The NFC East jokes just keep rolling in. At least maybe now that the Cowboys are 4-9 we can bury one of these sorry squads.
But there's one team that could be sitting pretty in the NFC East, and that's the New York Giants. They're a 5-7 mess as they head into their matchup in Miami on Monday night but easily could be 10-2 and vying for a playoff bye. Let's look back on some of their epic fails this season:
Week 1 at Cowboys
They're going to win: With 1:34 remaining, the Giants were stopped the 1 and settled for a Josh Brown field goal to make the score 26-20. The controversial third-down play call (an Eli Manning pass which ended up incomplete) left Dallas way too much time. A run play could have iced the game with a touchdown or at least whittled down the clock.
Why they didn't: Dallas quarterback Tony Romo threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten with 7 seconds left, and the Cowboys overcame three turnovers to beat the Giants, 27-26. The Cowboys drove 72 yards in 1:27.
Week 2 vs. Falcons
They're going to win: Big Blue appeared headed for another game-clinching score when it was up 20-10 after a run of 35 yards got the Giants into field-goal range. With 4:27 left, New York once again passed inside the red zone (this time from the 8).
Why they didn't: Manning was sacked by Kroy Biermann and fumbled at the Atlanta 9. Falcons QB Matt Ryan immediately hit an uncovered tight end Jacob Tamme for 41 yards. The Falcons scored twice in the final four minutes to upend the Giants, 24-20.
Week 8 at Saints
They're going to win: After falling behind 42-28 and looking like they'd get run out of the building, the Giants reeled off 21 straight points to start the fourth quarter on two Manning-to-Dwayne Harris touchdowns and a Trumaine McBridge interception for score.
Why they didn't: The Giants allowed the game-tying touchdown to C.J. Spiller with 36 seconds remaining, then managed to go three-and-out and burn just 10 seconds off the clock. On the ensuing punt, a face-mask penalty on Brad Wing put the Saints in position to kick the game-winning 50-yard field goal as time expired. Saints 52, Giants 49.
Week 10 vs. Patriots
They're going to win: You would have thought the Giants would have learned from their Week 1 clock mistake. New York orchestrated a 15-play, 86-yard big-boy drive and took a 26-24 lead on a field goal, but there was some controversy when a catch by Odell Beckham Jr. was originally ruled a touchdown but was overturned on replay. Still, the Giants threw on first and second downs, which left more time for the Pats.
Why they didn't: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, after having an interception dropped by Landon Collins, converted a fourth down and got the Patriots into field-goal range with 6 seconds left. Stephen Gostkowsi nailed a 54-yard field goal with 1 second left. Giants lose, 27-26.
Week 13 vs. Jets
They're going to win: Up 20-10, the Giants started a 17-play march that took up almost half the fourth quarter. It was a commanding drive, and on fourth down from the Jets 4, Tom Coughlin decided to go for it and put the game away rather than take the easy field-goal attempt.
Why they didn't: Manning was intercepted on the fourth-down play. The Jets kicked a field goal on their next drive, then tied the score at 20-20 with 2:13 remaining. The game went to overtime, where the Jets kicked a field goal to take the lead, then Brown missed a 48-yard attempt that would have extended the extra period. Jets 23, Giants 20.
And that, folks, is how you go from potential 10-2 powerhouse to 5-7 middling mess.
