The Giants Are Back in the Playoffs
Looking back at the season and looking forward to the playoffs.
It’s finally happened. After what’s been a mostly brutal decade of Giants football, the team heads back to the postseason for just the second time in 10 years. They last made it in 2016, of course, but that season was a one-off where the team played an unsustainable brand of football.
This time around, things are completely different.
From day one, Brian Daboll has preached about the process. Day-in and day-out, after both wins and losses, the message has remained the same: focus on the right process, and the results will come. Nobody — myself included — could’ve expected this kind of season from this kind of roster. The work done by Daboll and his entire staff, along with Joe Schoen and the front office has been nothing short of fantastic.
Daboll and Schoen have clearly been in lockstep from the jump, and it shows in both the results and the contributions from in-season pickups. This is a team playing with house money, locking in their first winning season since 2016. This is a team ready to play spoiler against — in my opinion — a very beatable Vikings team (if the standings remain unchanged).
Coming into the season, I just wanted to see a competitive team that showed flashes throughout. Nothing wild, no playoff aspirations, but a team that fought for each other and an approach to coaching that showed the staff was working to compliment the roster.
Essentially, I was looking for a team that clearly followed a process, instead of letting results dictate things. It was my exact issue with the 2016 season, where the Giants’ defense was buoyed by big free agent signings and a career year from Landon Collins. Between that, and Odell Beckham Jr. scoring big TDs left and right, it was never a sustainable model. All it took was the 2017 season to confirm this was the case.
This Giants team is completely different (minus Landon Collins still making plays, apparently). From day one, Brian Daboll preached “process over results.” After a big week one win, he said the same. After their first loss of the year, “process” was still the focus. Instead of trying to patch together a solid team and hope things work — looking at you, Dave Gettleman — Daboll and Schoen came into this year focused on setting a solid foundation for years to come.
Clearly, Daboll and Schoen have succeeded in year one. I would’ve taken 7–10, 8–9 with clear progress and a clear foundation set. Instead, we got 9–6–1 (most likely 9–7–1 after Sunday) and a legitimate shot at a trip to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The playoff experience these players — many of whom are young — will get is invaluable.
Let’s just say I’m a wee bit excited for next weekend.
Before that happens, let’s briefly talk Sunday’s matchup with Philadelphia. As I’m sure you know, the situation is as follows:
- The Giants are locked into the 6th seed and cannot move in either direction regardless.
- The Eagles need a win — or a Dallas loss — to lock in the NFC East title. They also need to win to secure the 1 seed in the NFC.
Given this, I am 100% in favor of the Giants resting their key starters for most, if not all, of the game Sunday. I understand there are those out there who want the game to be an exact replica of the Giants’ 38–35 loss to the then-15–0 Patriots in 2007. I too am a big fan of nostalgia!
However, the smart and safe move is to not risk anyone important in what is essentially a meaningless game for New York. I get the “rust” argument here, but given how the season’s gone, I trust Brian Daboll and Co. to keep these guys fresh ahead of their likely matchup against Minnesota in the Wild Card Round.
Why risk injury with an already shallow roster? This team will need contributions from every key player, and potentially losing someone ahead of their first playoff game in years would be a disaster. This is an already highly-motivated Giants team that clearly loves playing for Daboll. I don’t see the point in risking things for a bit of “momentum.”
Instead, I’d play key starters for a bit at the beginning, and then quickly transition to backups, allowing these guys to get some reps in against a very good Eagles team. Brian Daboll has kept his plans to himself for much of the week, but the murmurings out of East Rutherford are that most starters will be rested.
I certainly hope that’s the case and Daboll plays things safely here. I want to see the 2022 Giants at full strength next weekend, when they likely head to Minnesota to face the Vikings in a rematch of a 27–24 last-second loss on Christmas Eve.
Do I expect the Giants to make a miracle run to the Super Bowl? No. Have these Giants continually performed better than I thought they would all season? Yes! Giants fans, we’re in a great position where the team has made the playoffs in the first year of a rebuild. Anything more from this point on is the cherry (or cherries) on top of an already successful season.
For now though, sit back and enjoy your first entirely stress-free football Sunday all year. Come Monday, it’s Wild Card Week.
