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The rival Cowboys positively crushed their Sunday opponent, and it might have been the best news of all for the Giants’ precarious playoff hopes during their bye week.

The 40-point loss by the Falcons clearly was a better result for the idle 3-6 Giants, whose path to the NFL playoffs for the first time since after the 2016 season is far more likely to be as a wild-card entry than it appears to be in catching the rolling Cowboys (7-2) in the NFC East.

Even with wins by the Panthers (5-5) – with Cam Newton screaming, “I’m back!” – and by divisional foes Washington and Philadelphia, the Giants will enter the second half of their season 1 ½ games out of the seventh playoff position in the conference.