The best part about your team playing on Thursday Night Football is that you only have to wait four days between games. The worst part is that you then have to wait at least 10 days until the next game.

The Giants are hosting the Eagles on Thursday Night Football this week in what is a must-win game for the Giants, and a need-to-win game for the Eagles. A Giants win would improve them to 2-4, tying them with the Eagles record-wise and putting them ahead of the Eagles head-to-head tiebreaker-wise. A loss would make the gap two games between the two teams and prevent an all-out quarterback controversy for the Eagles.

The NFC East might be won this year by an 8-8 team, and if things keep going the way they are in the division, it might be won by a 7-9 team. And there’s nothing better than a 7-9 playoff team hosting an 11-win team in the first week of the playoffs. The Redskins are 2-2, the Eagles are 2-3, the Cowboys are 2-3 and the Giants are 1-4. A Giants win on Thursday to go along with a Redskins loss to the Panthers (likely) and a Cowboys loss to the Jaguars (very likely) would give the 2-3 Redskins a half-game edge over the other three teams at 2-4.

It was five years ago that the Giants opened the season 0-6 before winning four straight games, and at 4-6, playing for first place in the NFC East against the Cowboys. They lost that game and would go on to miss the playoffs, but at 0-6 a team should never again have a chance to think about the playoffs. At 1-4, the same should be able to be said, but the NFC East always has a weird way of working things out and very rarely is a team able to run away and hide with the division. Here’s to the 7-9 Giants winning the division and hosting a playoff game.

(Home team in caps)

NEW YORK GIANTS +1.5 over Philadelphia
My bold prediction before the season was that the Eagles would miss the playoffs. Maybe it wasn’t so bold since a lot of Super Bowl champions fall apart the following season after playing a month’s worth of extra games, especially for a franchise like the Eagles that had never won a Super Bowl. Sure, they are the middle of a solid window of opportunity to add on to their championship, but I can’t help but think that they are more than content with their 2017 season, at least for now.

On top of that, I wished for the ultimate quarterback controversy between Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles and franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. The team is now 1-2 with Wentz after benching Foles for going 1-1.

A Giants win on Thursday Night Football would save the Giants’ season, improve them to 2-4, give them the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cowboys and give every NFC East team two wins for now. It would also drop the Eagles to 2-4, which would mean they would be 1-3 with Wentz as their starter and the calls for Foles to be the starter would be out of control. The Giants have to win this game for so many reasons. I need the Giants to win this game.

HOUSTON -10 over Buffalo
It’s one thing to get behind the Bills at home. It’s another thing to get behind them on the road in a dome against the offensive threats and pass rush of the Texans. I’m in no way a believer in the Texans, but now at 2-3, it’s possibly they are turning into the team everyone thought they would be. It’s hard for me to see them winning a game by two possessions, but I’m not about to back Josh Allen to find out.

Seattle -3 over OAKLAND
There’s so much to love about Jon Gruden’s 1-4 Raiders. From Gruden’s cockiness as a broadcaster to his ridiculous contract to completely run an organization to his decision to run Khalil Mack out of town to his team being an absolute disaster, it has been a pleasure watching him destroy the Raiders both on and off the field. And while I’m certainly not a Seahawks fan after what happened on the goal line in the Super Bowl a few years ago, it makes it a little easier to stomach picking them when the Raiders are their opponent.

MIAMI +3.5 over Chicago
The Bears have sucked for so long I forgot what it was like to have them be competitive. It’s weird. Since their Week 1 collapse, the Bears defense has allowed 41 points over the last three games, and their offense even chipped in last game with Mitchell Trubisky somehow throwing six touchdown passes in a 48-10 rout of the Buccaneers.

The Bears are coming off their bye week, but it’s still much too early to trust them. It’s often easy to get caught up in how a team has played lately, but as a Giants fan I know more than anyone that you need to trust every week in the NFL like a brand-new season. I want to like the Bears, but it’s a little early for them to be giving points on the road, especially in Miami where the Dolphins seem to always play close games and pull out wins.

CINCINNATI -2 over Pittsburgh
I despite both of these teams. The Bengals for me foolishly believing in them so many times during the Andy Dalton era and the Steelers for losing every big game and playoff game to the Patriots. I probably should take the points in this division matchup, but my dislike for the Steelers far outweighs that of the Bengals.

