Why it’s imperative the NY Giants don’t start off 0-3

NFL history has not been kind to teams that start off 0-3, which is why the NY Giants simply need to find a way to win this weekend.

There are a multitude of long-term reasons why an 0-3 start would be disastrous for the NY Giants, but for the short-term, their already slim chances of making the 2020 postseason would pretty much go out the window should the team lose to the San Fransisco 49ers in Week Three.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there have been 176 teams to start off 0-3 in NFL history; only six of those squads ended up making the playoffs — that equates to just 3.4%.

In other words, the NY Giants are basically screwed if they can’t figure out a way to beat the banged-up 49ers on Sunday.

If it seems like the NY Giants get off to horrific starts every season lately, it’s because they have. Big Blue has started 0-2 in seven out of their last eight campaigns, effectively putting the nail in the coffin before things ever really got started.

Rookie head coach Joe Judge had inspired confidence since he took over that things would be different under his leadership, and although it’s still very early in the Joe Judge regime and way too early to make any long-term judgments, so far it’s been the same old NY Giants.

Not many were expecting the G-Men to make the playoffs this season anyway, but starting off 0-3 with the remaining tough games left on the schedule would make that tall task virtually impossible.

What would an 0-3 start mean for the future of the NY Giants?

GM Dave Gettleman was already on the hot seat heading into the 2020 season; if the team stumbles out of the gates once to 0-3, that seat will be scorching.

Gettleman vowed that this team would be competitive, and after three full offseasons, he has no one else to blame but himself for the current state of the team.

While Jerry Reese surely made some questionable moves that put the franchise in an undesirable spot, this is all on Dave Gettleman. This team hasn’t gotten any better since he’s taken over; in fact, one could argue that the team is actually worse now than it was after a terrible 2017 season.

At least that team had playmakers that other teams had to fear and account for; right now, the NY Giants have some solid players, but few stars.

In addition, the team doesn’t really have a position group outside of the defensive line that could be considered in the upper-echelon of the league.

While it’s not Gettleman’s fault that superstar Saquon Barkley went down with a torn ACL, it speaks to how risky it was to take a running back with the #2 overall pick was in the first place.

The drafting of quarterback Daniel Jones was likely a key component in buying ‘DG’ more time, but even if Jones impresses in 2020 it won’t be enough to overcome another losing season — especially if the team is picking in the top-five of the draft again which is the direction the team is currently trending in.

I doubt that owner John Mara would fire Gettleman mid-season no matter how bad things got as that would make him look foolish for bringing him back in the first place, but he would have to be infuriated to see the season over before it started once again.

The problem with keeping Gettleman and firing Pat Shurmur was that Joe Judge and Dave Gettleman were always going to be on different timelines.

Should the team continue to lose, Joe Judge’s prerogative is going to be giving younger guys a shot in hopes of finding talent that can stick around for the long haul rather than putting out the best possible team that would probably include some veterans that have no future with the NY Giants.

That’s something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Hopefully, the NY Giants are able to beat the 49ers on Sunday and begin to show signs of improvement.

If not, things could begin to get ugly quickly and you can bet that fans will be calling for Dave Gettleman’s job sooner rather than later.