Heading into Week 17, the assignment for the New York Giants couldn’t have been simpler: lose to the Las Vegas Raiders, lock up the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. That was the deal.
Instead, the Giants went to the desert and decided to play spoiler... against themselves. Classic.
Even without Andrew Thomas, Theo Johnson, Cor’Dale Flott, and Tyler Nubin playing, Big Blue pulled off a 34-to-10 massively unnecessary road win that served literally no purpose other than hurting their own future. The win didn’t officially eliminate them from the top pick, but it sure made everything a heck of a lot messier. And what do ya know -- the team they now trail for the No. 1 spot is the Raiders.
If it sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Giants fans lived through this same disaster in 2023 and 2024. A couple of late Tommy DeVito wins in 2023 and a Drew Lock win last year cost them a shot at Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, or Jayden Daniels and the top pick, respectively.
Alexa, play Here I Go Again by Whitesnake.
For interim head coach Mike Kafka, it was his first win in six tries. That probably meant a lot to him personally, but ending a 12-game road losing streak while tanking your own team’s best shot at a franchise-altering pick? That’s about as fireable as it gets. Like, C'mon Mike. Be better.
Giants snap 448-day road losing streak and sabotage No. 1 pick odds
The last time the G-Men won a game away from East Rutherford, the leaves were starting to turn, and pumpkin spiced everything was taking over coffees, pastries, and, really, everything. That was October 6 of 2024... 448 days ago... over 10,700 hours ago.
They beat the Seattle Seahawks 29-20. Fast forward to Sunday in Vegas, and the Giants not only snapped that brutal 12-game road losing streak -- and their nine-game losing streak -- to go 3-13, but they also might've just thrown away their best shot at the No. 1 pick in the 2026 Draft.
A win over the Black and Silver in Week 17 of a lost season doesn’t mean much in the standings, but it could have some real consequences moving forward.
It’s a brutal spot to be in. On one hand, Kafka gets his first win as interim head coach and avoids a winless audition. On the other, the win cost the team top draft positioning and put general manager Joe Schoen -- or whoever the GM is -- in a tougher position to trade back with a quarterback-needy team and accrue more assets for rookie signal-caller Jaxson Dart.
Safe to say that Kaf earned himself a lot more enemies around East Rutherford.
It’s the second time in three years that fans are forced to watch this team fumble away a perfect opportunity late in the year for no reason. For a franchise that’s been stuck in the basement for the better part of the last decade, this feels all too familiar -- and just as infuriating.
This team once again found a way to lose by winning.
The Giants will play the Dallas Cowboys next week -- who they literally never beat (fingers crossed nothing changes there) -- while the Raiders take on the Patrick Mahomes-less Kansas City Chiefs.