EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants are an average team on the road. They’re a dominant team at home.

That’s what their record says after they defeated the Detroit Lions 17-6 Sunday afternoon. If you come into MetLife Stadium this season, you’re likely to lose.

"I think we’ve got to give the crowd some credit," coach Ben McAdoo said of what he thought gave the Giants an advantage in New Jersey. "They were loud today, they got after them a little bit and that's always encouraging when the crowd gets behind you. I think from a communication standpoint, it helps offensively and the noise helps on defense."

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The Giants (10-4) will finish the regular season 7-1 at home this year. They’re 3-3 on the road, and their home dominance has them on the brink of qualifying for the postseason.

“It means a lot. Obviously we’re hitting our spots, reaching our goals slowly but surely as the year goes on,” said wide receiver Victor Cruz, who had a key 29-yard reception on Sunday. “Making the playoffs is the main goal, or one of the main goals. To be in position to do that, to have it be in our hands, for us to be in control of that, it’s a beautiful thing.

Now it’s a matter of whether they get another home game this season. The Giants play at Philadelphia and Washington in the final two weeks of the season. If they make the playoffs – which seems destined to happen – they’re unlikely to play another home game unless the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys collapse.

The Cowboys (11-2) are playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday night.

Here's what we know at this point: After winning for the eighth time in nine games, the Giants are in the lead for the NFC's top wild-card spot. According to Football Outsiders, they had a 93 percent chance of reaching the postseason if they beat the Lions Sunday.

You have to like those chances. The Giants' goal now needs to be to take the winning recipe they displayed on Sunday afternoon with them on the road. That is where their fate ultimately may lie.

Their stingy defense didn’t allow the Lions into the end zone, and they made just enough offensive plays to beat a quality opponent. Odell Beckham Jr. had a fourth-quarter touchdown reception, his 10th in his past 10 games. Seven of his 10 touchdowns this season have come at MetLife Stadium.

It didn’t even matter that the Giants lost top cornerback Janoris Jenkins in the first half Sunday to a back injury. They moved veteran Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the slot to the outside and inserted Coty Sensabaugh into the nickel package. The Giants continued to shut down the opposition.

“I think it’s the swagger. It’s every day,” Beckham said of the defense he practices against throughout the week. “They don’t just come here Sunday and turn it on. It’s every day of practice. They come up with turnovers in practice and stops in practice. They practice the way that they play. What it is, this is a family team. … I’ve been preaching about Super Bowl this year. You don’t say that stuff just to say that stuff. You say that if you truly believe that.

“That’s what we’re doing right now. We’re truly trying our very best to get to the Super Bowl. That’s our goal. It starts one game at a time.”

The offense still wasn’t a well-oiled machine, but it again proved better at home than on the road this season. Quarterback Eli Manning completed his first 10 passes and went 20-of-28 for 201 yards and two touchdowns. It was the first time in the Giants' past three games he topped 200 yards passing.

Manning came into the contest having completed 66 percent of his passes at home compared to 59 percent on the road. It helps the Giants move the ball more effectively. They also ran for 114 yards on Sunday against the Lions. They came into the contest averaging 79 yards per game on the ground.

Only a blown lead in the fourth quarter of a Week 3 loss to the Washington Redskins kept the Giants from sweeping their home slate. Winning out could give them a shot at another home game, because home is where they want to be.