NEW YORK JETS -2.5 over Indianapolis
Jets fans were ready to retire Sam Darnold’s number after Week 1, even though the defense deserved the credit for their blowout win in Detroit. Then after three weeks of losing, despite going into this season knowing the entire season was to be used as experience for Darnold, Jets fans returned to their old ways, questioning whether or not Darnold was the future. Now after a big win at home against the Broncos in which the Jets’ rushing game put up fake-like numbers, Jets fans think there is a path for them to the postseason.

My ideal situation for the Jets would be to just fall short of a postseason berth. That way, their fans are strung along and they end up with a pick in the middle of the first round, which is exactly won’t they don’t need as they try to build a team around Darnold. I don’t even think I need to root or pull for this happen. It’s the Jets, so it will happen all on its own. I can easily see an 8-8 season for them.

Carolina +1 over WASHINGTON
The Redskins were flat-out embarrassed on Monday Night Football as the Superdome Saints made their triumphant return. Those are the Saints everyone thought they would be getting in Week 1 before their loss to the Buccaneers and before their near-loss to the Browns. The Redskins couldn’t have picked a worse time to play in New Orleans.

As a Giants fan, it’s looking more and more like a near-.500 record will win the NFC East and that means tiebreakers are going to play a huge role in determining which of the crappy NFC East teams will win the division. The Giants and Cowboys have both already lost to the Panthers, so that means the Redskins have to as well to keep, and then the Eagles will also have to. Let’s Go Panthers!

MINNESOTA -10.5 over Arizona
Either the Eagles aren’t good (very possible) or the Vikings everyone expected this season have finally arrived (also very possible). But the Vikings’ win on the road over the Eagles was a very good sign for a team that struggled to a 1-2-1 start after being considered a true contender before the start of the season.

I’m a Vikings believer. Not only because Brittni is a Vikings fan and forces me to be when the Giants aren’t playing, but because I think they are a very balanced team, minus their kicking issues, which have now reached the historically-accurate Dan Bailey. The Rams might be 5-0 and the best team in the NFC and possibly the league, but the Vikings proved that they can go there and play with the Rams, and have Kirk Cousins not fumbled on the last possession of their meeting, maybe it’s the Vikings everyone is talking about as the team to beat in the NFC.

The Vikings are a very good team, and the Cardinals are a very bad team with a rookie quarterback. Very good teams blow out very bad teams at home. Well, unless the very good team’s quarterback turns the ball over every possession and then in that case, you lose a game to the Bills you were favored by 17 points in. But that won’t happen again!

CLEVELAND -1.5 over Los Angeles Chargers
A season after going 0-16, the Browns could easily be 5-0. They tied the Steelers because their kicker missed a game-winning field goal, lost to the Saints by 3 because their kicker missed two field goals and only lost to the Raiders in overtime despite four turnovers. The Browns have the ability to be a good team, they just need consistency.

When the Chargers have to play games in the Eastern Time Zone, bad things usually happen. And considering the Chargers never live up to their expectations, and with this specific Chargers team being a preseason favorite to reach the playoffs, there’s no way they don’t go 8-8 this season.

Tampa Bay +3 over ATLANTA
The Falcons are a joke and each week that passes with their current coaching staff makes the joke even bigger. They couldn’t convert in the red zone in their Week 1 loss to the Eagles, couldn’t get a stop in their overtime loss to the Saints, couldn’t hold on in their one-point loss to the Bengals and got destroyed in their 24-point loss to the Steelers.

I enjoy watching the Falcons’ fall from grace after their collapse in the Super Bowl and I can only hope they lose every game.

Los Angeles Rams -7 over DENVER
I thought the Denver defense was supposed to be good? Or did everyone think it was still the 2015 season? The Broncos allowed 323 rushing yards to the Jets last week. Yes, 323! And 198 passing yards for a total of 521 yards of offense to the Jets. The Jets! Yeah, let me back the Broncos against the Rams and feel confident about it …

JACKSONVILLE -3 over Dallas
The Cowboys suck. I can’t say this enough. And the more I say it, the more angry I get that the Giants gave away their Week 2 game in Dallas.

The Jaguars are good and one of only three teams in the AFC with a chance to reach the Super Bowl. Going back to the NFC East tiebreakers, after the Jaguars beat the Giants, I now need them to sweep the division. Let’s Go Jaguars!

TENNESSEE +3 over Baltimore
Two teams that seem to always lose when you think they are going to win. Now in a matchup between them, someone has to win, or I guess they could provide us with the third tie of the season. But considering that both teams will likely show up and play poorly, which is what these teams do when you pick them, give me the points.

