Once again, the bye week might as well be a goodbye for the Giants.
A goodbye, as in “adios,” as in “see ya,” as in parting ways with a season that went nowhere, accomplished little and set the franchise back rather than move it forward to bigger and better things.
There is nothing bigger or better about the 2024 Giants. They are 2-8 and take a five-game losing streak into their final stretch of seven games, none of which will contain any shred of playoff implications.
There were no great expectations for this team heading into the season, but there was at least some hope that with the return to health of Daniel Jones, the arrival of rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, a revamped (once again) offensive line, two new coordinators and some added firepower on defense, the Giants could hang out on the fringe of contention.
That has not happened. They are 0-4 against the NFC East and 0-5 at MetLife Stadium, hearing jeers and disgust when playing at home. What likely comes next at the Meadowlands will be even more distressing: The eerie sound of silence from unoccupied seats.
This has been a setback for the regime of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. Co-owner John Mara, when the Giants were 2-5, said that he would not fire that power duo during this season, “and I do not anticipate making any changes in the offseason, either.”
Since making that declaration, the Giants have lost to the Steelers (by eight points), Commanders (by five points) and Panthers (by three points in overtime), defeats that would test anyone’s patience. Heading into Week 11, the Giants held the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft, a spot no one in the building expected the organization to hold three years into the rebuild.
Can the Giants salvage a few games down the stretch to at least make their final record look better than the unsightliness of 2-15, 3-14 or 4-13? How much does that matter, anyway? The questions up ahead for this franchise are all fairly depressing in nature.
Most Valuable Player
So many players, so few legitimate candidates. The MVP of this disappointing team is Dexter Lawrence, by a landslide. In his sixth season, Big Dex has emerged as the preeminent nose tackle in the league. He is second in the NFL in sacks with nine (edge rusher Trey Hendrickson leads the way with 11), and big guys on the inside are not supposed to push the pocket and get home with such frequency.
Lawrence, according to Pro Football Focus, has the second-highest grade of any interior defender, behind only Cameron Heyward of the Steelers. All this has happened despite constant double- and at times triple-teams designed to prevent him from breaking loose. Lawrence, 26, has also embraced his leadership role by being more vocal and animated around his teammates. As dominant as he has been, it is confounding how porous the run defense has been — 29th in the league, allowing 147.1 yards per game — despite his excellence.
Least Valuable Player
Daniel Jones is 3-13 in his 16 starts since signing a four-year, $160 million contract that will assuredly be terminated two years into the deal. It is not all on him, but his lack of development and improvement will result in the end of his six-year stay at the starting quarterback. There is a stiffness and hesitancy to his game that is alarming after all this time.
The freedom and abandon he showed earlier in his career is no longer part of his performance. His passer rating is 79.4 and his eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions represent a blandness that has overtaken the entire offense. That burst of speed he used to display is no longer there, post-ACL surgery. Jones remains a tough guy and a solid guy, and this year’s record is not all his fault. It is the job of QB1 to find a way to win games, though, and Jones has not done it nearly often enough.
Biggest Surprise
The 2024 rookie draft class is more than Malik Nabers. Sure, Nabers is the ringleader but, despite his individual statistics, he has not been able to elevate the offense. Nabers is third in the NFL in receptions with 61, but he has played in just eight games, while the two players ahead of him — Ja’Marr Chase (66 receptions) and Garrett Wilson (65) — did their work in 10 games. Nabers’ average of 10 yards per catch is disappointing.
His classmates have made impacts as well. Tyrone Tracy Jr. leads all rookie running backs with 545 yards and has overtaken veteran Devin Singletary as the starter. Safety Tyler Nubin has been on the field for 100 percent of the snaps on defense — all 613 of ’em — and is second among NFL rookies in tackles with 43. Slot cornerback Dru Phillips looks like a keeper with his ability to cover and tackle with aggression. Somehow, he is the second-highest rated cornerback in the league by Pro Football Focus, behind only Jalen Ramsey. Tight end Theo Johnson after a slow start has shown promise as a pass-catcher with 21 receptions for 238 yards and one touchdown.
Biggest Disappointment
The expectation was not for this to be a high-flying, high-scoring, high-octane offense. But this? This is a disaster. The Giants in 2023 averaged 15.6 points a game — 30th in the league. Through 10 games this season, there they are again, stumbling and bumbling along at 15.6 points a game — dead last in the NFL. This is with Daboll calling the plays — wasn’t that supposed to be a big deal? — the addition of super rookie Nabers, a much-improved offensive line and the return to health of Jones. The attack even got a nice boost from Tracy in his first season.
Yet when it comes to getting into the end zone, there is a barrier. The Giants have 15 touchdowns on offense. The only team with fewer is the Browns, with 14. The Ravens lead the league with 38. The Lions have 37, and the Buccaneers and Bills have 32. Those teams play a different sport from the one the Giants struggle with on a week-to-weak basis.
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Best Moment
There ain’t a whole heckuva lot to choose from, is there? This one is easy. The Seahawks in Week 5, trailing 23-20, lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt to likely send the game into overtime when the Giants pulled off a magnificent exotic play on special teams. Isaiah Simmons leaped over the line of scrimmage and then made like a pogo-stick, rising into the air to block Jason Myers’ kick. The ball was scooped up off the ground by Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who returned it 60 yards for the game-sealing touchdown with 55 seconds left. The Giants flew home from the Pacific Northwest with a rousing 29-20 victory to get to 2-3, and their season seemed to be alive. That was Oct. 6, and they haven’t won a game since then. What happened in Seattle stayed in Seattle.
Worst Moment
How long you got? There’s a long list to get through here. Those Century Red uniforms in the season opener were hard on the eyes. Not having a kicker in Washington was a different way to lose. Seeing old friend Saquon Barkley run up, over and through his former team was a bit of sad nostalgia. Seeing those lousy 2-point conversion attempts fail miserably in the rematch with the Commanders was unappealing.
For sheer embarrassment, though, the worst of the wurst had to be what went down in Munich, Germany, as the Giants actually made a decrepit Panthers defense look credible in a brutal 20-17, overtime loss to Carolina, with Jones firing two red-zone interceptions and Tracy fumbling the ball away on the first play in overtime to give the game away. This was no Bavarian treat.
Biggest Head-Scratcher
There has to be a plan in place in case a key player goes down. That is what happened when left tackle Andrew Thomas was lost to a season-ending foot injury in Week 6. The move was to bring Josh Ezeudu off the bench, and it was a bad plan. Ezeudu was drafted in 2022 as a guard and for some reason this coaching staff continues to believe Ezeudu can play tackle. The evidence suggests otherwise. He was not impressive in five starts in 2023, and he was bad in his cameo start this season in place of Thomas — allowing two sacks in the first quarter and three total pressures in a dreadful loss to the Eagles. That was it for Ezeudu, as newly signed Chris Hubbard took over for two games before that plan was junked, and Jermaine Eluemunor was moved from right tackle over to the left side and Evan Neal was dusted off and took the field at right tackle.
Upcoming Decision
Is this even much of a decision? There does not seem any possible way the Giants send Jones out there to start the next game, which comes at home against the Buccaneers. The MetLife Stadium crowd will not be welcoming and will not be pleased to see Jones trot out there with the first-team offense.
It stands to reason the call will go to backup Drew Lock, though there is not great optimism or strong sentiment inside the building that he will light anything up once he gets on the field. With seven games remaining, there is still time to get a look at fan favorite Tommy DeVito down the stretch. If the move happens, figure Jones is the No. 3 quarterback and is not active on game days.
