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Adding Brian Daboll as the team’s new head coach was a move celebrated last off-season. We all recognized that the former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator’s time had come and the Giants were the team smart enough (and quick enough) to snatch him up off the market early. What none of us could have predicted is how fast Daboll would turn around the team’s fortunes.
In Daboll’s first year at the helm, he led New York back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and likely saved Daniel Jones’ career in the process. Daboll wrapped the season with the NFL’s Coach of the Year award and deserved every vote.
The 2022 campaign opened strong with a 2-0 start, but expectations were tempered because of New York’s first two opponents — the Tennessee Titans and the Carolina Panthers. In Week 3, they fell to the Dallas Cowboys and it felt as if the Giants were just going to be one of the NFL’s good, bad teams. Then they won four straight, beating Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, and the playoff-bound Jacksonville Jaguars. At 6-1 heading into Halloween, New York could no longer be ignored.
The G-Men had their struggles for the rest of the year but picked up the wins required to land in the NFC Wild Card group. One of the hard truths of the NFL is that, in every season, some teams make the playoffs that probably shouldn’t be there. They’ve benefitted from dumb luck, key star injuries to other teams in their division/conference, and a particularly easy schedule. You usually recognize those teams when they make a quick, sometimes embarrassing playoff exit in the Wild Card. But, if you get into the tournament and you win a game, you’ve proven that you deserve to be there. And that you’ll most likely be back.
So when the Giants walked into Minnesota, facing the heavily favored 13-4 Vikings and knocked them off 31-24 in the opening week of the postseason, they served notice that they’ll be a problem for years to come.
Daniel Jones finished with a 9-6-1 regular season record. He completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,205 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions and rushed for 708 yards and seven scores. Saquon Barkley led the team on the ground with 1,312 yards and two touchdowns to go with 57 receptions for 338 yards. Darius Slayton was the most productive receiver with 46 catches for 724 yards and two TDs. Dexter Lawrence finished with 7.5 sacks, 68 tackles, seven for a loss, three passes defended, and two forced fumbles. Julian Love recorded 124 tackles, six for a loss, five passes defended, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Dane Belton also had two picks with 31 tackles, one for a loss, three passes defended, and two fumble recoveries.
NEW YORK GIANTS
2022-23 Record: 9-7-1
Playoffs: Lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional Round
2023 NFC Championship Odds: +1600
NOW WHAT?
Once you finally get into the VIP room, you really want to stay there, but the Giants had two problems heading into this offseason. Both Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, their two best offensive players, were up for new contracts. Jones got his taken care of early, signing a four-year, $160 million extension that allowed the team to franchise tag Barkley.
We all know what’s happened since.
While Barkley didn’t get the long-term and lucrative deal he was looking for, the Giants did up his pay from the franchise tag and, as of this writing, he’s in camp and already making highlight-worthy plays for their social media team. For now, at least, there is peace atop the beanstalk.
The problem with being a good team the year before is you’ll be stuck with a much tougher schedule the following season. The Giants’ first six weeks is a gauntlet, as they face five 2022 playoff squads over that time frame, including their season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. It doesn’t get a lot easier after that, with contests against the New York Jets, Cowboys again, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, and two games against the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles over the last three weeks of the season. This is an improved team, and a team that excelled last season, but it may not show up in their record in this one. I see New York topping out at 9-8 at best.
THE DRAFT
The Giants, unquestionably, won the draft before the 2022 season and saw the results pay off early. Once again, this past April, they aced the test, earning an A- grade from yours truly after selecting Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks in the first round, center John Michael Schmitz from Minnesota in the second and what I feel is one of the steals of the draft, 2022 Biletnikoff Award winner Jalin Hyatt, a wide receiver from Tennessee.
FREE AGENCY
With a talented, young team, the Giants don’t have a ton of holes on their roster so they focused on depth. They just need the high draft picks they’ve added to develop into the players they need. As such, New York didn’t add a lot in free agency this offseason. They did bring in Rakeem Nunez-Roches, defensive tackle from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wide receiver Jamison Crowder from the Buffalo Bills, cornerback Bobby McCain from the Washington Commanders, cornerback Amari Oruwariye from the Detroit Lions, wide receiver Jeff Smith from the Jets, defensive end Tashawn Bower from the Las Vegas Raiders, center JC Hassenauer from the Pittsburgh Steelers and running back James Robinson from the New England Patriots.
NFC EAST
While New York might be better this year, it’s tough to see them nabbing one of the three Wild Card spots in 2023 as they’re still the third-best team in their own division. If you’re picking the East today, you have to go Eagles, Cowboys, and then the Giants. The math for a postseason return, with the number of contending teams from other divisions, doesn’t seem to work out for the G-Men.
Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.
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