Kansas City +3 over NEW ENGLAND
You want to prove you have the best offense in the history of the league? Go into New England on Sunday Night Football against the weakest Patriots team in years and come out with a win. If the Chiefs lose this game, there’s no sense in believing they will be anything other than a minor obstacle for the Patriots on their way to another Super Bowl appearance because a loss in the game could be the home-field tiebreaker in the AFC Championship Game.

GREEN BAY -9.5 over San Francisco
That’s a lot of points until you realize that the C.J. Beathard 49ers lost at home to the Josh Rosen Cardinals.

Last week: 6-9
Season: 30-33

There’s too much time. That’s the first thought I had when Saquon Barkley went flying through the air and into the end zone to give the Giants a 31-30 lead with 1:08 left in the game.

I actually had that thought when it looked like Russell Shepard hadn’t been touched as he went into the end zone on the play before, but thankfully, he was down and the Giants could run off more clock before Barkley scored.

I know you score when you can score, especially against a defense like the Panthers. You can’t bank on the idea that you are going to get into the end zone, but when it comes to the Giants and their defense late in games in recent seasons, you know that no lead is safe even if there are just a few seconds left in the game, let alone more than a minute.

Sure enough, the Giants defense let the Panthers get into at least Hail Mary range with six seconds left in the game, and no one really thought they were in field-goal range, except Ron Rivera, who sent out Graham Gano for a 63-yard attempt. And of course he drilled it and might have been good from 70 yards as the Panthers handed the Giants a crushing 33-30 defeat to drop them to 1-4 on the season.

The game should have never come down to a 63-yard field goal to possibly destroy the Giants’ season. In typical Giants fashion, the Giants simply gave the game away, and the officials did their part as well by handing out 15-yard penalties for non-penalties, completely changing the game in the process.

Prior to the game, I tweeted that I was done supporting Odell Beckham Jr. I had gone out of my way to defend him being a Giant because of his on-field talent, and that when healthy, he’s the best wide receiver in the league. I have looked away when he has had his on-the-field meltdowns and sideline meltdowns and when he has done everything other than be a team player or a leader because of his talent. But after receiving a $95 million contract, including $65 million in guaranteed money, for him to give the interview he gave leading up to Week 5 was the final straw. Beckham might be the best receiver in the league, but aside from a one-handed catch four years ago in Dallas and thousands of yard in losing seasons, he’s never done anything to earn the right to speak out against his quarterback, his teammates and the organization that just made him the highest-paid player at his position.

Right away, my jumping off the Beckham bandwagon paid dividends as he dropped a wide-open catch on fourth-and-3, turning the ball over on downs. The Giants had just gone down 7-3 in the game and his inability to haul in what should have been an easy catch for the highest-paid wide receiver in the league turned the ball over. The Giants defense stepped up and got a three-and-out from the Panthers and Beckham went out to return the punt with a chance to give his team good field position for their next possession and erase his significant drop.

As the punt approached the ground, Beckham moved to his right to allow the punt to fall in, choosing to throw an unnecessary block instead. The ball hit his leg and rolled around near the Giants’ goal line, eventually getting jumped on in the end zone by the Panthers. Beckham given the Panthers the ball on downs and the very next play he was involved in gave the Panthers seven points on his poor choice.

A couple possessions later, Beckham threw a touchdown pass to Barkley on a trick play, and he would even score his first touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter to bring the Giants closer to a comeback. He finished the game with eight catches for 131 yards, and I’m sure he thinks he did his job, and isn’t bothered by the fact that he did as much harm as good in the game, and possibly even more. Judging by everything he has done since the one-handed catch in Dallas, Beckham thinks his team let him down around him and not the other way around.

The Giants had their chances to win this game and not let it come down to a 63-yard field goal. But they’re the Giants, and that’s Giants football. It has been my whole life and I don’t expect it to ever change, no matter who the quarterback is, who the coach is, who the general manager is or what roster and personnel the organization puts together.

The Giants have been given a gift by the poor play across the NFC East and despite being 1-4, they are only one game back of both the Eagles and Cowboys. Their rivals have let them hang around with a chance to save this season and make something of what should already be a lost year. Will the Giants capitalize on the second life given to them when they host the Eagles on Thursday Night Football in Week 6? I doubt it. This is the New York Football Giants we’re talking about after all.

