Two calendar years ago, the New York Giants were coming off a successful season. Yes, they suffered a difficult 38-7 defeat at the hands of their hated rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, in the divisional round. But all things considered, beating the favored Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round in Brian Daboll’s first year as head coach was a hopeful end result. It was their first playoff win since their Super Bowl XLVI victory in the 2011 season. Daboll was named 2022 NFL Coach of the Year, and anticipation began to build for what the team could become in future seasons.
It’s fair, as we look back a couple of years later, to wonder how on earth the Giants went from the joy of a playoff win to signing the quarterback that got them that playoff win to a long-term extension, and releasing him not two years later. Now they have two new quarterbacks in Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson, and they are essentially starting over.
Let’s start with Daniel Jones. After that playoff appearance, he signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the Giants on March 7, 2023. Later that year, he only started six games, due to neck and knee injuries that kept him out much of the season. In his six games in 2023, he had a record of 1-5 with 909 passing yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions. Ultimately, it was a disappointing 6-11 season for Big Blue. Third-string rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito gave the team a sliver of hope, but it became clear that they would not make any playoff noise.
In 2024, things were of a similar vein. Jones started ten games, and the team had an abysmal 2-8 record in that span. He was benched on Nov. 18 for DeVito, having recorded eight touchdown passes along with seven interceptions for 2,070 yards. Four days later, Jones requested release, and that was the end of the Jones era in East Rutherford. The Giants finished 2024 with a 3-14 record, their third-worst in franchise history. As someone who has loved the Giants her entire life, it even grew difficult for me to watch them week in and week out.
One bright spot in this recent madness was the emergence of wide receiver Malik Nabers. Nabers was one of few impressive performers on a Giants offense that made little noise in 2024. He broke the NFL record for most receptions by a rookie receiver with 109.
Overall, it feels as though the Giants have been on a downturn throughout much of the last decade. Since 2015, they’ve had two seasons ending in playoff appearances. There has been some degree of uncertainty surrounding the quarterback throughout much of this stretch. It was difficult for the franchise to move on from two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Eli Manning, understandably so, and his replacement in Jones did not work out as they hoped. They’ve had five different head coaches since the beloved Tom Coughlin stepped down after the 2015 season. This kind of uncertainty does not feel like the norm for such a storied franchise, one that has won eight league championships, including four Super Bowls.
Giants fans ought to wonder, year after year, when this pattern will be broken. When will they have a sure thing under center? When will they be able to legitimately compete with the extremely talented Philadelphia Eagles, the up-and-coming Washington Commanders and the seemingly always-hovering Dallas Cowboys for the National Football Conference (NFC) East title?
In my opinion, they are on the right track. First of all, it’s hard to get worse than a 3-14 season. Hopefully, they hit a low point in 2024 that they won’t return to for a long time, which included star running back Saquon Barkley signing with the rival Eagles and going on to win his first Super Bowl with them mere months later. In Winston and Wilson, the Giants signed two guys who can, at the very least, give the offense a chance, something they barely had last year. It remains to be seen what will happen in the draft at the end of April, but the Giants can plan for the future. With the third overall pick, they have options. If they draft a quarterback, they can have their two veterans in the quarterback room mentor him and prepare him to start, not necessarily throwing him out there immediately. If they go with someone like Colorado’s Travis Hunter or Penn State’s Abdul Carter, they have someone who can immediately make a difference.
Overall, I think there are two things that are extremely important for the Giants’ future: draft well, and keep Nabers happy. Nabers, with the right quarterback throwing to him, can be even better than he was his rookie season, which obviously had a lot of turmoil. If I’m the Giants, I’m prioritizing keeping him around as long as possible, hopefully his entire career.
As for the “how did the Giants get here?” question, I implore Giants fans to remember that every franchise has its ups and downs. It is extremely difficult to be a constant contender. The quarterback who led Big Blue to two Super Bowl rings had to hang them up at some point. A lot of chances are taken in football. The highest draft picks don’t always pan out. Or they leave. All in all, nothing is guaranteed, but the best we can do is hope that the Giants one day return to the top. I don’t think anyone is anticipating that the Giants will be a big contender next year, and Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen have a lot to prove within the next year, but fans can take some comfort in the fact that they have made moves to get some wins in 2025. At the end of the day, isn’t that what fans of a team in this position can ask for?
