we understand it, the Cowboys defeated the Saints on Saturday night. Because we have Time Warner Cable, we could not watch this game on TV without having to trek through the snow to a bar. However, because the universe makes no sense, we are able to watch the NFL Network (for as long as our eyes can handle it, at least) on our freaking cell phone, where it appeared that the team in the white jerseys was celebrating when the game ended. Assuming those blurry pixels really were Tony Romo pumping his fist, that’s bad news for the Giants.
The Giants entered the weekend a game behind Dallas, so a Cowboys loss to previously undefeated New Orleans would have meant that the Giants could have controlled their own destiny. In fact, they could have been in position for a playoff spot as early as tonight. Now? Not so much. Mathematically, the Giants can afford to lose another game, assuming the Cowboys lose out. But realistically, every game is a must-win now — particularly if that game is against 4–9 Washington.
That 4–9 record, though, is a little deceptive. Last week, the Redskins beat the Raiders in Oakland. In their three games before that, they took New Orleans to overtime (but lost), were tied with Philly with under two minutes left (but lost), and were winning 6–0 at Dallas with under three minutes left (but ultimately lost that one, too). And before that, they beat Denver, who humiliated the Giants on Thanksgiving night.
Now, Jason Campbell is still Jason Campbell, and that’ll be a welcome sight for the Giants’ defense, which has faced a pretty steady stream of good quarterbacks over the past two months. And we can’t imagine that the Giants would take any opponent lightly at this stage in the season. Because if they do, they’ll be joining the Jets in the “we need a miracle” club.