🏈 Introducing The NFL’s Most Fascinating Team

The Giants have put themselves in position for a playoff spot by accepting their shortcomings and working around them. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The New York Giants’ recent run has been a triumph of resiliency, adaptability, survival – and most of all, intelligence. ... we take a look at how Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller has wowed women’s sports icons ... and we are treated to some must-see photos of the Lakers’ NBA City Edition jerseys. Pete Carroll remembers the sneers and the jibes and the simmering resentment, the direct criticism that his team didn’t belong in the postseason and the implied unwelcome of calls for the National Football League to change its playoff regulations to avoid such an outcome. Back in 2010, three years before they won a Super Bowl, Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks set football sensibilities on their head by daring to reach the playoffs with a losing record, finishing atop the NFC West with a 7-9 record sufficient to win a tiebreaker against the St. Louis Rams. “It was an unusual experience and we took a lot of disparaging comments,” Carroll told reporters this week. “Which just added to the fun of beating the world champs in the opening game.’’ Carroll’s Seahawks went on to sink the New Orleans Saints in the wildcard round, [remembered in NFL Lore as the “Beast Quake” game](. The experience has given him a rather distinct perspective on the oddity of this year’s NFC East plotline, one he is running directly into this weekend. The New York Giants, who will travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET on FOX, can be looked at in two ways. [STORY IMAGE 1] As a 4-7 team without its starting quarterback and star running back that has somehow stumbled its way to the top of an historically dire division. Or, in a season that rewards such things more than any other, the architect of a surprising bounce back from an 0-5 start, a regrouping that has been a triumph of resiliency, adaptability, survival – and most of all, intelligence. “They are a fascinating team,” three-time Super Bowl champion and FOX Sports NFL analyst Mark Schlereth told me in a telephone conversation. “After Week 4, I told people, they are going to win the division. “Their key is they are really good at not asking guys to do what they can’t do. They are the masters of mitigating their weaknesses and the first step in that is admitting you have weaknesses. They understand where they are not good. Once you do that, you attack where you can in the right spots.” Some still bristle at the possibility that the NFC East could produce a champion with a record as poor as 5-11, which would clinch a home playoff game while others with a positive ledger may miss out. Carroll, whose team is 8-3 but by no means guaranteed to top the NFC West, has no problem with it. “All I would say is whoever comes out of that division and is a division champ, whoever plays them had better look out,” Carroll said. “There’s a lot going on that side of it and what you want to prove and how you want to go about it. (In 2010), in that opportunity -- our guys played great football.” [STORY IMAGE 2] The rules are the rules and while rewarding losing teams is not to everyone’s taste, one saving grace is that at least there is still a genuine struggle for the NFC East title, unlike the NFC North (effectively over), AFC North (soon to be over) and AFC West (on the verge of being mathematically over). The Giants are on a mini-roll of three victories and know no way other than to battle it out in nail-bitingly close games. This season they have lost by one, two, three and four points, and won by one, two and three. Their defense is not blessed with a glut of talent but is ruthlessly physical and relies heavily on complex disguises that avoid unfavorable man-to-man matchups. With the ball, they have committed to the run even with Saquon Barkley and Devonta Freeman out injured, while Daniel Jones – doubtful with a hamstring injury this week (Colt McCoy should deputize) – has exhibited what Schlereth described as “exponential growth.” [STORY IMAGE 3] Head coach Joe Judge has beaten a steady tune in insisting this year is about growth and not the postseason, but he may soon have to change his tack. New York is beginning to get excited about the Giants, and with five games left they are in a stronger position than Washington, the injury-riddled Dallas Cowboys, or the how-completely-can-we-fall-apart Philadelphia Eagles. [FiveThirtyEight rates the Giants the 26th best team in the NFL]( but puts their chances of winning the division at 38 percent, well clear of second-best Washington on 29 percent. [FOX Bet lists the Giants at +210 to win the NFC East]( followed by Washington at +220, Philadelphia at +235, and Dallas at a distant +500. “I don't like the use the word momentum, but they have got something going for them,” former NFL offensive lineman and FOX Sports NFL analyst Geoff Schwartz said when speaking about the Giants. “I feel like all the NFC East teams should have optimism, because they all can see a clear path to a home playoff game. Win three out of five and you're going to be in.” [STORY IMAGE 4] Some teams this season have suffered from over-confidence. The Giants have put themselves in position by accepting their shortcomings and working around them. They’re not a great team, but they are a long way removed from being a lost cause. And, as a unique situation provides an unlikely opportunity, they are the only protagonist in a poor division that is moving towards the light. