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Cotton

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Pressure is on Giants to beat Cowboys, make the playoffs
Jordan Raanan
ESPN Staff Writer

PITTSBURGH -- The balloon that is the New York Giants' season is somewhat inflated. As the pressure builds in these final few weeks, they’re hoping it’s not going to pop.

It will be interesting to see how this team responds. Quarterback Eli Manning has been through this type of pressure before. Coach Ben McAdoo, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and a large majority of the roster have not.

Will the Giants handle it all in stride? Or will they tear at the seams?

If Sunday’s 24-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers is any indication, they’re not in great shape. Beckham successfully toed the line between passionate and out of control. After the game he expressed frustration with the officials, and even called for referee Terry McCauley’s crew never to officiate another Giants game.

On the other side of the formation, wide receiver Victor Cruz needs answers to his ever-dissolving role. Cruz didn’t catch a pass and wasn’t targeted at all as the Giants’ six-game winning streak came to an end.

Up next: The NFL’s best team, the Dallas Cowboys.

“Pretty sure it’s self-explanatory,” Beckham said of the importance of Sunday’s matchup with the Cowboys.

The Giants (8-4) are now fighting for their playoff lives. They need to reach 10 wins, and if they do all should be right in their world, even if none of it was pretty.

Fate remains in the Giants' hands. They're in the lead for the NFC's first wild-card spot. But after an 8-3 start, they need to make the playoffs. The season would be a colossal failure if they didn't. It would be an indictment on Manning and McAdoo and Beckham.

A win over the Cowboys would come in handy. If they lose, the Giants could combust. Their margin for error shrunk after Sunday's loss. It will become even smaller if they can't beat the Cowboys. They'll likely need to win two of their final three (vs. Detroit, at Philadelphia, at Washington) to make the postseason. That's not a gimme.

The division is all but out of reach with the Cowboys (11-1) rolling. The Giants insist they're not thinking of that anyway.

“We won’t worry about that,” veteran cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said. “You have to worry about the next game, it’s a divisional game, we are at home and we have to get back on the winning side.”

If they don’t, the pressure builds. On McAdoo. On Beckham. On Manning. On the rebuilt defense. On the entire organization, which is trying to end a four-year playoff drought.

It’s impossible to know how this team will react to such adversity. They haven’t been down this road before. Beckham has never been in a playoff race. Neither has McAdoo or this recently assembled defense.

Even so, it’s the Giants offense that needs to step up its game down the stretch. They can’t play the way they have for most of the first 12 weeks if they want to qualify for the postseason.

The Giants managed just 234 yards of offense against a pedestrian Steelers defense on Sunday. A good chunk of that came late in the fourth quarter when the game was all over. This effort came after totaling less than 300 yards against a bad Cleveland Browns defense the week before.

It might not be overly concerning if the Giants had experienced sustained success on offense this season. But they haven’t. They’ve failed to top 28 points in any of their 12 games.

“I think everything will get
and it will all click at some point,” Beckham said, offering nothing aside from hope to support the statement. “It just needs to be soon, whether it is next week, tomorrow or the next day. It just needs to be very soon with the team we have coming in because they are red hot. We need to help our defense out.”

The problem, according to McAdoo, has been consistency. It hasn’t been there -- unless you’re looking at turnovers. The Giants have turned the ball over consistently this season. They remained at minus-5 in turnover margin after two more Manning interceptions against the Steelers.

McAdoo insists he’s not worried about running out of time.

“I’m not,” he said. “We’re working at it.”

All while the pressure keeps building. The offense showed its frustration in Pittsburgh. They showed signs of fracturing, or being totally broken. It leaves serious concern about the validity of this Giants team.

The Dallas game just became that much more important.​
 

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Cowboys clinched playoff spot but have Giants on their minds
10:06 AM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer

FRISCO, Texas -- The 1972 Miami Dolphins were able to toast their undefeated season quite early this season, but they should have sent a thank-you note to the New York Giants for their Week 1 victory.

