The 2023 season was something of a disaster for the New York Giants. They had made the playoffs in 2022, and had even won a playoff game on the road in the postseason. As a result, they went into the 2023 season with the hope that they would beat out the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East title and the expectation that they would repeat as a playoff team.
That was never a possibility, as the Giants got off to a brutal start and never made a serious attempt at recovering. They were blasted 40-0 at home by the Cowboys in the opener and they lost five of their first six games. They went on to finish 6-11 and they only thing that kept them out of last place in the division was the brutal season delivered by the Washington Commanders.
The Giants fan base was very unhappy that the team took a downturn last year, and that means head coach Brian Daboll has run out of all the good will he gained the previous season. His seat could get very hot if the team gets off to another poor start.
It appeared the Giants were strongly considering drafting one of the elite quarterbacks in this year’s draft. Speculation was quite strong that New York tried to engage the New England Patriots in trade talks for the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft. The Giants and the Minnesota Vikings were the teams that tried to make a deal with the Patriots, but neither team was able to entice the Patriots. New England ended up keeping the pick and selected Drake Maye from North Carolina.
Both the Giants and Vikings were also interested in drafting Maye.
Daniel Jones will be under center if he is healthy
Since the Giants did not get that quarterback, it means that Daniel Jones is scheduled to be under center again this season. Jones suffered an ACL injury last season, and he and he only played in six games last season. He completed 108 of 160 passes for 909 yards with a 2 to 6 touchdown to interception ratio.
Jones was able to take part in the Giants recent offseason training activity and he looked quite good throwing the ball. He completed 5 of 6 passes in drills, but there was no chance that he would have to face any contact from the New York defense.
Jones said that he hopes to be 100 percent by the start of training camp and that he is sure he will be able to start the season on time.
Giants schedule hits a crucial point in Week 3
The Giants should be able to get off to a good start as they open the season with a home game against the Minnesota Vikings before going to Washington and facing the Commanders. Both games should be victories for the Giants because the Vikings are going through a transition season with Sam Darnold as the interim quarterback while rookie J.J. McCarthy bides his time before becoming the starter.
The Commanders are simply rebuilding and there’s no reason why the Giants shouldn’t be able to handle this road game against the division rival.
However the schedule turns brutal after the confrontation with the Commanders. The Giants go on the road to Cleveland, and the Browns were the top-ranked defensive team in the league last year.
They follow that with a home game against the Cowboys, and that appears to be a very challenging assignment after getting blown out twice by Dallas last season.
The Giants go cross-country to face the Seahawks the following week, and Lumen Field is clearly one of the most challenging venues in the league.
The Cincinnati Bengals and the Philadelphia Eagles come to MetLife Statdium in the following two weeks. That means the Giants are facing a nasty five-game stretch against teams that should be legitimate playoff contenders.
Giants unlikely to win more than one of those games
This could be a stretch that buries New York. The Cleveland defense could stifle Jones and the Giants offense, while the Cowboys are not a good matchup for the Giants.
On the other hand, if Joe Burrow is healthy for the Bengals and the same holds for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, the Giants will likely struggle in both of those games.
Survival is the key
If the Giants win their first two games and pick up a win in Seattle, they could be 3-4 after their first seven games and have a chance to survive.
However, if they lose to either Minnesota or Washington and drop all five of the games in their challenging stretch, they will be 1-6 and the season will almost certainly be lost.
If that happens, the fans will almost certainly be calling for Daboll’s firing, and they may also want to see Jones replaced at quarterback.
