The New York Giants have unfortunately become the definition of the fourth-quarter choke.
I'd take a look at last season's results to show that they blew a fourth-quarter lead probably 7,000 times, but it hurts to go back and revisit the pain of thinking the Giants were going to come away with a win, only to fall apart at the last second and ruin the rest of my day. I don't want to, but I guess I should. Un-fun fact: every single fourth-quarter lead they squandered in 2025 was of the double-digit variety.
An even more un-fun fact: that tied the NFL's single-season record.
The inability to close games last season was nauseating. Had they just figured out how to finish strong, they would have been looking at a 9-8 season versus a 4-13 season. It's clear Joe Schoen wanted to make sure he and the fans wouldn't have to sit through another season like that ever again.
Big Blue's general manager spoke with the media before the first official practice of training camp kicked off, and the disgust at not being able to come away with a win after leading all game really shone through.
Joe Schoen’s training camp message couldn’t have been louder
Just listen to Schoen word vomit all of the crippling frustrations that have been following him around like a shadow since last season -- especially last season -- with all the blown late-game leads that have plagued this team for too long:
- "How are we going to react when we're down seven?"
- "How are we going to react when we're up 14?"
- "Or when you have a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, how are you going to react?"
- "Can you finish games?"
- "Are we going to be able to finish those games?"
And you wonder why the 47-year-old decided to hire John Harbaugh as New York's next head coach instead of another up-and-coming -- and unproven -- young coach. He is struggling.
Harbaugh is a no-nonsense type of coach who will immediately command respect from his players. The prior regime routinely wouldn't hold players accountable, which ultimately led to its downfall. Players would show up late to meetings, sleep through them, and play with no urgency but would continue seeing playing time.
We're already seeing a difference in how the team goes about its business with its new head coach.
When asked at mandatory minicamp earlier this offseason about how demanding training camp would be, to which the 63-year-old said:
“Is there a rating scale for that? Give me the rating scale. What is the scale? Vince Lombardi being 10 and whatever, it won’t be that. It won’t be Lombardi-esque or anything like that.
Would it be an eight if a Vince Lombardi camp was a 10? I guess it will be 8,” Harbs said.
An eight-out-of-ten camp rating from Harbaugh is exactly the type of shock to the system this roster desperately needs.
Schoen’s not-so-subtle comments made one thing abundantly clear: blowing double-digit fourth-quarter leads isn’t something this organization is willing to accept anymore. If Harbaugh’s camp is every bit as demanding as advertised, that’s exactly where changing that reputation begins.
Add us as a preferred source on Google