The New York Giants are celebrating their centenary season. They may not be as old as the Arizona Cardinals, but they have four Super Bowls, four more than the Cardinals. Unfortunately, the Giants have parted like the Red Sea in 2024 as their season in the NFC East can’t end soon enough.
Quarterback Issues With Daniel Jones
The signs were there in the very first game of the season against the Minnesota Vikings. Sports Illustrated was particularly brutal on quarterback Daniel Jones. “We have seen far too many times that when his first option is taken away, he goes into semi-panic mode and throws the ball either at the feet of his receivers or to a different-colored jersey,” said SI in September. Jones was sacked five times in the 28-6 loss.
When the plug was finally pulled after a horror run, Jones’s stats were 3-13 in 16 starts since signing a four-year, $160 million deal last Spring. The player was shorn of confidence, perhaps not totally surprising given that he was coming off a torn ACL. It would be unreal to blame their malaise on one player.
Heavy Defeats Hurting the Giants
However, the turning point was that game against the Philadelphia Eagles after which Jones was finally benched as Drew Lock was thrown on. It was another huge loss, 28-3, and the irony was that the Giants had offloaded Saquon Barkley to their opponents. Barkey is currently chasing the NFL season rushing record. The Eagles are the team with some serious Super Bowl odds. It is almost cruel to think what might have been.
When they lost at home for the seventh time in the campaign to the New Orleans Saints in a tight game in December, there was even the agony of a last-gasp field goal not quite reaching its target. A tie would be better than a loss, because of the Giants’ epic losing run.
Where did this go wrong? It was only a couple of years ago that the G Men competed in their first playoff in 11 seasons. However, things started to go wrong in 2023 when a glut of injuries affected key players and there was a marked frostiness between coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
Background issues sometimes spill out onto the pitch and the offensive statistics have not been great.
New York Giants Offense And Defense Are Worlds Apart
“The offense is playing losing football. The defense is playing winning football,” said the New York Post. It is one team with two different identities. As if to illustrate the point, the Giants were the only team to have scored under 200 points after 13 rounds. The nearest ‘rivals’ for such a statistic were the New England Patriots who are having another nightmare season. These teams with a great heritage are hitting some bum notes.
In the first dozen games alone the Giant’s offense turned the ball 17 times, resulting in a -8 turnover margin. Their third down offense is particularly poor and when it comes down to a field goal to snatch something as it did against New Orleans, then there isn’t much to build on.
Their red zone conversion rate might as well be holding up a white flag of submission. Their offensive plays are slow and uncreative, allowing opposition defense to line them up and keep the score down. It is difficult to see Maybe they should be playing rugby. Their injuries are piling up again too with cornerback Tre Hawkins suffering a spinal problem recently.
Possible Bright Spots for the 2025 Draft
It is not all doom and gloom for the offseason. Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders appears to have made some overtures to the G Men. He set a new record for Colorado’s all-time new passing record and has the strut and confidence that the Giants so desperately need in such a key position. That draft pick is going to be crucial because the only way is up. Winning campaigns are more than a decade ago now. Something has to happen to kickstart a change.
At least the franchise is in good shape financially. The exit of Jones to the Vikings freed up $19 million in salary space for 2025 and there’s more than 60 million in cap space. The Giants are also in good company. The New York Jets know the score is bad too in the Big Apple.
The Giants need big scores and could reunite two school friends Tre Harris and Malik Nabers for 2025. Two exciting wide receivers being fed by Sanders sounds like fun. It will certainly be more entertaining than the write-off that is 2024.