It’s Week 4. Week 4? Yes, Week 4. After this week of football, one month and one quarter of the season will have been played. That doesn’t even seem possible. It feels like just yesterday I was sitting on my couch watching Ereck Flowers take a tripping and holding penalty on two of the Giants’ first three offensive plays of the season. But that was way back in Week 1. Weeks ago, when Flowers was still starting for the Giants. Now, he’s on the bench, where he has belonged for a long time and the Giants are undefeated without him playing.

The 10-6 fast start to the season in Week 1 was quickly slowed by a 6-10 Week 2, in what will always be the hardest week to pick games and last week was an 8-8 performance. So after three weeks it’s about as average as it could be with a 24-24 record. It’s time to get hot before we begin the second month of the season.

(Home team in caps)

Minnesota +7 over LOS ANGELES RAMS
Every week in the NFL needs to be treated like the movie 50 First Dates in that each week you need to forget what happened the week before and start over every week of the season. Aside from injuries and the absence of players, nothing from the previous week matters the following week. If the Vikings don’t get embarrassed in what was one of the biggest upsets in regular-season history as they were beaten 27-6 despite being 17-point favorite then this line is probably 4 given that these two teams might be the best two teams in the NFC, and quite possibly the entire league, and the only reason it would be even lower is that the Vikings are traveling in a short week

I had a feeling the Vikings might overlook their Week 2 game against the Bills with a potential NFC playoff or even NFC Championship matchup just four days later. And I had a bad feeling about the Vikings last Sunday after Mike Francesa pretty much said the only thing to watch for in that game would be if the Vikings recorded a shutout.

The Rams might very well be the best team in the league, and they have played like it through the first three games, scoring 102 points and allowing only 36. And they might be playing their third straight home game after also playing their season opener in California. But the Vikings are much better than whatever it is they were in that debacle four days ago. They might not be on the Rams level at this point, but a giving a touchdown to a fellow contender? That’s a lot.

Buffalo +9.5 over GREEN BAY
I hate everything about this game. I can easily see Aaron Rodgers going down the field with ease on the first drive of the game and me wondering how I could back the Bills. Like I said earlier, you need to forget everything you watched the week before, and I am. This pick has nothing to do with the Bills’ win over the Vikings. It has everything to do with me knowing the Packers defense is garbage and needing to cover two possessions is too much when your defense is as shaky as theirs is. The Bills aren’t good, but neither are the Packers, who needed a miraculous comeback in Week 1 and then the worst field-goal kicking game of all time to avoid being 0-3 right now. It’s one thing to give 9.5 points when you’re good, but the Packers aren’t.

Miami +7 over NEW ENGLAND
Is this the end of the Patriots? I want it to be, but I know better. Normally, I wouldn’t be surprised to watch them now win 12 of 13 and finish the season 13-3, but I don’t think this team is built to do that. It has to end at some point, right? I mean Tom Brady can’t play forever, right? He can’t just keep winning MVPs and reaching the Super Bowl every year, right?

The loss to the Jaguars made sense, but the loss to the Lions didn’t. Thankfully, I was against the Patriots in both game and have been against them all three weeks this season. Now they are playing an undefeated Dolphins team that keeps on winning close games for yet another season. I don’t expect the Dolphins to win, and they will probably even get blown out. But until I see even a hint of the Patriots of old, I have to keep picking against them. Especially in a division game with a touchdown line.

Houston +1 over INDIANAPOLIS
When the Texans are on the field on both offense and defense and you see the last names on the back of their jerseys, it’s absolutely ridiculous that they are 0-3. The team is stacked on both sides of the ball and yet they’re winless and their season is essentially over. Their playoff chances aren’t as bad as if they were in the NFC, but because of how weak the AFC is once again, there is still a path for them to get there and defy odds. A loss on Sunday will officially end their season. Meanwhile, I’m more than happy to root against Andrew Luck after he failed to drop the Eagles to 1-2 last week.

CHICAGO -3 over Tampa Bay
I was on a plane on Monday night during the Buccaneers last game, and while I was sitting looking out the window at the beautiful weather I was leaving behind in Florida to return to fall in the northeast, I was also watching my money go down with Ryan Fitzpatrick. I knew the clock would strike midnight on Fitzpatrick’s latest story because it always does, I just thought it might last another week, so I could cash in on the Buccaneers -1 after going against them the first two weeks of the season.

I want Fitzpatrick to do well. I really do. Because I want nothing more than for Jameis Winston to return from his suspension and stand on the sidelines with an earpiece in, holding a clipboard. But when you’re the backup to a former No. 1 overall pick, the leash is short, even if that former No. 1 overall pick isn’t any good. A loss in Week 4, which would produce back-to-back losses for Fitzpatrick would likely mean back to the bench for Ivy leaguer. And with the wild decision making and errant throws we saw from him on Monday night, the Bears defense is going to send him back to the sidelines.