The Dallas Cowboys have not lost since their 20-19 defeat to the Giants on Sept. 11, when time simply ran out on them after Terrance Williams chose not to get out of bounds.

Since then, the Cowboys have ripped off 11 straight wins, a franchise record, and have the best record in football.

On Sunday, the Cowboys clinched a playoff spot with the Washington Redskins’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals. With a win this week against the Giants at MetLife Stadium, they can clinch the NFC East and inch closer to possible home-field advantage.

But the Cowboys are one point from perfection in 2016.

Amazing.

With a month to play, the Cowboys have clinched a playoff spot, but there is plenty to play for, even more than seeding, according to cornerback Brandon Carr.

The Cowboys' final four opponents are in playoff contention, starting with the Giants (8-4). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit AT&T Stadium on Dec. 18, and the Detroit Lions visit Dec. 26 on Monday Night Football. After the Cowboys’ 11-game winning streak, the Buccaneers, who are in a fight for the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons, and the Lions, who lead the NFC North, have the next-longest winning streaks in the conference at four.

The Cowboys close the season at the Philadelphia Eagles, who remain in the wild-card chase but have lost three in a row.

But before those final three games, the Cowboys must contend with the Giants.

It is rare that a team that has clinched a playoff spot can enter a Week 14 meeting with revenge on their mind.

“Division games are what you look forward to, and they’re a team that got us in the first game,” Carr said in the locker room after the Cowboys beat the Minnesota Vikings 17-15 on Dec. 1. “That was a wake-up call or whatever you want to call it, but we get a chance to see those guys again. The most important thing is these next four games we may see one of those teams in the playoffs anyway, so it’s important for us to set the tone and establish who we are early, so when they see us again, they get an understanding of what they’re dealing with.”

The players have been off since beating the Vikings. The coaches reviewed the film last Friday and went over a preliminary scouting report on the Giants before getting the weekend off.

In looking back at the loss, the Cowboys can see a lot of things they did not do well. Ezekiel Elliott's first game did not go as planned. He was too quick to the hole, and the blocking was not as good as it could have been. He scored a touchdown but finished with a season-low 51 yards on 20 carries.

Dak Prescott's first start could have been memorable if Williams got out of bounds and Dan Bailey made a field goal attempt of close to 60 yards. While Prescott did not have a turnover in his first career start, he did not throw a touchdown pass either and threw for only 227 yards. Dez Bryant had just one catch for 8 yards.

So much has changed about the Cowboys' offense since then, but they are coming off season lows in points, yards and first downs against the Vikings.


While a lot of attention will be placed on how New York, which had won six in a row before losing to the Steelers, has played recently, the first meeting will be a big part of the plan this week.

“We’ve changed as a team, and they’ve changed as a team,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Different guys are playing. There’s a lot of different factors that go into it, but there’s no question you use that game extensively to prepare for this one, really in all three phases.”

In Garrett’s world, clinching a playoff spot is worth acknowledging but not worth much else.

The focus will be on the Giants.

“We’re going to view it like any other game,” Bryant said. “Just stay focused and committed to do the little things, and let those little things turn into big things.”
 

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Giants-Cowboys odds: Dallas a 3-point favorite over New York

Giants will be looking for a sweep against the Cowboys

by Ed Valentine

The Dallas Cowboys are a 3-point over the New York Giants in their upcoming Week 14 Sunday Night Football at MetLife Stadium, a game that has lost much of its luster after the events of Week 13.

A few days ago, there was hope that this Sunday’s Giants-Cowboys game would give the Giants an opportunity to move into first place in the NFC East with a victory. Now, after Dallas defeated the Minnesota Vikings to move to 11-1 and the Giants fell to 8-4 with a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, that is no longer the case.

