Giants Q&A: What to know as team begins NFL offseason
What draft picks did the Giants wind up with?
They were one of three four-win teams along with Houston and the Jets, but because they had the toughest strength of schedule, they are slated to select behind those teams with the fifth overall pick. Because of a trade they made last April, the Giants also have the Bears’ first-round pick, which is seventh overall. The Panthers have the pick between the two the Giants currently hold.
Whom will the Giants play in 2022?
Besides the home-and-home series against division opponents Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington (which will be sporting a new nickname by then), they’ll have home games against Chicago, Detroit, Carolina, Houston, Indianapolis and Baltimore. They’ll have road games against Green Bay, Minnesota, Seattle, Jacksonville and Tennessee.
Who wound up leading the team in rushing?
It was a tie. Saquon Barkley and Devontae Booker each ran for 593 yards, which was the lowest total for a Giants team leader since 2016, when Rashad Jennings ran for the same 593 yards. The Giants had never had two players tie for the lead in that category at the end of a season. Daniel Jones finished third (298).
What about receiving yards?
Kenny Golladay came into the game with a team-high 499, and while it seemed as if it would be hard for him to crack 500 after he was shut out in the first half, he eventually eclipsed the mark. In fact, he caught two passes and made it all the way up to 521.
Isn’t it odd for a team’s leading rusher to have more yards than the team’s leading receiver?
Probably. But this is the fourth year in a row that’s happened to the Giants. Last year Wayne Gallman was their leading rusher with 682 yards and Sterling Shepard led the receivers with 656. Before that, Barkley had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons (1,307 in 2018 and 1,003 in 2019) that topped himself (721 in 2018) and Shepard (576 in 2019).
Don’t the wide receivers run, too?
With the Giants, they sure did, even if they didn't go very far. Alex Bachman took a handoff in the first quarter for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1, making him the seventh different wide receiver to accept a handoff this season. That’s the most wide receivers to run the ball in a season in Giants history and the most by any team in the NFL this season.
How’d they do?
Not well. Between Bachman, Shepard, Kadarius Toney, Darius Slayton, John Ross, Pharoh Cooper and C.J. Board, the seven receivers had nine carries for a net of six yards. Throw in the one carry by a tight end (Evan Engram) and it’s a total of 10 carries for 3 yards among the eight of them.
How bad were the Giants in the final two minutes of the first half this season?
It was the worst phase of their play, and that’s saying something. When Washington kicked a field goal with time expiring in the first half on Sunday, it meant 79 points were scored against the Giants during that slice of time this season. There have been 17 games, which means there have been only 34 minutes of play inside two minutes to go in the first half, and opposing teams have averaged 2.3 points per minute. Of the 416 total points allowed by the Giants this season, 18.9% of them came in that 3.3% of game time.
Did the Giants ever score in the final two minutes of the first half?
No. That’s the funny (or at least ridiculously inept) part. The Elias Sports Bureau has been recording the time of scores only since 1970, but the Giants are the first team to go an entire season without scoring any points in the final two minutes of the first half since the 1972 Baltimore Colts. No other team was outscored by as many as 79 points in the final two minutes of the first half in a season since the records started to be kept in 1970.
Did anyone make it through the season unscathed?
Almost. Guard Will Hernandez came the closest among the non-specialists. He had played every offensive snap of the first 16 games but had to leave with an ankle injury in the first quarter on Sunday. His departure ended a streak of 1,048 consecutive snaps played this season. It was the first time in his career he ever had to leave the field because of an injury. He’ll be a free agent this offseason.