Brace yourselves, Giants fans. This might be a long year.
You feel for Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen a little bit. They exceeded expectations with every possible lucky break of the football their first year, falling almost backward into a playoff appearance and victory over Minnesota. It gave a false sense of how close they were to contention.
Last year, they regressed to the mean. This year, without star running back Saquon Barkley and starting safety Xavier McKinney, it might be another difficult go.
The Giants are headed in the right direction. Their roster was just in such dire shape post-Dave Gettleman that it was going to take years to rebuild. This is still in the infancy stage of that. It’s going to take time.
So, unfortunately, 2024 might be more looking ahead than living in the present.
Week 1, vs Vikings: LOSS
The knock on Sam Darnold is that he’s never had the right combination of surrounding talent and competent coaching. He would have had that in San Francisco, but never got a chance to play (Brock Purdy). Now he’ll get his chance with the Vikings. I’m a bit higher on Minnesota than most. This game is a tough one for the Giants.
Week 2, at Commanders: WIN
The Giants get the early benefit of seeing Jayden Daniels in Week 2. This game isn’t a sure win, though. Having seen Washington in joint practices with the Jets… they have some talent. It could be a very, very long season if the Giants don’t win this game.
Week 3, at Browns: LOSS
I’m fascinated to see what Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson looks like this year and how short his leash is. Cleveland is among the most talented teams in the league. You saw how well the offense worked with Joe Flacco in place of Watson. Jameis Winston gives them an above-average contingency plan. Whether it’s Watson or Winston, though, the Browns shouldn’t have an issue with the Giants.
Week 4, vs Cowboys: LOSS
The Cowboys have the Giants’ number. There are far too many mismatches to believe this game will be overly close. The Giants might actually be worse this year than they were last year.
Week 5, at Seahawks: LOSS
I’d like the Giants’ chances against the Seahawks more if this game were at MetLife Stadium. Traveling across the country after losing to the Cowboys isn’t an ideal situation. Tough to see the Giants winning this one.
Week 6, vs Bengals: LOSS
The Bengals are simply a far superior team to the Giants. They’re a legitimate Super Bowl contender with Joe Burrow. They’ll win this game as long as he’s healthy.
Week 7, vs Eagles: LOSS
The Giants stunningly beat the Eagles in the season finale last year. That helped force some wholesale changes in Philadelphia with Nick Sirani bringing in two new coordinators. It’s just hard to look at the two rosters and see the Giants winning this game. Philadelphia is in another class.
Week 8, vs Steelers: WIN
Mike Tomlin always has the Steelers playing hard. The question, again, is at quarterback. There’s a reason Pittsburgh was the only team interested in trading for Justin Fields. There’s an even more obvious reason why the Broncos are paying for Russell Wilson to play for the Steelers. The Giants snap their losing streak here no matter who is under center at this point in the season.
Week 9, vs Commanders: LOSS
Eight weeks of experience helps Daniels here to get a victory over the Giants. New York has had Washington’s number lately. Dan Quinn and Daniels’ arrival might change that.
Week 10, vs Panthers: LOSS
The Panthers aren’t a good team, but after watching them in joint practices against the Jets, they’re better than some expect. They should be even better toward the tail end of the year, too. This will surprise some, but I do believe Carolina beats New York. They’re a better team.
Week 11: BYE WEEK
Week 12, vs Buccaneers: LOSS
The Bucs are a better team than a lot of people give them credit for. Todd Bowles is susceptible to trap games, which makes this one a bit of a toss-up, but the Bucs ultimately pull it out.
Week 13, at Cowboys: LOSS
Again: The Cowboys are just that much better than the Giants right now. It’s hard to see New York competing.
Week 14, vs Saints: WIN
The Saints handled the Giants last season. I expect the reverse of that in MetLife. Something just feels off with Derek Carr. New Orleans might be gearing up for wholesale changes by this point in the season with players mostly checked out.
Week 15, vs Ravens: LOSS
Much like some other games on the Giants’ schedule: They’re at such a talent disadvantage it’s hard to see them competing with Baltimore.
Week 16, at Falcons: LOSS
The Falcons stunned the football world when they drafted Michael Penix in the first round. He won’t start, though, and Kirk Cousins is still one of the better quarterbacks in the league. This is a tough one for the Giants in Atlanta.
Week 17, vs Colts: LOSS
I could see this going either way depending on Anthony Richardson’s development. I’m high on the former Florida Gator, though, and believe he’ll develop into a franchise quarterback in short order. There’s so much physical talent there, and he’s surrounded by a perfect coaching staff.
Week 18, at Eagles: WIN
The Giants beat the Eagles in the finale again … but it’s because I think the Eagles will be resting their starters by this point. Philadelphia is, once again, the most talented team in the NFC East. They should have enough to win the division, unlike last year.
FINAL RECORD: 4-13, last in NFC East
I can’t stop thinking about that preseason news conference for the Giants. It seriously resembled a midseason one, where a team is six games under .500. There was such tension in the voices of Schoen and Daboll.
Then John Mara‘s comments were brought up — where he said he expects to see significant improvement this year — and the Giants’ braintrust got uncharacteristically passionate. Schoen stressed they expect to win games — that’s the goal.
But will they? Do they have the roster capable of doing that?
The Giants are very much a rebuilding team. This could very well be a long year. In all likelihood, it will be.