The Giants are three games back in the division with four to play. The Cowboys have already clinched a playoff berth. The Giants, with the Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins chasing them for a wild-card berth and all owing tiebreaker advantages over them, have bigger issues.

FiveThirtyEight still gives the Giants a 65 percent chance of making the playoffs, with TeamRankings feeling even better about the Giants’ playoff odds, putting them at 73 percent.

With four games left, the Giants likely need two victories to get into the playoffs. That would give them 10, and force at least one of Washington, Green Bay and Minnesota — all of whom have six wins — to run the table to overtake the Giants for a playoff spot. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) are currently the second wild-card team.

Can the Giants get one of those two needed victories against Dallas? Perhaps, and we will spend much of the week breaking down how the game might go, but it certainly won’t be easy. The Giants, of course, are the only team to have beaten the 11-1 Cowboys this season. That should give Dallas motivation, even if they already know they are headed to the postseason. The Giants’ 20-19 victory also came in the NFL debuts of star rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, and the fact that both are established now helps the Cowboys.
 

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Defiant Giants on hot Cowboys : ‘They haven’t won NFC East yet’
By Howie Kussoy December 3, 2016 | 2:19am

For as long as standings have been used in sports, players have pretended not to pay attention to them, claiming to be unaware how other teams are doing, regardless of how implausible it may seem.

On Friday, there was no point in pretending.

The previous night, many Giants players watched the NFC East-leading Cowboys squeak out a 17-15 road win after Minnesota failed to convert a two-point conversion in the final minute, disappointing a sold-out U.S. Bank Stadium and legions of temporary Vikings fans in the New York area.

“Obviously you want the crown, so you were hoping that Minnesota won. Then you got a shot [to catch the Cowboys] next week,” Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz said. “It is what it is. We gotta control what we can control and that’s all we can do.”

Since the Giants often play on the same day as the Cowboys — having not seen them up close since the first week of the season — tight end Will Tye felt like it was beneficial to get a jump start on film for next week’s opponent.

“It’s good to see them and watch a little bit,” Tye said. “You definitely scout. … We want the division. Getting that goal will obviously help us get another goal.”

Even tight-lipped coach Ben McAdoo admitted to watching a few plays.

Riding a six-game winning streak into Sunday’s game at the Steelers, the Giants have been doing everything possible to prevent the Cowboys from running away with the division, but Dallas has done even more to stay in first place since early October, winning 11 straight games since their season-opening loss to the Giants.

For the second straight week, the Giants (8-3) enter their game already knowing they can’t make up any ground on the Cowboys (11-1). But with a loss at Pittsburgh — which would put the Giants three games back with four games to play — next week’s long-circled matchup won’t mean quite so much.

“They won and are still on a hot streak, so that’s pretty impressive,” linebacker Keenan Robinson said. “It hasn’t changed our goals at what we can still accomplish. We have to handle our duties in the game against the Steelers and worry about them next week.

“They haven’t won the NFC East yet, so there is still an opportunity available for us.”

The Giants and Cowboys share two common opponents in the final three games of the regular season (Lions, Eagles) and both play another team with a winning record. The Giants end the season at Washington, while the Cowboys host the Buccaneers on Dec. 18. With wins over the Steelers and Cowboys, the Giants would sit just one game out of first place and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Dallas.

Even in that scenario, Dallas still would need to stumble once in its final three games, but the Giants believe both teams’ trajectories could change if the Cowboys’ lengthy win streak is snapped at MetLife Stadium.

Multiple players incorrectly said the Giants “control [their] own destiny,” but the statements accurately reflect the growing confidence in the locker room during their own winning streak.

Everything remains possible.

“We need to continue doing the things that we’ve been doing that have gotten us W’s over the past few weeks,” wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. “We’re not too focused on what they’re doing, to be honest. We’re trying to focus on what we’ve got going on over here. We’ve got something special, too.

“It’s gonna be crazy to see how it’s all gonna play out.”
 

