The Giants entered the 2022 NFL season with very little fanfare. It was presumed that the team was entering a mini-rebuild as New York's new brain trust of head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen assessed a roster with middling talent and few resources to make up for it.
The 2022 season was going to be one during which the Giants would evaluate whether Daniel Jones could be the answer at quarterback and whether Saquon Barkley would be able to recover after a couple of injury-plagued seasons.
Instead, the Giants exceeded expectations. They took advantage of an easy early-season schedule and jumped out to a 7-2 start despite playing in the loaded NFC East.
And ahead of Week 18, the team has officially clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2016.
MORE: Updated NFL playoff picture for Week 18
The 2022 season will be viewed as a successful one for the Giants regardless of their postseason results. That said, plenty of New York fans want to know exactly what chances the Giants will have to advance in the postseason and who they will match up against in the wild-card round.
Which team will that be? Here's a breakdown of how Week 18 will impact the Giants' postseason outlook and potential opponents.
Why Giants are locked into NFC No. 6 seed
The Giants were locked into the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff picture after their 38-10 win over the Colts in Week 17.
New York has a 9-6-1 record which is good for third in the NFC East. It is well behind the marks of Philadelphia (13-3) and Dallas (12-4) in that race, so that means that the Giants can't finish as the division winner or the top wild-card team.
As such, the only question the Giants faced was whether a team in the race for the No. 7 seed would be able to catch them. They have a one-and-a-half game lead over the three teams vying for that spot — the Seahawks, Packers and Lions — in that race. Since there is just one game remaining in the season, the Giants are set to be the No. 6 seed.
Had the Giants lost to the Commanders in Week 12 instead of tying, they could have been in danger of entering a three-way tie for the final two NFC playoff spots by the end of Week 18. So, that tie will end up proving beneficial to them in the end.
MORE: Saquon Barkley praises Daniel Jones, Brian Daboll after clinching playoff spot
Potential Giants playoff matchups
The Giants only have two potential opponents in the first round of the 2023 NFL playoffs. They will play either the 49ers or the Vikings depending on how Week 18's results shake out.
As it stands, the Vikings are the No. 3 seed in the NFC and are the team that is most likely to face the Giants. They are behind in a lot of the tiebreaker categories needed to move up in the NFC standings. They have head-to-head losses to the Eagles and Cowboys and have the worst conference record (7-4) among the teams battling for the top two seeds.
The Vikings will end up being the No. 3 seed if any of the following scenarios occur:
- Minnesota loses OR
- San Francisco wins OR
- Both teams tie
Meanwhile, the 49ers can only be the No. 3 seed if either of these scenarios unfolds:
- San Francisco loses and Minnesota wins or ties OR
- San Francisco ties and Minnesota wins
With that said, it seems more likely that the Vikings will remain in the No. 3 spot. As such, the Giants can tentatively start brainstorming ways to avenge their 27-24 loss at Minnesota's hands in Week 16, though they can't rule out the possibility that they could play the 49ers, too.
