Battle for draft top pick: Giants at Raiders set for rare Week 17 matchup that NFL hasn't seen in 44 years

With the NFL season now in Week 17, there are plenty of important games on the schedule this week and most of them have playoff implications, but that's also one VERY important game being played on Sunday that doesn't have any playoff implications at all: Giants at Raiders, which will be kicking off at 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS (streaming on Paramount+). 

On paper, it might not sound like a sexy game: Both teams are 2-13 and both teams have long been eliminated from the playoffs. However, this is actually a huge game because it could decide who gets the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

The game will also make NFL history: 

• The Raiders and Giants are both going into the game on a nine-game losing streak, which makes this the FIRST GAME in NFL history that will feature two teams playing each other who have both lost at least nine straight games. 
• This game will also mark the first time in 44 years that the two teams who have sole possession of the two worst records in the NFL will play each other during the final two weeks of the season, according to the Associated Press. The last time it happened came in 1981 when the 1-14 Colts beat the 2-13 Patriots, 23-21, in the final week of the season. Thanks to the win, the Colts ended up finishing 2-14, but BOTH of their wins coming against the Patriots, so New England ended up getting the No. 1 overall pick in 1982. 

Right now, the Giants have the upper-hand when it comes to earning the No. 1 overall pick. According to our SportsLine projections, the Giants have a 32.6% chance of landing it while the Raiders are right behind them at 27.6%. The loser of this game will clinch the No. 1 overall pick as long as they ALSO lose in Week 18. However, if the loser of this game ends up winning in Week 18 -- The Raiders will face the Chiefs while the Giants will face the Cowboys -- then that could open the door for the Browns, Cardinals, Jets or Titans to clinch the No. 1 overall pick. If multiple teams end up tied for the worst record in the NFL, then the tiebreaker is strength of schedule. The team that faced the easiest strength of schedule would win that tiebreaker and the Browns are currently in the driver's seat for winning that tiebreaker. 

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Josh Edwards

This is the rare game where both fan bases will likely be rooting for their team to lose. The upside for Giants fans is that New York has done a good job of losing on the road: Over the past 14 months, the Giants have lost 13 straight road games with their last win coming in Week 5 of the 2024 season. 

Even though the Giants have struggled on the road, they might not be able to out-tank the Raiders. Las Vegas ranks dead last in the NFL in both points per game (14.5) and yards per game (248.9). Geno Smith has also thrown 15 interceptions this season, which is tied for the most in the NFL. 

That being said, one player who definitely won't be tanking on Sunday is Maxx Crosby. 

"I don't give a shit about the [top] pick, to be honest," Crosby told reporters this week. "I don't play for that. That's not my job. My job is to be the best defensive end in the world."

The Giants are currently favored by 1.5 points, but if we've learned one thing from NFL history, it's that the point spread might not really mean much in a game like this. This is the fourth time since the merger that the two worst teams have played each other this late in the season and the favored team has gone 0-2 (There was also one game that was a pick'em). The Colts were a 6-point underdog in their 1981 game against the Patriots. 

The loser of this game will suddenly be the front-runner to earn the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and if you're wondering what they might do with that pick, you should head here and check out our collection of mock drafts. 

There are also plenty of games that will have major playoff implications this week and if you want to know what will be at stake in each of those games, we broke that down here.