Giants Country

Giants Place Focus On What Lies Ahead

The Giants aren't worried about playoffs or anything outside of what's directly ahead of them.

Patricia Traina

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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The calendar page will soon turn to December, typically a month in which Giants fans, at least in recent years, have gone into full-blown mock draft mode after the team's follies sent them to elimination from the postseason picture by Thanksgiving.

There won't be any of that this year, which is a refreshing change for a fan base that has long suffered while witnessing continuous failures to find pulses on rosters when it mattered the most. 

The Giants are 7-4 and still very much in the thick of the postseason tournament despite back-to-back losses to the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys.

And while they would probably love to have mulligans on those games, there are no do-overs in football. Instead, the Giants have a stretch of three very important games ahead, two of which are against the Washington Commanders, a team that has suddenly gotten hot and is nipping at the Giants' heels for third place in the division. 

The Giants, who have recently fallen on some hard times regarding injuries, hope their luck is about to change. With a 10-day break between games, they're anticipating the return of right tackle Evan Neal and tight end Daniel Bellinger, two players who have been inactive since Week 8. 

They're also hoping to get offensive lineman Ben Bredeson and outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari off injured reserve in time for the big showdown Sunday at home against the Commanders. 

Despite what the coaches and players will say about "next man up," there's no question that the injuries have disrupted the chemistry, such as on the offensive line, which has been a party to the 13 sacks allowed since Week 8. The personnel shortage has also undoubtedly forced the coaches to scrap certain formations and elements of the game plan they'd otherwise run had they had all hands on deck.

 “The whole season is in front of you right now,” head coach Brian Daboll said last week. “We have a long way to go--the rest of December and the early part of January. So, we have to focus on getting ready to play Washington, but you’re sitting at 7-4. You put yourself in a position to play meaningful games in December, which is important."

It's uncharted territory for many of the players on the roster, who have been trying to reshape the culture per their head coach's vision. While there doesn't seem to be a lot of wiggle room--they would have to at least split, if not sweep Washington to knock out the head-to-head tiebreaker--Daboll wants the Giants focused on what's directly in front of them.  

“Look, anything can happen in this league. I’ve said it before: it’s a humbling league. You can be on the top of the mountain one week and fall off the next week," he said. 

"The biggest thing for us is to remain consistent in the things that we try to do each week to give ourselves the best chance to win. Do they always work? No, but I think a consistent approach is the best approach.”

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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