After a long wait, Sunday Night Football vs. the Dallas Cowboys is only three days away. It goes without saying, but the NY Giants have high expectations after surprising everyone in 2022 when they put together nine wins and made it to the playoffs. So, what's coming in Year 2 for Brian Daboll?
This should be a much better and more talented squad on both sides of the ball for NY. The team made several big-time moves, including trading for Darren Waller and Isaiah Simmons, plus adding plenty of talent via the NFL Draft.
But with all of these star players on the Giants roster, it certainly is no guarantee that they can return to the playoffs, especially in the ultra-competitive NFC East. These five factors should be reasons of concern for the Giants in 2023:
5. The Giants tough schedule
If the Giants wish to make it back to the playoffs, they will have to do it against some pretty tough teams. Unlike the 2022 season where the Giants didn't play against a ton of playoff contenders, especially at the beginning of the season, this time in 2023 it will not be easy going for them.
They already start the season hosting the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, and if you're a big stat person like myself, over the last 12 meetings the Cowboys and Giants have had together, the Giants have only won once. Plus, that one win they had was against an Andy Dalton-led Cowboys team in 2020, so Daniel Jones has never beaten Dak Prescott since entering the league in 2019.
Some other notable teams that were in the postseason last season who the Giants have to play this year include the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles twice. Also, teams like the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and the New York Jets are supposed to be really good this year after missing out on postseason action in 2022.
There will also be a span during the regular season for the G-Men where they have to play three straight road games from Nov. 5 to Nov. 19. These games and how the Giants perform against them will show people what kind of team the G-Men really are in 2023. Yes, they got nine wins last season and a postseason berth, but this schedule will be a real test for Big Blue in 2023.
4. Can the Giants win close games like they did in '22?
The Giants in 2022 had very dramatic and come-from-behind wins that were so much fun to watch. How many times did we see NY on the other end of things in previous years? Big Blue set the tone with the thrilling Week 1 victory against the Tennessee Titans. So, how many more close Ws will NY be able to record?
In eight of the Giants nine wins in 2022, they were all decided by eight points or less, with only the one real blowout being their 38-10 drubbing over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17 on New Year's Day. So, that's something Giants fans and football experts should keep their eye on in 2023. In many of these one-score wins that they had, they had to rally late and were trailing early on in those games. The Giants also only scored 30 points or more once in the regular season not including their 31-24 Wild Card win over the Minnesota Vikings.
So, that's the real question here, can the Giants win games like they did last season? According to Pro Football Talk, the Giants have the hardest strength of schedule in the NFL and if they want to equal the amount of success they had last year or even have a better season, they need to start playing well early on in contests, score more than 20 points and limit the mistakes.
3. The NFC East is deep
Not too long ago, we were calling the NFC East the NFC Least when the Washington Commanders in 2020 won their divison with a 7-9 record and the Giants just missed out on it with a 6-10 record. But flash forward a couple of years later, and the NFC East has become one of the best, most talented divisions in all of football.
Last season we saw three teams make it to the playoffs in the NFC East, with the Philadelphia Eagles winning the division and eventually earning a trip to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys came in second at 12-5, while the Giants finished third at 9-7-1 and Washington closed things out at No. 4 at 8-8-1. But as we enter a new season, do not be surprised by late December if every team in this division is competing for a playoff spot. This should worry the Big Blue faithful.
Everyone in this division did a great job improving their team. Things were highlighted by the Eagles adding even more pass-rush help with Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith being drafted. The Cowboys added both Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks. As for Washington, new QB Sam Howell is ready to silence his haters throughout the campaign.
Last season, the Giants went 1-4-1 against their NFC East rivals. They were swept by Dallas and Philly, while they took down Washington at FedEx Field, but the two sides tied at MetLife. In order for the Giants to be taken seriously, they need to record some impressive wins in the division. Things won't be easy, but they have a chance to make a statement against Dallas in Week 1.
2. Can Daniel Jones stay consistent?
It was a surprisingly really good season for Jones in '22, as he had 15 touchdowns to just five interceptions. Him bringing down the turnovers was fantastic to see. The Giants were so impressed by his 2022 Season, they rewarded him with a four-year, $160 million deal. Many thought that Jones got paid way too much and many question if he can stay consistent and play like he did last fall.
Before last season, Jones had 23 turnovers during his rookie season in 2019, followed by 16 in 2020 and 10 in 2021. And in 2022, he had just eight. With his new deal and all of the new playmakers around him like Darren Waller, Parris Campbell and Jalin Hyatt, things could line up to be great for him. However, there's an unreal amount of pressure on him to deliver.
While Jones looked well in his limited preseason action going 8-of-9 for 69 yards and a score along with a good training camp, can that translate into the regular season? If you can recall, in the Giants Divisional Round game against the Philadelphia Eagles last season, Jones looked awful.
While the entire team pretty much fell flat, Jones looked lost - he was just 15-of-27 with 137 yards and an interception. Jones was electric vs. the Vikes the week before, but he struggled vs. Philly. He needs to be consistent from start to finish in '23 for the G-Men to be even better this year.
1. The Giants defense still has some questions
Yes, the Giants added more to their defense by signing linebacker Bobby Okereke, drafting cornerback Denote Banks out of Maryland with their first-round pick and most recently trading for Simmons from the Arizona Cardinals. However, there is still plenty to worry about for Wink Martindale and Co.
Last season under Martindale, while the Giants were a blitz-heavy team, the team overall finished 25th in yards allowed, 31st in yards allowed per rushing attempts, had a hard time getting off the field on third downs and were 25th in takeaways. Now, the offense did pick up the defense and propelled the team to wins, but that is not sustainable.
The defense should be a bit better from 2022, but there is still a major question circling around them about whether or not they can make key stops on first, second and third down. Plus, can they get more turnovers?
The Giants will be starting two rookies at cornerback in Banks and Tre Hawkins III. Both these DBs must play beyond their years to help out the Big Blue D. Up front, Kayvon Thibodeaux will look to be stellar in Year 2, while the hope is that Azeez Ojulari can stay healthy. We'll see how everything shapes out there.
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