Philadelphia -4 over TENNESSEE
I like Carson Wentz as a player and as a person, but as a Giants fan, I so badly wanted the Eagles to lose to the Colts last week in his return from knee surgery. A loss would have sent the Eagles to 1-2 and created chaos for Eagles fans wondering why the Super Bowl MVP was benched after one loss even if it was for the face of the franchise. Luckily, there’s a still a chance for that to happen and for the biggest quarterback controversy in history to take place. After this week, the Eagles play the Vikings, who will be coming off two bad losses and will have three extra days of the rest on the Eagles. Then they go on the road to play the Giants in a short week on Thursday Night Football. Then they host the Panthers and the Jaguars, and later in the season after their bye week, they have trips to the Superdome and to the Rams.

There’s plenty of time and opportunities for Eagles fans coming off the team’s first Super Bowl win to completely turn on their team and question why Nick Foles isn’t playing after beating the Falcons, Rams, Vikings and Patriots months ago and then having a statue built in his honor. Just sit back, relax and wait for it to happen.

ATLANTA -3.5 over Cincinnati
When are the Falcons going to put it together? I remember asking myself that same question last season, a season in which they were coming off the biggest collapse in Super Bowl history. If the Falcons can’t win big at home against the Bengals, I will finally have an answer to my question and that answer will be never.

JACKSONVILLE -7.5 over New York Jets
It was fitting that the Browns’ first win since 2016 and their second win in two-plus seasons came against the Jets. The same Jets whose fans thought after their Week 1 rout of the Lions that they would then take care of business at home against the Dolphins and then go on the road in a short week and hand the Browns yet another loss and be sitting at 3-0 with the very real chance of reaching the playoffs in Sam Darnold’s first season. Instead, the Jets are now 1-2 and going on the road to play what’s currently the best team in the AFC. The Jets are going to be 1-3 after Sunday and the only games you might consider them a favorite in for the rest of the season are against the Bills, and after what the Bills showed against the Vikings in Week 3, there’s a very good chance the Jets will be picking in the Top 3 of the draft again in 2019.

Seattle -3 over ARIZONA
The Seahawks saved their season last week with a rather easy win over the Cowboys. I think there are going to be a lot of easy win against the Cowboys this season, unfortunately, just not when the Giants play them. Now the Seahawks get a Cardinals team that looks like the early favorite for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft after getting outscored 74-20 in their first three games, and they get a Cardinals team that is starting rookie quarterback Josh Rosen for the first time. This after Rosen was thrown into his first NFL game needing a game-winning drive against the Bears defense. It never seizes to amaze me the poor decision making of NFL head coaches and first-year Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks is the latest to join the club.

OAKLAND -3 over Cleveland
I couldn’t help but feel happy for the fans of Cleveland who suffered through a 4-45-1 record since the start of the 2015 season before beating the Jets last week. And I couldn’t help but feel happy for the fans, who might actually have found their franchise quarterback in Baker Mayfield after so many failed attempts to find their guy at the top of the draft for years. If not for missed field goals in both Weeks 1 and 2, the Browns would be 3-0. But because they’re the Browns, they did miss those field goals and are 1-1-1. Maybe the culture will finally change for the team with Mayfield playing.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw the news that the Browns officially named Mayfield their starting quarterback for Week 4 as if there were another option. It’s not that Tyrod Taylor played poorly in his two starts with the team, but there’s just no way you’re going to sit the No. 1 overall pick and the face of your franchise after he just led your team to its first win since the end of the 2016 season and its fifth win three-plus seasons.

But right now there is too much Cleveland love, and don’t you think for one second the Football Gods don’t recognize all of the hype surrounding a team people think should be undefeated and on their way to the playoffs. I’m not sure what the exact mood is in Cleveland entering Week 4 after last week’s win, but a trip to Oakland to face a winless team that had incredibly high expectations this season will be make the Browns remember they still have a long way to go.

NEW YORK GIANTS +3.5 over New Orleans
If this game were being played in the Superdome, I wouldn’t even watch it. OK, who am I kidding, obviously I would watch it, but it would be painful. I want no part of watching the Giants ever play against the Drew Brees Saints in the Superdome. But the Drew Brees Saints outdoors in the elements? That’s a different story.