Cotton

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Sherrington: Why I think Cowboys' win streak ends vs. Giants ... and it could be best thing for Dallas
By Kevin Sherrington , Staff Columnist

With apologies to Jason Garrett, if the Cowboys' 11th consecutive win in this runaway season proves anything, it's that they've now won in all three phases:

They've won passing. They've won running.

And they've won ugly.

The Cowboys' 17-15 win over the Vikings is the kind that separates the glass half-full crowd from the people born since 1995. If you've grown up with a team that's done nothing but disappoint in your lifetime, it's hard to see the good in a game like Thursday's. Other than the W, that is.

Frankly, I'm not even sure that was the best result. In fact, maybe it's time for this historic streak to end.

Because history says so.

Five NFL teams have lost their first game then gone on to win at least their next 11. First to do it were the Cleveland Browns in 1951, then the '64 Baltimore Colts, followed by the '69 Vikings and '97 San Francisco 49ers.

And not one of those teams went on to win a league title, the only acceptable goal once you've raised the bar so high.

Granted, it's a small sampling, and history doesn't line up on one side of the line of scrimmage or the other. But the ramifications are worth considering, just the same.

Now, I'm not suggesting that the Cowboys tank. That's a topic for a Mavs column.

What I'm saying is what Tony Dungy has already said this week to our Barry Horn.

The former Hall of Fame coach doesn't believe in the pressure of a winning streak, because you start over in the playoffs anyway. We'll debate that argument a little later. But he did offer an analysis that seems pretty prescient now.

"Losing doesn't hurt as long as you learn something from the game," he said. "The worst thing that can happen is winning in December but not playing well.

"You start believing your team is better than you are."

Dungy went on to say he doesn't think that's the kind of team the Cowboys are, but we don't really know that yet, do we? The Cowboys' two MVP candidates are a couple of precocious kids. A Sporting News analysis recently concluded that Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott are the best offensive rookies ever, which pretty much defies description, not to mention Jerry Jones' draft history.

They're also smart, dedicated, team-first guys.

But when well-respected analysts keep telling us that we don't have any idea just how amazing this season is, the sentiment applies to the parties responsible for it, too.

Do they understand just what they're doing, and how hard it is to win in the NFL?

Or do they get it all too well?

The beauty of a quarterback like Dak is that, when all cerebral preparation proves inadequate, he can still go schoolyard. This is where he separates himself from his predecessor, who ran only to preserve the play, if not his livelihood.

Dak's running threat gives defenses more than it can handle. Hard enough to deal with the league's best offensive line and maybe its best running back, not to mention contain a top-five wide receiver. Or a quarterback who doesn't make foolish mistakes.

And then you have to worry that he'll take off, too?

For all the reasons above, it's been my contention that the Cowboys will lose because of their defense, not Dak. He had a few awkward moments Thursday. But his scrambles, augmented by a great special teams play by Kyle Wilber, enabled Thursday's win.

And that despite some uncharacteristically poor play by the Cowboys overall. Too many penalties. Sloppy fundamentals. Only on occasion did they look like the systematic, near-robotic team that has grinded opponents into submission.

Certainly the quality of the opponent had something to do with it. The Vikes have one of the NFL's top three defenses. Also a tough venue.

But isn't it also possible that the burden of the Cowboys' winning streak had something to do with it, too?

No matter what it looked like Thursday, the Vikings were better at stopping themselves by refusing to challenge the Cowboys deep, where they're vulnerable. The offense carries these Cowboys.

And the offense is carried by the offensive line and a couple of rookies.

Let me ask: How much longer can the kids keep this up?

For my money, until next Sunday. Playing the Giants on the road in December is never fun. Eli Manning and his elite corps of receivers may be too much to handle.

Even so, losing to the Giants would be the end of the streak, not the world. The Cowboys would remain atop the division.

