NFL Monday Night Football takes place tonight with a big game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins. This game is packed with Playoff implications and this is a match up that neither team dares lose if they are to maintain their push for the postseason spots. The game has a scheduled start time of 8.30 p.m. ET and takes place from Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The game can be watched on TV on the ESPN network or online through live stream via the link below.
Although the Miami Dolphins are still technically in the Playoff picture still, their realistic chances of making the postseason are slim to none. If they lose tonight they would be as good as dead and buried, however, a win would still technically leave them in the hunt.
The Dolphins come into this game on 5-7 and are currently just the 11th seeded team in the AFC. Even if they win out all their remaining games it may not be enough, although a win here tonight would at least put them level with the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East.
The New York Giants meanwhile are still very much in the Playoff hunt, despite having the same 5-7 record as the Dolphins. The Giants belong in the chronically underachieving NFC East where no team is currently even on .500.
Coming into Week 14 there was a three way tie at the top of the division, and with the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles winning on Sunday, the Giants now know they must win to keep pace with the pack at the top.
The Dallas Cowboys were still in the race coming into this past weekend, but another defeat for them leaves them way back on 4-9 and their hopes are surely now over.
A loss today for the Giants would not put them out of the picture by any means, but with all the NFC East teams doing so badly, it is likely to be a winner takes all contest between the Redskins, Eagles and Giants, and second or third place will mean an early offseason.
The Giants must snap their three game losing streak tonight and at least maintain a share of the spoils at the top of the NFC East if they are to finally get back into the Playoffs. New York has missed out on the postseason for three straight seasons and a fourth in a row would surely put Tom Coughlin under immense pressure
If the Giants were being honest with themselves they will know that they should have wrapped up the NFC East a long time ago. They have wasted opportunity after opportunity this season, and have unexplainably allowed numerous games to slip from their grasp.
Five of the Giants' seven losses this season have come via fourth quarter collapses in the final two minutes of play. Overall in those five losses they have lost by a combined total of just 12 points. So if there was ever a team in the habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory this New York Giants outfit would be excellent candidates.
Their season was summarized perfectly in the way they dramatically lost to their local rivals, the New York Jets recently. Blowing a 10 point lead in the final quarter, Coughlin and the Giants opted to go for a touchdown with 8:50 remaining in regulation time when on fourth and 2 at the Jets 4 yard line.
By trying to turn a sure three points into a touchdown, Eli Manning threw an interception and the Jets' comeback started.
Of course the Giants' collapse was more extensive than that single play. Josh Brown also missed a 48 yard field goal in overtime to complete the devastating loss.
Some New York fans have grown impatient and staring at the real possibility of another season without Playoffs football some are calling for Coughlin's head.
In responds Coughlin has said, "I don't pay any attention. I try to stay focused for the benefit of my team, my coaches and everybody else. You can all disagree. We are trying to win games the best way we can."
He added, "To be honest with you, nobody knows my team better than I know my team. When you sit in judgment of what goes on, it's all been thought out, whether you like it or not and whether it's right or wrong."
Over their last three game losing streak the Giants have lost by a combined total of just 10 points, and if they cannot find a way to get on the right side of close results immediately their hopes will be dashed for another season.
Eli Manning has said, "Coach put us in a position, he trusts us to go make a play, and we've got to do it. We've got to play better at some critical moments in the game. We do some good things, we get close, we do a lot of good things, and it's just kind of that final step, those last few yards, and the difference between winning games and losing games. We're just not making that crucial play to get us the win."
NFL Monday Night Football between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins has a scheduled start time of 8.30 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the ESPN network or online through live stream by clicking here.