The Saints were embarrassed in Week 1 by Ryan Fitzpatrick, needed the Browns to pull a Browns to avoid a disastrous loss in Week 2 and then needed overtime in Week 3 to get by their division rival Falcons. I really thought this season might lead to a Super Bowl appearance for the Saints in what is a stacked NFC, but through three weeks they haven’t been even close to the team that was a Stefon Diggs miracle touchdown away from going to the NFC Championship Game last season.

The Saints will be outside this week, in the northeast, where it might not be November or December yet, but this week has been rainy, windy and cold and no matter what the weather is in the Tri-state area on Sunday, it always seems to be worse in East Rutherford. The Saints offense has an inside and outside version even if they do have Brees, Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara. And with their defense having allowed 103 points in the first three games, I’m not sure how they plan on covering Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley given the trouble they have had covering anyone this season. The Giants are going to win this game.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS -10.5 over San Francisco
The 49ers season came to an end in Week 3 when Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL. Now the 1-2 49ers are heading on the road, knowing their season is over, to play a good Chargers team (that I keep thinking plays in San Diego) and they are starting C.J. Beathard at quarterback. Remember how bad the 49ers were last season before the Garoppolo trade? Those are the 49ers you will be seeing for the remainder of the season.

Baltimore +3 over PITTSBURGH
When these two teams meet, the game is decided by 3. So knowing this, how can you not take the team getting points?

DENVER +5 over Kansas City
The Chiefs offense is incredible. Their defense is not good at all. I get that the Chiefs are built on the idea that “the best defense is a good offense” and they have the best in the league and maybe even the best in history, but offense doesn’t always travel, and it rarely travels to Mile High Stadium. Five points is a lot to be giving on the road against an elite defense in a divisional game. The Broncos likely won’t be able to stop the Chiefs because I don’t know if anyone can, but the Chiefs won’t be able to stop the Broncos either, and five points becomes too much to give up in a back-and-forth offensive divisional game.

Last week: 8-8
Season: 24-24

The last time the Giants won a game that mattered was Week 17 of the 2016 season when they beat the Redskins 19-10, and that game didn’t even really matter. It mattered more to the Redskins, who had to win to clinch a playoff berth, but it didn’t matter for the Giants. All it did was make everyone think the team could go on an extend postseason run because they played to win a game they didn’t need. Instead, their extended postseason run lasted one half.

I forgot what it felt like to experience a Giants win because it had been so long. That win over the Redskins was nearly 21 months ago and since that win the Giants had been 3-16, including the postseason. That’s an incredible amount of losing over almost a two-year period that had Odell Beckham Jr. telling the media last week he didn’t remember the last time he won a football game since the Giants were still winless when he was lost for the year last season.

I didn’t think the Giants were going to win in Houston. Even though I wagered on them at +260 despite swearing off betting on them following the disaster in Dallas the week before, I talked myself into placing money on them despite not truly believing they would win.When the news broke that Ereck Flowers was going to be benched, I was ecstatic. It had been a move now two seasons overdue and even if the Giants were going to lose, at least they weren’t going to lose with the untalented Flowers ruining the game for them.

After their first two losses and the way the offensive line played against the Cowboys, going on the road to play the also 0-2 Texans and the mobile Deshaun Watson and Top 5 wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and the stacked pass rush featuring J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus, I figured the Giants were in for their second straight 0-3 start. When the Texans marched down the field to the Giants’ 5 on the opening possession of the game, my expectations for the game were flawlessly unfolding.

First-and-5 at the Giants’ 5 after driving 69 yards and I was furious both at the Giants defense and at myself for wagering on the team after what they had done to my bank account in the first two weeks. Somehow, the Texans didn’t target Hopkins once in the end zone, after a pair of runs to Lamar Miller and an incomplete pass to Will Fuller, and the Giants were able to hold them to 3.

Not only had I forgotten what it felt like to win, I had forgotten what it felt like to have a lead. The last lead the Giants had that mattered was back in Week 3 last season when they scored 24 fourth-quarter points against the Eagles to take a 24-21 lead before eventually losing 27-24. Once they lost that game, their season was over at 0-3, so that 24-21 lead was the last time they had a meaningful lead.

Ten plays and 75 yards later and Saquon Barkley capped off the Giants’ most impressive drive of the season (their only real drive of the season) and the Giants had a 7-3 lead. I didn’t know how to feel or how to react. It had been so long since I had that feeling, I can only imagine it’s how a major league pitcher feels to take the mound after a pair of Tommy John surgeries. I suddenly remembered what it felt like when watching the Giants was fun and when they were good and when they were expected to win.

