The New York Giants have stunk this season and have massively failed to live up to their high expectations coming off their first playoff appearance since 2016 and first playoff win since 2012.
Injuries and underperformance, the two Achilles' heels of seemingly every Giants season, have struck again. Daniel Jones fell victim to both. He was absolutely awful when on the field, but he suffered a neck injury and then tore his ACL. Darren Waller, Saquon Barkley, Andrew Thomas, Evan Neal, and John Michael Schmitz are among those who have had extended injury absences.
Despite being 4-8, New York has had many bright spots this season. Tommy DeVito has been a sensation, Jalin Hyatt and Deonte Banks look like franchise building blocks, and the entire Giants defense has been stingy. Here are the five best plays of the Giants 2023 season through 12 games:
5. Jalin Hyatt's 58-yard catch to open the second half in Arizona
Remember back in Week 2 when the Giants were down 20-0 to the Cardinals at halftime? That was a very dark time to be a Giants fan. Big Blue had already given up 60 points to their opponents in 2023 but had yet to score.
New York got the ball to start the second half and immediately took a deep shot to Hyatt, the ultimate downfield threat, on the first play of the half. Jones usually hesitates to throw deep, but he pulled the trigger here and it gave NY life:
OKAY HYATT 🔥
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 17, 2023
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/4Qf4WEO3jG
This play completely changed the course of this game. New York scored 31 points in the second half and beat the Cardinals 31-28. Jones played one of the best games of his career, while Waller, Barkley, Waller, Hyatt, and Isaiah Hodgins all shined.
In hindsight, given the overwhelming evidence that Jones is not a franchise quarterback, losing that game could have been much more beneficial (a loss would have improved Big Blue's draft stock) in the long term.