It’s not been easy to say that you’re a fan of the New York Football Giants this year. Pure and simple, they’ve sucked, especially during the 10-game losing streak that was still ongoing when they entered Sunday afternoon’s home finale. As an astute X-eeter noted earlier this week, the Mets had won a game in 2024 more recently than had the Giants, and their season ended on October 20th.
But it’s in the wake of yesterday’s win that I’m perhaps most embarassed to be part of that group.
In a season that was supposed to be memorable as it was the team’s 100th in the NFL, in a game that under more normal circumstances would have far more prominent given that it was the 66th anniversary of the NFL title game that arguably birthed America’s obsession with the NFL, the Giants actually rose the occasion. But not even the normally balanced Jordan Ranaan of ESPN.com couldn’t report on it without this context:
Even when the New York Giants win these days, it comes at a cost.
The Giants fell out of pole position for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft with a 45-33 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Strength of schedule serves as the tiebreaker for the draft, and the Patriots currently have the easiest slate. The quarterback-needy Giants have the hardest schedule of the group.
The fan-centric BLEACHER REPORT and its doomscroller-in-chief Andrew Peters doubled down on the negativity in their compilation of social media reactions , including gems like this:
NFL MEMES: Giants fans watching their team play themselves out of a QB for the second straight year.New York had its best offensive display of the season as it downed Indianapolis 45-33. Quarterback Drew Lock completed 17 of his 23 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns. Lock also scored on the ground. Star rookie Malik Nabers was his favorite target as he hauled in seven receptions for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton also found the endzone through the air.
After he scored, Slayton had an emphatic message for those wanting the team to tank for the top pick:
Giants WR Darius Slayton screamed “f**k your tank” while celebrating TD.
Kudos and bravo, Mr. Slayton.
Slayton was part of the surprising 2022 team that won a playoff game in frigid Minnesota–clearly a game that a “fan” like Barrett somehow forgot about. He’s not guaranteed a job with this team beyond next week. For that matter, aside from Nabors, no one is. Nor should they be based on how this year unfolded.
But they did avoid the ignominy of going winless, becoming the first NFL team to lose nine regular season games at home and avoiding duplicating the embarrassment of the 1974 squad, who lost all seven of their games in their first season of self-imposed exile as tenants at the even-then outdated Yale Bowl. I remember that team well. An aging Craig Morton at quarterback, an even more out-of-shape Ron Johnson at running back, and the aptly-named Bob Grim at wideout. Among those seven losses was one to the Jets–an inglorious 3-11 that year themselves–that was the first regular season game to go to overtime.
And yesterday also was an avenging of sorts for that 1958 championship game that was the first post-season game to go to overtime, which the G-men also lost in front of their home fans. Let’s not forget that these Colts actually entered this game with an outside shot at a wild card spot, so they actually weren’t tanking.
The 2024 Giants have far more flaws that merely at quarterback. And based on the underwhelming bowl game performances of the coveted top two picks, Shadeur Sanders and Cam Ward, I’m dubious that they could produce better results than Drew Lock coaxed out of his teammates yesterday. Ask Bears fans how impactful Caleb Williams has been so far.
For Giants fans to be this negative and stuck with the false belief that a #1 draft pick will be more of a panacea than a smart, well-executed seven-round plan that begins with (gasp!) a likely Top 5 choice is downright embarrassing. Any of them who dare to trek down the turnpike for next week’s season finale in Philadelphia–likely to see if Saquon Barkley can rush for 102 yards and become the all-time single-season NFL rushing king a year after the Giants braintrust deemed him expendable–should suffer the full wrath of Iggles Nation, which if you ask Jerry Jones can be pretty intense.
I’m actually stoked that these guys actually found enough game and motivation to go out there and overachieve in the way that they did. Maybe some of them will find jobs elsewhere in the league. Maybe they’ll play for better fans.
As of today, that would be an awfully low bar to hurdle.
Courage…