Kirk Cousins

Redskins have all the incentive in game against Giants (Jan 01, 2017)

Published Dec. 30, 2016 6:45 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON -- The playoff picture is clear for the Washington Redskins.

Beat the New York Giants on Sunday at FedEx Field and they're in -- as long as the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions don't tie on Sunday night.

A regular season that began with two losses and was nearly sidetracked by a bad home loss two weeks ago can end with a postseason berth as the NFC's sixth seed if Washington (8-6-1) defeats the playoff-bound Giants (10-5), who have nothing to play for on Sunday.

Washington's berth would give the NFC East three playoff teams for the first time since 2007.

"It's Week 17, we should be mentally sound. We should be physically in good shape and ready to roll," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. "We have got a lot to play for, so it should be exciting for them."

The Redskins had lost three of four before routing the Chicago Bears last week behind five interceptions -- two each by Josh Norman and Bashaud Breeland -- from a defense that had mustered just eight in 14 games.

With a win -- and barring a Packers-Lions tie -- the Redskins would secure the sixth seed and a trip to the No. 3 seed: either Atlanta, Seattle, Detroit or Green Bay, depending on Sunday's outcomes.

The Giants, heading to the playoffs for the first time since 2011, are locked into the No. 5 seed and will play at the No. 4 seed on Wild Card Weekend.

With their position sewn up, the question is how much will first-year Giants coach Ben McAdoo play his starters on Sunday.

"The starters are going to play," McAdoo told reporters Wednesday. "I don't know any other way to do it."

Asked if starters will play the entire game, he replied, "The game, yes. The game."

What that means for quarterback Eli Manning (198 straight regular-season starts) and wide receiver Odell Beckham (four catches from his first 100-reception season) remains to be seen, but the Giants are coming off a lackluster offensive effort in a Week 16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

"You want to have momentum," wide receiver Victor Cruz told the team's website. "Obviously, winning, mentally, gives you that momentum. It makes you feel like you're ready to go into the postseason.

"We're excited about that opportunity and obviously beating Washington will start that off."

That could mean FedEx fans get to see the latest chapter of Norman versus Odell Beckham for more than a series.

New York ranks 25th in the league in scoring at 19.4 points per game and has not scored 20 points in a game since a 27-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 12.

The Redskins, meanwhile, are averaging 25.7 points per game, and quarterback Kirk Cousins needs 370 passing yards to post the first 5,000-yard season in team history.

"Every game is important," Cousins said of Sunday's affair. "If we had won a game earlier in the year that we ended up losing, I think we would already have pretty much clinched. So they're all important and this one is no different."

Washington wide receiver DeSean Jackson is rolling. He has 12 catches for 225 yards, an average of 18.8 yards per catch, in his last two games.

He has got great speed, obviously he's got great quickness and still has unbelievable hands," Gruden said. "You think of him just as speed guy, but some of the catches he made against Carolina, you saw the great hands and the great ball control and body control that he has."

Washington won the teams' first meeting 29-27 in Week 3 when Dustin Hopkins kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:51 to play. The Giants turned the ball over three times that day and had 11 penalties for 128 yards.

The Redskins will be without defensive back Su'a Cravens (upper arm) on Sunday but hope to have tight end Jordan Reed (shoulder) in the lineup. On Wednesday, the Redskins placed safety Donte Whitner on injured reserve and signed safety Josh Evans.

Giants CB Janoris Jenkins (back) was limited in practices but is listed as questionable.