EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Any double-digit number stands out when peering at the NFL standings. In a league where each team plays only 16 games in the regular season, 10 or more wins is pretty good.
Conversely, 10 or more losses is pretty bad, a fact of which the New York Giants are aware. They've fallen into this dubious category each of the past two years.
The Giants accomplished the better of the two on Sunday when they reached double-digit victories with a 17-6 win over the Detroit Lions. It's the first time they had 10 or more wins since 2010. A playoff berth isn’t certain yet, but it seemingly sits on the horizon. A stunning 96 percent of teams to win 10 or more games have qualified for the postseason since the current playoff format was instituted in 1990, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Unfortunately, that 2010 Giants team was the anomaly. They make up part of that 4 percent that didn't make the playoffs with 10 or more victories.
But 10 wins with two games remaining currently puts the Giants in an enviable spot. And 10 wins means something to this Giants team -- it's the sign of a successful season. They won 12 games combined in the previous two seasons, and are currently mired in a four-year playoff drought.
“Yeah, it’s huge,” linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. “The last few years with the Giants we haven’t been too good. ... It’s good to have that win column a lot higher than the loss column.
“But it’s all about the playoffs. However many wins we need to get to the playoffs, that’s what we want. If 12 is the number, so be it. If 11 is the number, so be it.”
The playoff drought seems likely to end, either with a victory in Philadelphia or Washington, or with a little help. The Giants (10-4) have multiple ways to keep playing into the New Year. It’s likely to happen.
They’ve already accomplished something through 15 weeks.
"Yeah, it’s better than losing 10, I’ll tell you that much," said Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who went 6-10 in each of his first two professional seasons. “We’re on the right pace. Like I said, just one game at a time. We have great opportunity in front of us going against two very good teams who are also battling themselves. It’s not going to be an easy road for us but we’ll take the road less traveled all the time.”
Just to put in perspective how difficult it is to win 10 games, the Giants have now done it just eight times in the past 23 years. And that’s with some pretty good teams and a lot of Eli Manning along the way.
This team now falls into that category, with a defense that is improving and has allowed 13 points in the past two games combined. They didn’t allow a touchdown on Sunday, and have now played seven straight quarters without allowing a TD.
They're doing some good things. That’s how they’ve reached 10 wins. That’s what makes this such a significant accomplishment.
“It’s huge. Any time you get 10 wins in any season, it’s not an easy thing to do, not for any team and especially not in this division, in this conference, in this city,” said wide receiver Victor Cruz, who had a key 29-yard reception in Sunday’s win. “To do it here and have 10 wins and be in a position to hold our destiny and make it to the postseason, that is exactly where we want to be.”
The Giants are currently in the wild-card lead in the NFC. They need either one more victory or losses from the Redskins and Packers to clinch a playoff spot.
They've put fate in their own hands. And just because they reached 10 wins, it doesn’t mean they’re satisfied or done. They want more.
“I want to get 12,” linebacker Devon Kennard said.
Twelve would unequivocally make this an eye-opening season. It would make the Giants -- if they aren’t already -- a team nobody would want to face in the playoffs.
No matter how you parse it, this team is headed in the right direction. Their defense undoubtedly makes them dangerous. With the track record of their quarterback, they could be downright scary.
“I feel like since I’ve been young, they always say, ‘Once you get Eli to the playoffs, he can roll them off. He can be the Manning that everyone thinks he is or whatever,’” Casillas said. “That’s our goal. Our goal was always to get to the playoffs.”
Ten wins was an accomplishment and a start, but it may not be the endpoint.