With four games left, Giants making case to be worst team in franchise history
Head coach Brian Daboll of the Giants reacts during the second half against the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The 100th Giants season was supposed to be one of celebration. It began honoring 100 of its greatest players during the season opener.
Instead, it’s celebrated some of the worst lows in franchise history. The Giants haven’t given home fans anything to cheer about with zero wins at MetLife Stadium. They’ve put out a terrible product in two countries, including a rough defeat to the Panthers in Germany.
Sunday’s crowd had plenty of empty seats, with some tickets being resold for as low as $1.
The offense — one that once produced Frank Gifford, Phil Simms, Tiki Barber, Mark Bavaro, Odell Beckham Jr. and more — looks broken despite the emergence of a potential star in rookie Malik Nabers.
As of Tuesday, they were 15-point underdogs at home against the Ravens on Sunday. So it’s fair to ask, at 2-11, is this the worst Giants team in modern history?
Sunday’s loss was another new way to lose. The Giants entered the fourth quarter down 14-3, rallied to get within three points but also gave away six points, including a blocked posible game-tying field goal with seconds left in regulation. A personal foul penalty nullified another field goal.
It was nearly comical and that’s without including the pregame plane message to team president John Mara to “fix this dumpster fire.”
But when you’ve lost eight in a row, there’s always room to get creative in defeat.
“[The loss] was particularly rough seeing how we fought,” receiver Darius Slayton said Monday. “I feel like we got ourselves in a position to have a chance to win the game there and we obviously still came up short. It’s a rough way to lose no matter what your record is.”
With four games left, the case for being the worst Giants team is getting clearer. They’re two losses away from matching a franchise record in a season. Lose Sunday and the Giants tie a franchise record with nine straight losses, last set in 2019.
At MetLife, they’re 0-7 with two home games left. Only one Giants team — 1974 — has gone winless at home and that was 0-7 in a 14-game season. No team has lost eight so the Giants could make history against a Ravens team coming off a bye week.
The Giants’ offense is last in the NFL in scoring (14.9 points per game) and passing touchdowns (eight). Their last passing score came on Nov. 3 when Daniel Jones threw two — the only two passing touchdowns a Giants quarterback has thrown at home.
The franchise record for lowest scoring average in a 16- or 17-game season? 14.8 in 1979. It’s within reach given how the Giants have scored only 71 points in seven home games.
Lest we forget the defense: Two interceptions this season are on pace for another all-time team low, way below the six grabbed in 2002. Not surprisingly, it’s also tied for last in the NFL with the Jets, who are in their own spiraling circus.
The numbers reveal what the eyes have seen and tried to hide from. This Giants team is historically bad and there’s room to get worse. They likely won’t be favored in their remaining four games and any win comes with groans as the focus is trying to secure the No. 1 overall pick.
This is the mess that Mara bears on his shoulders. General manager Joe Schoen constructed a team that’s keeping fans away with its play. Coach Brian Daboll is facing more questions about his job security and finding more ways to deflect to other thoughts.
“I’m disappointed we have two wins,” Daboll said Sunday. “So, we’re just going to keep on grinding it out and try to keep developing these young players and get ready to play a great team next week.”
It’s all the Giants can do because they’re walking in the neighborhood of franchise futility with how poor they’ve been this season. They’re approaching the 2017 team that went 3-13 or the 2021 edition going 4-13.
The prize for such a fall will be a high draft pick. But at what cost alienating fans and losing games in more gut-wrenching fashion
It just means the preseason hope was right. This 100th Giants season will celebrate history. Just the wrong kind with maybe the worst team the Giants have produced.
Hawkins out
Tre Hawkins III, the cornerback whose interception on Sunday ended an NFL-record streak of 11 straight games without one for the Giants, was placed on IR Tuesday with a fractured lumbar spine and will miss the rest of the season. The Giants signed CB Greg Stroman to the active roster from their practice squad to replace him and added CBs Ekow Boye-Doe and Azizi Hearn to the practice squad. They also re-signed QB Tim Boyle to their practice squad along with veteran DL Ross Blacklock.
With Tom Rock
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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