Even better: They'd have three more regular-season games to shrug off the weight of history and concentrate on the here and now. And we wouldn't complain about losing at all. Well, maybe a little. Nature of the job.
 

boozeman

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Fuck the Giants. I want to whip their asses bad. From their Muppet looking head coach to touch of Down's Eli to that incredible fag Beckham.
 

Cotton

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Fuck the Giants. I want to whip their asses bad. From their Muppet looking head coach to touch of Down's Eli to that incredible fag Beckham.
It's good to see that you got your head right. The team is going to need you this week.
 

Rev

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Fuck the Giants. I want to whip their asses bad. From their Muppet looking head coach to touch of Down's Eli to that incredible fag Beckham.

:jerry
 

dallen

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If we only win one more regular season game this year it better be this one
 

2233boys

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Sherrington: Why I think Cowboys' win streak ends vs. Giants ... and it could be best thing for Dallas
By Kevin Sherrington , Staff Columnist

With apologies to Jason Garrett, if the Cowboys' 11th consecutive win in this runaway season proves anything, it's that they've now won in all three phases:

They've won passing. They've won running.

And they've won ugly.

The Cowboys' 17-15 win over the Vikings is the kind that separates the glass half-full crowd from the people born since 1995. If you've grown up with a team that's done nothing but disappoint in your lifetime, it's hard to see the good in a game like Thursday's. Other than the W, that is.

Frankly, I'm not even sure that was the best result. In fact, maybe it's time for this historic streak to end.

Because history says so.

Five NFL teams have lost their first game then gone on to win at least their next 11. First to do it were the Cleveland Browns in 1951, then the '64 Baltimore Colts, followed by the '69 Vikings and '97 San Francisco 49ers.

And not one of those teams went on to win a league title, the only acceptable goal once you've raised the bar so high.

Granted, it's a small sampling, and history doesn't line up on one side of the line of scrimmage or the other. But the ramifications are worth considering, just the same.

Now, I'm not suggesting that the Cowboys tank. That's a topic for a Mavs column.

What I'm saying is what Tony Dungy has already said this week to our Barry Horn.

The former Hall of Fame coach doesn't believe in the pressure of a winning streak, because you start over in the playoffs anyway. We'll debate that argument a little later. But he did offer an analysis that seems pretty prescient now.

"Losing doesn't hurt as long as you learn something from the game," he said. "The worst thing that can happen is winning in December but not playing well.

"You start believing your team is better than you are."

Dungy went on to say he doesn't think that's the kind of team the Cowboys are, but we don't really know that yet, do we? The Cowboys' two MVP candidates are a couple of precocious kids. A Sporting News analysis recently concluded that Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott are the best offensive rookies ever, which pretty much defies description, not to mention Jerry Jones' draft history.

They're also smart, dedicated, team-first guys.

But when well-respected analysts keep telling us that we don't have any idea just how amazing this season is, the sentiment applies to the parties responsible for it, too.

Do they understand just what they're doing, and how hard it is to win in the NFL?

Or do they get it all too well?

The beauty of a quarterback like Dak is that, when all cerebral preparation proves inadequate, he can still go schoolyard. This is where he separates himself from his predecessor, who ran only to preserve the play, if not his livelihood.

Dak's running threat gives defenses more than it can handle. Hard enough to deal with the league's best offensive line and maybe its best running back, not to mention contain a top-five wide receiver. Or a quarterback who doesn't make foolish mistakes.

And then you have to worry that he'll take off, too?

For all the reasons above, it's been my contention that the Cowboys will lose because of their defense, not Dak. He had a few awkward moments Thursday. But his scrambles, augmented by a great special teams play by Kyle Wilber, enabled Thursday's win.

And that despite some uncharacteristically poor play by the Cowboys overall. Too many penalties. Sloppy fundamentals. Only on occasion did they look like the systematic, near-robotic team that has grinded opponents into submission.

Certainly the quality of the opponent had something to do with it. The Vikes have one of the NFL's top three defenses. Also a tough venue.

