NFL

Odds aren’t with Giants

The Giants have a 28-percent chance of making the NFL playoffs by winning their final two games, according to oddsmakers.

If the Giants (7-7) beat the Jets today and the Cowboys in their regular-season finale on Jan. 1, they would win the NFC East and return to the postseason for the first time in three years.

“If you said at the beginning of the season we would be in this position — have two games left and knowing if you win you’re in the playoffs — you’d take it every time,” Giants quarterback Eli Manning told reporters. “That’s a spot you want to be in. We’re here. Now it’s how we handle it.”

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The Giants are 3-point underdogs against the Jets and would be listed as 2.5-point favorites against the Cowboys on Jan. 1, Las Vegas oddsmakers said. Those point spreads put the Giants’ chances of making the playoffs at 28 percent, said RJ Bell, the founder of Las Vegas-based handicapping information website Pregame.com.

The Cowboys have a 60-percent chance of taking the NFC East title, and the Eagles’ odds of making the postseason stand at 12 percent. The Cowboys play host to the Eagles today and are favored by 1 1/2-points.

The point spreads aren’t the only odds against the Giants, who rank last among the NFL’s 32 teams with 86.1 yards rushing a game.

Since the current playoff format was introduced in 1990, just two teams have reached the postseason with the league’s worst rushing attack: the Cardinals in 2008 and the Colts in 2009. Both those teams advanced to the Super Bowl.

The Giants have set a franchise record with 4,186 yards passing, third in the NFL. They last finished among the league’s top three teams in passing yardage in 1973, and Manning said he realizes the pressure will be on him to play well.

“These last two games will dictate a lot of things and whether our season can be a good season or not,” he said.

The Cowboys lead the NFC East with an 8-6 record, with the Giants at 7-7 and the Eagles at 6-8.

To make the postseason, the Eagles have to win their final two games and also need the Giants to lose to the Jets and then beat the Cowboys. Dallas would clinch the NFC East title this week with a win and a Giants loss.

The Broncos (8-6), who have won seven of their last nine games with Tim Tebow at quarterback, have an 86.5 percent chance of winning the AFC West title and earning a playoff berth.

Denver leads the division at 8-6 and are favored in their final two games, at Buffalo and at home against Kansas City. The Raiders and Chargers are 7-7 in the division, and the Chiefs are still alive at 6-8.

The Raiders (7-7), with games against the Chiefs (6-8) and Chargers,(7-7), have the second-best chance at winning the division at 6 percent, according to Pregame.com.

The Chiefs are at 5 percent and the Chargers are at 2.5 percent.