New York Giants’ 2021 Playoff Odds Are Slim With Difficult Schedule, Loss To Washington

The 2021 NFL season is only eight days old, and the New York Giants’ playoff chances are already dwindling. A devastating 30-29 loss against the Washington Football Team on “Thursday Night Football” makes it increasingly difficult for the Giants to end their five-year postseason drought.

New York has an 0-2 record for a fifth straight season. None of the 11 teams that started 0-2 in 2020 made the playoffs, even with the league’s expanded postseason field.

With the rest of the Week 2 games still yet to be played, the Giants have +500 odds to make the playoffs at DraftKings Sportsbook. New York is given -750 odds to miss the postseason and +850 odds to win the NFC East.

Washington made a field goal as time expired to defeat the Giants, who were undone by bad penalties and settling for five field goals of their own. Daniel Jones played well with a 102.2 passer rating, 249 passing yards, 95 rushing yards and no turnovers.

Jones was sacked four times behind an offensive line that continues to be ineffective for significant stretches. New York’s defense has been disappointing, allowing 57 points in two games.

“I’ve seen it go one of two ways: We can either fix it now and not do like we’ve done in the past and wait until half the season and try to turn it on,” Giants receiver Sterling Shepard told reporters. “We have to fix it right now. This loss doesn’t define our season.”

The Giants have the NFL’s most difficult remaining schedule, based on the winning percentages of their upcoming opponents. That can be misleading, considering most of the league has only played one game, but New York’s schedule appears far from easy.

The Week 3 matchup at home against the Atlanta Falcons is a virtual must-win for the Giants. New York plays on the road against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4 and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5. The Giants will host the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers in Week 6 and Week 7, respectively.

Two of New York’s next three games are on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who faced off in the Super Bowl.

Since winning the Super Bowl in 2011, the Giants have made one postseason appearance. The Green Bay Packers blew out New York 38-13 in the first round of the playoffs during the 2016 season.