For the Giants, getting in was challenging. Staying in, that will require some staying power.
The Giants took off after a three-game losing streak to win six straight games and eight of nine, a surge that inflated their record to 10-4 and all but assured them of ending a five-year postseason drought. They built up enough equity that the stumble in Philadelphia only delayed their clinching by two days.
The Giants did not back into the playoffs. Beating the first-place Cowboys and first-place Lions in back-to-back weeks in December legitimized their playoff candidacy. Their defense will keep them in games.