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Blake Martinez, New York Giants Linebacker: “To be honest, I don't think we care too much about the outside opinion. For us in general, we want to go out there and show our own improvement and show ourselves that we can go and finish those types of games. Kind of going back to earlier in the season, we ... could have won multiple games early on. We want to show that we're that winning type of team and go finish those, like I said, that November and December football.” Logan Ryan, New York Giants Safety: “I don't care if a team is 0-12, I'm trying to win. I don't care what their record is. Winning is a mentality, and obviously we didn't start the year hot. That's OK. I believe that years of losing can bring a type of culture, a type of onus over a team. We dug ourselves out of that hole. We're not front-runners, we started off in the back of the pack and now we're in the middle of the pack. It's our job to finish strong.” Jordan Raanan, ESPN: “The New York Giants have won three straight games against three losing teams. It's an accomplishment if only because a month or so ago they were an opponent that losing teams knew they could beat -- a role they had held for the better part of the past four seasons. Now comes the hard part.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Will BYU’s trip to Coastal Carolina impact the College Football Playoff? [ESPN Analytics writer Seth Walder]( has the answer here. - Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller’s historic moment last weekend inspired many, but what she’s done with her platform since has wowed women’s sports icons. [Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports]( explains why the kick was just the beginning for Fuller. - Bellarmine, a small Catholic school in Louisville coached by former Rick Pitino assistant Scotty Davenport, is ready for its baptism as a Division I basketball program. [Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated]( explains how a hometown hero built a Division I basketball program. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( We’ve seen NBA teams across the league drop new designs for their Nike NBA City Edition jerseys for the upcoming 2020-21 season. We have already featured the likes of the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers in this section of the newsletter, but when we got a glimpse of the Los Angeles Lakers’ jerseys, dedicated to the great Elgin Baylor, well … it’s game over. The Minneapolis Lakers Blue is so classic, and the thought of LeBron James and Anthony Davis sporting these jerseys has to bring a smile to Lakers fans. We’ve got one word to describe these jerseys … ICY! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Roman Reigns responds to Kevin Owens this Friday on SmackDown. Ohio State at Michigan State (Saturday, ABC, 12 p.m. ET) Justin Fields and the No. 4-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Michigan State Spartans. Baylor at Oklahoma (Saturday, FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Spencer Rattler and the Oklahoma Sooners host Charlie Brewer and the Baylor Bears in a Big 12 clash. Errol Spence Jr. vs. Danny Garcia (Saturday, FOX Sports pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET) Watch the biggest fight of the year as Errol Spence Jr. steps back in the ring against Danny Garcia to defend his Unified WBC/IBF Welterweight titles. New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, FOX, 1 p.m. ET) Alvin Kamara and the New Orleans Saints take on Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks (Sunday, FOX, 4:05 p.m.) A pair of division leaders clash as Colt McCoy and the New York Giants battle Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( As we enter the home stretch of the NFL season, with five weeks left, we largely have a sense of who the best teams are. And this week, NFL fans have a chance to win $100,000, absolutely for free, in the [FOX Super 6 contest](. Here are the FOX Super 6 games for Week 13 and Jason McIntyre’s predictions for each: Lions by 1-3 points vs. Bears Saints by 1-3 points vs. Falcons Steelers by 7-9 points vs. Washington Football Team Seahawks by 13-plus points vs. Giants Cardinals by 1-3 points vs. Rams Chiefs by 10-12 points vs. Broncos [WHAT THEY SAID] “I’ve observed that if individuals who prevail in a high competitive environment have any one thing in common besides success, it is failure—and their ability to overcome it.” — Bill Walsh [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. 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