The Giants scored on all four of their first-half possessions for a 20-6 lead at halftime, and they were getting the ball to start the second half. I began to wish I had only hammered their money line at +260 even more than I had, but the negative thoughts about blowing a two-touchdown lead started to creep in.

The Giants punted on their first possession of the second half and the Texans answered with a field goal. 20-9.

The Giants punted again and I began to get worried as the Texans drove to the Giants’ 33. But on second-and-10 from the 33, Miller fumbled and the Giants recovered to take at least three points off the board from the Texans.

Unfortunately, the Giants punted again, and the worrying returned as Watson hit three passes in a row for 24, 22 and 14 yards to put the Texans on the Giants’ 8. An illegal block penalty on Miller followed by a sack moved the Texans back to the 25. And on second-and-goal from the 25, Watson noticed Miller was being covered 1-on-1 by linebacker Alec Ogletree, so he went for the touchdown, and Ogletree intercepted it in the end zone.

The offense had punted three times in the second half already and had been saved twice by the defense with two turnovers in Giants territory. Four plays and a couple of sacks later and the Giants were punting again, having wasted the interception.

With 8:28 left in the game, Hopkins scored a touchdown that was called back for a holding penalty, but two plays later, the Texans scored a touchdown that would stand to cut the Giants’ lead to 20-15. The two-point conversion failed. The once 20-6 halftime lead had dwindled to 20-15 and visions of the Vince Young Titans comeback started to appear as I stared blankly at the TV.

There was 7:37 remaining and the Giants were clinging to a five-point lead, having failed to add on to their 20 first-half points. They desperately needed to put points on the board. And now just 3. They needed 7. I envisioned them either not scoring or kicking a field goal only to have the Texans score a touchdown and tie the game on a two-point conversion. These are the thoughts that enter your mind when you’re a Giants fan.

Eli Manning found Sterling Shepard for 23 yards on the first play of the drive to put the ball on the Giants’ 46. Three plays later and the Giants were face with a third-and-2 at the Texans’ 27. I could already feel the handoff to Barkley getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage to bring out Aldrick Rosas, who would miss for the first time this season, giving the Texans great field position to go down the field to win the game. I had seen this game too many times before, and I knew what was going to happen before it happened.

The Giants didn’t run the ball though. Instead, Manning hit Barkley for 21 yards and a first down, putting the ball on the Texans’ 6 and forcing the Texans to use their second timeout. I felt a sense of relief, but not complete relief, for the red zone stall followed by a field goal followed by a Texans touchdown and two-point conversion were all still on the table.

On first-and-goal from the 6, the Giants lost two yards on a pass to Barkley. On second-and-goal from the 8, Barkley ran the ball one yard. Here it was, third-and-goal from the 7, a season-changing play. There would be no end-around to Beckham like there had been in Week 1. There would be no draw to Barkley. Manning connected with Shepard for the touchdown. 27-15, Giants. It was everything Manning and the Giants used to be. A clutch, game-winning (or game-sealing) drive. It’s weird how when given time, Manning is no longer old or washed up or unable to start in the league anymore.

The Texans had 2:08, two timeouts and the two-minute warning to score 12 points. I was cautiously optimistic about the Giants’ chances, but again, I’m not foolish enough to think any Giants game is over.

The Giants were going to exchange yards for clock, but it looked like it might not matter anyway after the Texans were suddenly faced with a third-and-20 from their own 15. But this is the Giants defense, and sure enough, after a 16-yard pass and 12-yard pass, the Texans had a first down.

The Texans did score a touchdown, but by the time they did, there was one second left in the game. The Giants had won and they have saved their season. It’s never good when you’re faced with a must-win game in Week 3 of the season, but for the second straight season, the Giants were, and this time they won. The win was overshadowed by my anger of wondering how many more wins the Giants could have had over the last few seasons if not for the presence of Flowers on the offensive line.

Nothing has ever come easy and nothing ever will for this team, not even when they hold a 20-6 lead at halftime, are getting the ball back, and win the turnover battle in the game. That magic record of 4-4 is still needed if this team is going to go on a run when their schedule softens after the bye and this win was just one of the four. It was finally a step in the right direction for a team that hasn’t taken a step in the right direction in almost two calendar years. But don’t get too excited yet. I’m not.

I thought putting up a 3-spot in Dallas in Week 1 last season was as low as it could get for the Giants on the road in Dallas. And then Sunday night happened.

