Steelers create 'Giant' hopes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Green Bay Packers yesterday on a thrilling, last second touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to rookie wide out Mike Wallace. The win halted the Steelers five game losing streak, but it also helped the New York Giants by improving their chances of making the playoffs.

By losing to the Steelers, the Packers are now 9-5 and hold the 5th playoff spot. The Cowboys are also 9-5 and are currently in the 6th and final playoff spot. The Giants enter their Monday Night Football game in Washington tonight with a 7-6 record. A win tonight would put them at 8-6 and just one game behind the Cowboys and Packers with two to play.

The Giants clearly need help from other teams in order to make the playoffs. The good news is the Giants hold the tiebreaker over both the Packers and Cowboys. The Giants swept the Cowboys this season so that tiebreaker is easily figured out. The Giants and Packers tiebreaker would be a little more involved.

The first tiebreaker is head-to-head. That does not apply here because the Giants did not play the Packers this year. The second tiebreaker if conference record. If the two teams end in a tie, they will also have the same conference record, so this tiebreaker will not decide it either. The third and deciding tiebreaker is record in games against common opponents. The common opponents would be Minnesota, Dallas, Arizona, and Tampa Bay. The Packers are currently 1-3 against those teams, while the Giants are 3-1.

If the Giants can win their remaining three games: @ Washington, home against Carolina, and @ Minnesota, they only need the Packers OR Cowboys to lose one game. If the Giants win two of their last three, they need the Cowboys or Packers to lose two games.

The Packers final two games are: home against Seattle and @ Arizona. The Cowboys face two NFC East teams by traveling to Washington and then hosting the Eagles in Dallas.

It looks like the NFC Wild Card race is going to come down to the final week. Three teams, two spots. Don’t you love this time of year!?!

It all starts tonight for the Giants. A win on the road against a tough division rival would be a very good step in the right direction. The Redskins have been playing much better of late and games between these two teams are generally very tough. The Giants defense needs to step up. Lets go G-Men!