All it took for the Giants to halt a nine-game losing streak to the Cowboys, end a decade of frustration against Dak Prescott and piece together a rare winning streak was the chance to worsen their draft position and anger fans looking to the future.
In a regular-season finale between two teams headed nowhere, the Giants scored on five consecutive possessions and finished the regular season with a second straight victory by beating the Cowboys 34-17 at MetLife Stadium.
Two weeks after they held the coveted No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, the Giants (4-13) now will draft anywhere between No. 3 and No. 6 depending on the rest of Sunday’s results. A loss would’ve guaranteed no worse than the No. 2 pick and possibly a haul of draft capital from a quarterback-needy team.
But the Giants didn’t play or coach like a team invested in losing, giving a moment of happiness to cancer-stricken owner John Mara. Certainly not compared to the way the Cowboys (7-9-1) managed the game.
Jaxson Dart threw two touchdown passes in his first career start against Prescott, who had a personal 14-game winning streak in the series dating to 2017. Prescott lost twice to the playoff-bound Giants in 2016 and missed the game the last time that the Cowboys lost to their rivals in the 2020 season finale.
How much did the streak mean to Prescott? Not enough to keep him on the field at the risk of injury for the second half.
Despite Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ claim that it was important to win and finish with a .500 record, head coach Brian Schottenheimer pulled Prescott for Joe Milton when they trailed 16-10 coming out of halftime.
Playing in front of a half-empty stadium for the final quarter, the Giants put the game on ice with a field goal to extend their 24-17 lead followed by a Bobby Okereke interception and a Devin Singletary touchdown run.
Dart’s continued development will be a focal point of the head coach search that accelerates Monday into formal interview requests. First things first, however: The Giants need to announce general manager Joe Schoen’s future, though it would be a surprise if a change was made despite a 7-27 record over the last two seasons.
In fact, the season-ending back-to-back wins represent the Giants’ first winning streak since late in the 2023 season when a rookie Tommy DeVito won three straight.
The Giants kicked three first-half field goals — including one after squandering great starting field position thanks to a Jamie Gillan punt down to the 1-yard line and an ensuing Okereke fumble recovery — but trailed 10-9 in the final minute of the second quarter.
Facing a third-and-16, Dart dodged a sack and side-arm shoved the ball to Daniel Bellinger with the idea of staying in (and shortening) field-goal range. Instead, Bellinger weaved through missed tackles for a 29-yard go-ahead touchdown and a reminder that Dart’s off-schedule playmaking is the biggest sign of hope for the Giants.
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Dart’s second touchdown pass to Tyrone Tracy Jr. ended with the teams in a skirmish at the line of scrimmage. Ex-Jet Quinnen Williams knocked left tackle Marcus Mbow to the ground after the whistle and Donovan Ezeiruaku was ejected for ripping off right guard Greg Van Roten’s helmet.
Kakfa’s bag of tricks resulted in a two-point conversion — a halfback pass from Singletary to Darius Slayton — and a 24-10 lead that the Giants managed to hold onto despite allowing a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Even that was bittersweet for fans who were tortured earlier this season by the five blown fourth-quarter leads and five blown double-digit leads that fed into a nine-game losing streak.
Tracy finished with 103 yards rushing for the first 100-yard game of the season by a Giants running back.