But isn't it also possible that the burden of the Cowboys' winning streak had something to do with it, too?

No matter what it looked like Thursday, the Vikings were better at stopping themselves by refusing to challenge the Cowboys deep, where they're vulnerable. The offense carries these Cowboys.

And the offense is carried by the offensive line and a couple of rookies.

Let me ask: How much longer can the kids keep this up?

For my money, until next Sunday. Playing the Giants on the road in December is never fun. Eli Manning and his elite corps of receivers may be too much to handle.

Even so, losing to the Giants would be the end of the streak, not the world. The Cowboys would remain atop the division.

Even better: They'd have three more regular-season games to shrug off the weight of history and concentrate on the here and now. And we wouldn't complain about losing at all. Well, maybe a little. Nature of the job.
Respectfully Mr. Sherrington, the tight game vs. the Vikings, where the team played poorly does the same thing.
 

L.T. Fan

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Respectfully Mr. Sherrington, the tight game vs. the Vikings, where the team played poorly does the same thing.
Yep. The Vikings have a pretty tough defense to scuttle most teams offenses. The Cowboys found a way to climb through it. The Giants won't be that formitable on defense.
 

Simpleton

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If we only win one more regular season game this year it better be this one
As long as we win two more in the regular season to clinch HFA I couldn't give a single fuck who they come against. I guess beating the Giants and potentially contributing to them missing the playoffs would be nice but as far as the just the Cowboys success goes it doesn't really matter to me.
 

Rev

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As long as we win two more in the regular season to clinch HFA I couldn't give a single fuck who they come against. I guess beating the Giants and potentially contributing to them missing the playoffs would be nice but as far as the just the Cowboys success goes it doesn't really matter to me.
Pretty sure it's just one more win to clinch HFA.
 

Rev

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Seattle could win out and go 12-3-1, if we only win one more we're 12-4.
Thought I read that the game against the Giants was HFA? I know I've seen it here. You guys better get your stuff correct. :unsure
 

Cotton

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Thought I read that the game against the Giants was HFA? I know I've seen it here. You guys better get your stuff correct. :unsure
They damn sure better. I don't want to, but if I am forced to, I WILL drop an fpickering up in this bitch.
 

Simpleton

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Thought I read that the game against the Giants was HFA? I know I've seen it here. You guys better get your stuff correct. :unsure
We clinch the division with a win, I'm fairly certain we can't clinch HFA with just 12 wins unless Seattle loses one too, which would mean we need two wins to clinch as of now.
 

Rev

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We clinch the division with a win, I'm fairly certain we can't clinch HFA with just 12 wins unless Seattle loses one too, which would mean we need two wins to clinch as of now.
Bah!! It's in the bag regardles.
 

Cowboysrock55

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We clinch the division with a win, I'm fairly certain we can't clinch HFA with just 12 wins unless Seattle loses one too, which would mean we need two wins to clinch as of now.
This is correct. Although I'm not sure what the tie breaker would look like with the Lions either as they have four losses. Technically they could win out and be 12-4 to tie us at best.

Anyway, a win against the Giants would all but clinch the thing for us. I doubt Seattle goes undefeated the rest of the way and I doubt Dallas loses all 3 of their final games. So with that in mind beat the Giants and HFA is basically a formality. I don't even want to entertain a loss but frankly we'd still be in great position.
 

22cowboysfan22

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This is correct. Although I'm not sure what the tie breaker would look like with the Lions either as they have four losses. Technically they could win out and be 12-4 to tie us at best.

Anyway, a win against the Giants would all but clinch the thing for us. I doubt Seattle goes undefeated the rest of the way and I doubt Dallas loses all 3 of their final games. So with that in mind beat the Giants and HFA is basically a formality. I don't even want to entertain a loss but frankly we'd still be in great position.
We actually play the Lions in Week 16, so if we both finished 12-4 with them beating us they would have the tie breaker.
 
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