Don’t start throwing dirt on the Giants just yet.

They are still legitimate playoff contenders. Really. Just look at the competition……….

Assuming that New Orleans, Arizona and Minnesota win their respective divisions (which they should), and either Dallas or Philadelphia wins the East and the other gets a wildcard (which is likely), the rest of the playoff-potentials are not very good.

Outside of Atlanta (5-3), who happens to the be the Giants’ next opponent, the NFC does not have many contenders. None that should qualify for the playoffs instead of the Giants, anyway.

San Francisco (3-5)? They just lost at home to Tennessee. Green Bay (4-4)? They were just embarrassed by the lowly Bucs. Chicago (4-4)? Well, they are just not that good…..Seattle and Carolina are both 3-5, Washington is 2-6 and Tampa, St.Louis and Detroit only have one win apiece.

The season comes down to this: beat Atlanta head-to-head and simply hope they don’t end up with more wins than the Giants.

Coughlin’s final quote before the break……..

“…..we really believe. I think you have to. Yes, we are not going to play this weekend, so the numbers don’t stay the same. But the leader in our division has six wins. Philadelphia has five. We have seven games to go when we come back. And all you need is a chance and to have an opportunity. And that is what we really believe – we will have a chance.”