New York Giants Week 17 Storylines

The New York Giants are gearing up for their most important week of 2022 yet.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Dec 28, 2022 8:00 AM EST

In this story:

"Win and in."

Despite the New York Giants refusal to publically acknowledge those three simple little words, their Week 17 game against the Indianapolis Colts boils down to securing a victory if they want to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

So why aren't the players and head coach Brian Daboll willing to talk about it? Head coach Brian Daboll explained why.

"I think we just try to control our own destiny each week by trying to win a game," he said. "The goal is always to try to go 1-0, and that’ll be no different this week."

In other words, Daboll doesn't want to put the cart before the horse by talking about something that won't be unless the Giants take care of business against the Colts. And that's why this team's focus is on cleaning up the sloppiness from last week's loss to the Vikings instead of making plans for the postseason.

Here are some other storylines on tap for the new week.

Injury Update

As of Monday, Daboll wasn't sure if outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari (ankle), cornerback Adoree' Jackson (knee), and safety Xavier McKinney (hand) would be able to practice this week.

Ojulari, who had his ankle rolled up on in last week's game, told reporters he would be fine but very rarely does a player accurately estimate his own injuries. With the Giants finally finding a pass rush with Ojulari in the lineup, his absence would certainly be felt.

The return of Jackson would be a big boost to the defensive secondary. Even if he plays a handful of snaps if the Giants do make it to the postseason, what better way to ramp Jackson up after several weeks of inactivity? Give him a handful of snaps in these last two regular season games so that if the playoffs are in this team's future, he's ready for a fuller workload.

McKinney is in the same boat as Jackson, but his status appears less certain. If his hand were stable enough to endure the rigors of a game, he probably would have been fitted with a club by now and had his 21-day window open.

That has not been the case, causing one to wonder if he's lost some dexterity or if it just isn't healing fast enough to the point where he can function.

The Vikings Effect

All season long, win or lose, Daboll has encouraged his players to flush the last game and focus on the upcoming one. But it's certainly fair to wonder how much confidence the team might have picked up in standing toe-to-toe with the Vikings, the current no. 2 seeded playoff team, last week. We all saw how the 2007 Giants team gained confidence despite losing to the undefeated Patriots in a meaningless regular-season finale game, so the idea isn't that crazy, right?

Daboll disagreed.

"I don’t think you’re ever happy or satisfied after a loss in any shape or form," he said. "But you have to go back, review it, correct the things you need to correct, and get ready for next week."

While the Colts aren't quite the juggernaut the Vikings have shown themselves to be, we still think there is something to be said for learning how to win and learning how to handle adversity. That the Giants lost the game against the Vikings on a walk-off field goal is about as adverse a situation as can be--a true gut punch. And how the Giants respond this week will say a lot.