Giants’ daunting schedule will reveal if they’re legitimate playoff contenders

Now it really gets difficult. 

The Giants didn’t lose their grip on first place in the NFC East by falling 24-21 to the Commanders, but they did squander a chance to add breathing room against the second-worst opponent on the schedule between this week and New Year’s Day. 

Considering the Giants have built their 5-3-1 record by beating teams with a combined .317 winning percentage, the jump over the next six games to a .607 level of competition sounds daunting. 

“We don’t live in that scared world,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “I said it was an important game before the game for that very reason, but now we don’t sit back and go, ‘We have to beat a heavyweight.’” 

And the first game of 2027 might be the most important of all if the Cowboys can get enough defensive stops and wins that Week 17 in Dallas is what decides the NFC East. 

“We want all the smoke with all those teams,” edge Abdul Carter said. “We’re not ducking no smoke. Everybody’s going to get our best. There’s no team that we’re looking at like, ‘Oh, my goodness.’ No. We’re going to play every team the same way.” 

How do the Giants avoid seeing their season go up in flames when their probability to reach the playoffs dropped from a potential 78 percent by beating the Commanders down to 50 percent with the loss? 

“I think we’ll respond fine,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said, “but if we want to go where we want to, we have to win games like this.” 

Here’s a look at the gauntlet ahead that will either prove right or wrong the critics who believe the Giants are phonies propped up by a bad division and soft schedule: 

Jaguars (6-2): Ranked No. 4 in scoring offense and No. 2 in scoring defense and No. 3 in both most takeaways and fewest giveaways, the Jaguars started the week with three all-in trades to fuel Super Bowl aspirations. 

“Every one of these games is going to be hard to win,” Harbaugh said. “Starting with the Jacksonville game, that will be our focus. We are going to expect to win the game.” 

At Colts (2-7): A must-win given that the Colts are tanking after a trade-deadline fire sale. 

The complications are that it will be Daniel Jones’ first game against the team that unceremoniously released him and Jonathan Taylor’s memory will be fresh that the Giants didn’t want to trade a first-round pick to acquire him. 

The Giants need to be able to score at will against a defense ranked No. 30 in points allowed and rushing yards allowed. 

49ers (7-1): Kyle Shanahan hates when the injury-cursed 49ers play the MetLife Stadium turf monster. But he defies the myth that west-to-east travel is a killer, as the 49ers are 14-7 in Eastern Standard Time since 2021 (0-1 this season). 

Brock Purdy is building a quiet MVP case. 

At Seahawks (5-4): Despite owning the third-worst record in the NFL since 2020, the Giants are 2-1 in Seattle, which is regarded as one of the toughest places to play. 

It’s only tougher when defending Super Bowl champions need every win just to stay in the wild card hunt and the defense (No. 1 in yards allowed and passing yards allowed) is the NFL’s stingiest. 

The season has been disrupted by quarterback Sam Darnold’s multiple injuries. Will Drew Lock still be filling in by then? 

Browns (5-4): If not for the Giants, Todd Monken’s Browns would be the biggest surprise in the NFL. 

Who has the edge in Harbaugh against his protégé Monken, who nearly followed him to the Giants as offensive coordinator? 

The Browns rank No. 29 in points scored but still are sticking with Deshaun Watson at quarterback … for now. Attention, Carter: No one has taken more sacks than Watson. 

At Lions (6-2): Jamhyr Gibbs shredded the Giants for 264 yards and three touchdowns on turf last season. This year’s defense is faster and more aggressive. 

The Giants might have to un-handcuff J.J. McCarthy to keep pace with the Lions and take advantage of their last-ranked passing defense (18 touchdowns allowed). A 27-sack pass rush is a nightmare for the Giants offensive line. 

At Cowboys (4-5): If the Cowboys win and cancel out the Giants’ head-to-head tiebreaker, a tie between them will go to the better division record (made easy by the Giants’ tie). 

The Giants ended a 13-game losing streak in Philadelphia. The next hovering curse is a nine-game skid in Dallas. 

The Cowboys can’t stop offenses through the air. Coordinator Christian Parker seems to be hanging by a thread. 

Eagles (2-7): How they’d love to play spoiler, unless it hurts general manager Howie Roseman’s grand draft plans. 

The Eagles won’t come riding in on a 14-game losing streak then, right? It could depend on how many more players shut it down.