Suppose someone had told you several weeks ago when the New York Giants were sitting at -8, with questions about the coaching staff, the roster, the direction of the franchise, and more swirling around faster than the usual postgame litter found in the MetLife Stadium parking lots that this team would be one game out of the playoff hunt. Wouldn’t you have believed it? No, neither would we, yet here we are, looking at a Giants team that has won three games in a row and has been playing a lot better in prior areas of weakness (the offensive line, the offense in general, and defensively), and which has fans excited about what could happen. What could happen–and to be clear, it’s still a longshot–is that this Giants team will finish with a strong enough record to eke into the playoffs. Again, it’s a longshot–having two games against the Eagles doesn’t help matters for a Giants team that would have to run the table to sneak in. Even if the Giants were to get in, they likely wouldn’t go very far.
Or would they? Head coach Brian Daboll’s team has shown grit, determination, and a no-quit attitude that has surprisingly powered it through significant adversity this season. “One year has nothing to do with the next. One game has nothing to do with the next. This is a tough league for everybody–you have to be able to handle the ups, and you have to be able to handle the downs,” said head coach Brian Daboll. “You don’t accept the downs, I’ll tell you that. There are a lot of things that you have to do better to try to get yourself out of a rut. That’s everybody, that starts with me. You don’t get too high when things are going, and you’re winning a few games. Because this league is a humbling league.”
Although the season isn’t quite what anyone expected, that the locker room has stayed together and there haven’t been some of the horrors of past regimes that have seen their tenures go south is a testament to the character of those in the building. “I’ve been a part of teams where it can go two different ways,” receiver Sterling Shepard told me for the Locked On Giants podcast. “It can go downhill from getting a couple of losses in a row, or you got guys that are mentally tough and able to turn things around and go the right direction. “Everybody has the mindset of turning things around. We knew that things wouldn’t always be how we wanted them to be throughout the season. We had to fight through some hard times, and that’s what we’ve done. And the guys have been able to persevere and get to the point where we are today. We must take it one week at a time, and we all understand that.”
Daboll appreciates that.