Home Unsweet Home: Giants Search for Answers to Home Field Struggles

The New York Giants are winless at home this season, which doesn't bode well for their hopes of making it to the postseason.

Nov 10, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; General view of the MetLife Stadium exterior before the NFL game between the Oakland Raiders and the New York Giants. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Although the regular NFL season is just 17 games long, many players and coaches like to say that the season is a marathon, not a sprint.

That’s all well and good if a team comes out looking competent, but the New York Giants suddenly find themselves way behind in the marathon of the 2024 regular season, thanks in part to an 0-4 record at home, which is part of their overall 2-5 record on the season.

The mystery of why the Giants have played better on the road, where they are 2-1, is nothing new. The 2007 Giants, who went on to become the World Champions, were known as “road warriors” thanks to a 7-1 road record versus a 3-5 mark at home during the regular season and then a 3-0 road record right up to their upset victory against the New England Patriots.

While the 2024 Giants team is far from the 2007 championship team, the pattern between functioning at home versus on the road is very similar. 

The 2024 Giants offense has averaged 7.75 points per game at home, with three of their four games played failing to see them hit double digits. They are averaging 22.6 points per game on the road, having twice passed 20 points in their three road games.

Even the defense seems to be affected by the difference in venue location. At home, the Giants' defense has allowed 23.25 points per game, while on the road, they’ve held opponents to 18.6 points per game.

“Other than coincidence, I couldn't necessarily point to anything specific. It's just so happened this year that we've played better on the road than we have at home,” said wide receiver Darius Slayton of the discrepancy. 

Harkening back to the 2007 team, one reason the team seemed to gel so well on the road was the removal of distractions.

From the time they left the facility until they returned, the team was always together, free from any worries in their daily lives.

That all said, a team has to be able to win anywhere, including in front of the home crowd, something Slayton is well aware of.

“We want to play better at home. That's the fun part, is being able to play in front of your own fans and score and be able to celebrate with your 70,000-plus strong,” he said.

That will have to wait another week, though, as the Giants are on the road this week at Pittsburgh for a Monday night game. They’re hoping that their lousy luck in primetime games—starting quarterback Daniel Jones is 1-15 in primetime games he starts–will be offset by their good fortune on the road, where a win would be huge in a division that is still relatively wide open.

“Hopefully, we will continue to play at a high level on the road, which will bode well for us,” Slayton said. “But whenever it does come time for us to play at home again, obviously, we plan and hope to perform better.”

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