New York Giants Week 8 rooting guide: Go, Cardinals

The New York Giants enter their bye week at 4-2-1 with a 1.5-game lead over the Dallas Cowboys and a 2.5-game lead over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East.

Their Week 1 win over Dallas already provides a current head-to-head tiebreaker, giving Sunday’s results extra importance for division positioning and the broader NFC playoff race. While the most consequential game is the late-night matchup in Washington, several other contests could also strengthen New York’s standing.

Root for Washington over Philadelphia

The Eagles face the Commanders at 8:20 p.m. on NBC. Philadelphia is 2-5 and trails the Giants by 2.5 games. Another loss would drop the Eagles to 2-6 and push them three games behind New York. The Giants tied Washington in Week 5 and play the Commanders again in Week 10, making a Commanders victory particularly useful for the division standings.

Root for Arizona over Dallas

The Cardinals visit the Cowboys at 1:00 p.m. on FOX. Dallas remains the closest threat in the standings. A Cowboys loss would leave Dallas at 3-5 and increase the Giants’ division lead to two games. Combined with the existing head-to-head advantage from their Week 1 win, that outcome would reinforce New York’s control of the NFC East heading into its Week 9 trip to Philadelphia. The Giants play Dallas again in Week 17.

Root for Minnesota over Detroit

The Vikings visit the Lions at 1:00 p.m. on FOX. Minnesota is 6-0 while Detroit is 4-2. A Lions loss would not directly affect the division race, but it would improve the Giants’ relative standing in the broader NFC playoff picture by preventing another conference rival from gaining ground.

Root for the Chargers over the Rams

The Chargers face the Rams at 4:05 p.m. on FOX. The Rams are 3-4 and the Chargers are 0-6. A Rams defeat would keep another NFC team from closing the gap on New York in the overall conference standings, although with a loss against the Rams earlier this season, there is an argument to be made for strength of schedule.

Secondary NFC interests

Additional results that would help include Tampa Bay over Atlanta, and Chicago over Seattle.

The Giants’ best-case bye-week scenario is a Washington win over Philadelphia, an Arizona win over Dallas, and losses by Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle, and the Rams.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants Week 8 rooting guide: Go, Cardinals