Let me start by saying the Cowboys aren’t good this season. In fact, they suck. Their best player is out with an unfortunate illness, they released the team’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions and possibly the best kicker in the history of football, their Hall of Fame tight end retired, their quarterback can’t throw the ball accurately over seven yards, their running back is in effective without the offensive line completely healthy, they don’t have a No. 1 wide receiver and they might not even have a real No. 2 and their defense is blah. So yes, the Cowboys suck.

All of this was evident in their Week 1 loss in Carolina when they put up 8. It’s why I was stunned to see the Giants getting so much disrespect on the money line and why I once again jumped on it. The idea that the Giants need to be at least 4-4 entering their bye week has always felt a little easier despite their schedule because of this game in Dallas.

It took three plays for all of that to go away. On the third play of the game, Dak Prescott hit Tavon Austin for a 64-yard touchdown. It was everything the Cowboys aren’t in 2018 and a play I wasn’t even remotely worried or concerned about occuring against the inconsistent Giants defense. But one minute and 34 seconds into the game, the Giants were down 7-0 and AT&T Stadium was rocking like it was the Super Bowl.

How did that play happen? How could Austin, a complete bust with the Rams, torch the Giants defense that bad? How could Prescott, who could barely achieve a first down passing against the Panthers a week prior make that pass? I have no idea.

The game never got better from there.

The Giants had five first-half possessions and punted on all of them. Then they fumbled to open the second half, giving the Cowboys three points to go down 10-0. Then they finally got the offense going, driving to the Cowboys’ 3 before settling for a field goal in true Giants fashion. After another punt, the Cowboys scored a second touchdown to take a 20-3 and end the game with 8:23 left to play. Sure, the Giants scored 10 garbage time points when the Cowboys were giving them the entire middle of the field, but the game was effectively over at 20-3. Before those 10 points were given to the Giants, they had scored one touchdown in seven-and-a-half quarters of the season. The 20-13 final score is in no way indicative of what happened in the game.

The only thing to take away from this game was how bad the offensive line was and it was bad as the line allowed Eli Manning to get sacked six times for a combined loss of 59 yards. When Manning wasn’t getting sacked, he was getting hurried or hit, forced to dump the ball off to Saquon Barkley 14 times (he was targeted 16 times), only being to complete four passes to Odell Beckham Jr. and three passes to Sterling Shepard, including the garbage time stats.

If someone wants to think Manning is no longer a starting quarterback, they’re wrong, but they can have that opinion as long as it’s not based on his actual abilities. Manning can still throw and can still throw the deep ball and his health is fine and he should still have his consecutive start streak intact. He’s not mobile, and he never has been, and certainly isn’t going to start being at age 37. But no mobile quarterback would be able to produce with this offensive line. It’s impossible to produce when the ball is hiked and you’re already about to be hit.

Unfortunately, Pat Shurmur’s illogical in-game decisions will be lost in all the attention the offensive line will receive. On the Giants’ first possession of the game, the Giants had fourth-and-1 on their own 48 and Shurmur decided to punt. In the second quarter, the Giants had a fourth-and-1 on their own 35 and Shurmur decided to go for it. Later on that same drive, the Giants had a fourth-and-1 on their own 46 and Shurmur decided to go for it again. I love his aggressiveness to go for it the second and third times, but how can he defend not going for it on the 48, but going for it on the 35? I don’t want decisions being made by his gut. I don’t want someone coaching the Giants who stays on 16 with the dealer show a 7 in blackjack sometimes, but hits with the same hand other times. It makes no sense. The decision not to go for it on the 48 immediately after the Cowboys’ big-play touchdown likely changed the momentum in the game and quite possibly changed the game as a whole. Luckily for Shurmur, his Hall of Fame quarterback, who didn’t stand a chance behind his embarrassing offensive line will be dealing with all the criticisms from the game.

Those dreams of winning the division or even making the playoffs are now on the brink of destruction. The Giants are 0-2 and everyone knows the history of 0-3 teams: they don’t make the playoffs. The Giants are now faced with going 4-2 before their bye week and essentially 10-4 the rest of the season and there was absolutely nothing on Sunday night that showed that that is even a remote possibility.

The good news is if the Giants win next week, their season is saved. And if they don’t win, well every Giants fan got about 39 hours of their life back that they would have wasted watching this team in the remaining 13 games after Week 3.

The Giants will once again play a must-win game in Week 3 in Houston. The NFL playoffs don’t start until January, but for the Giants, the playoffs start on September 23.