Well, four weeks and three wins over Josh Freeman, Matt Barkley and Terrelle Pryor later, the Giants are just one game behind the Dallas Cowboys in the loss column for the NFC East lead.
Meanwhile, Freeman has since been benched for the second time, and Barkley only came in because Michael Vick and Nick Foles were hurt. There’s a good chance we won’t see Barkley or Freeman in a game again this season, and Pryor’s ability to throw the football is highly questionable.
The Giants luck will only continue next week against Green Bay with Scott Tolzien — yes, Scott Tolzien — making his first career start.
Tolzien is in his third year in the NFL after being undrafted out of Wisconsin, and had never even played in a game until he took over for Seneca Wallace on Sunday. Tolzien completed 24 of 39 passes, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions in relief in Green Bay’s 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Still though, there aren’t many more attractive scenarios than having the opportunity to face a quarterback making his first career start.
After the Giants play the Packers, they face Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins. Griffin's season could end in a blink of an eye due to his injury, and the Redskins' defense can’t stop a nosebleed. After that, New York faces the Cowboys at home.
Dallas is a disaster waiting to happen, as everyone knows. There’s a very high chance the Giants could win six straight games, getting back to .500 and putting themselves in an excellent position to win the NFC East.
If that happens, the Giants would become the first team in history to start 0-6 and make the playoffs.
But based on the way the team has played, and who they’ve beaten, shows that this team does not deserve to play into January.
The Giants have a -78 point differential through Week 10, which is the worst in the NFC. Eli Manning has been atrocious, completing just 55 percent of his passes and throwing 16 interceptions to just 11 touchdown passes. Those numbers speak for themselves, and they are horrendous.
The team's starting running back, David Wilson, is out for the year, so the Giants have had to rely on Brandon Jacobs and Peyton Hillis at running back. It wasn’t until Sunday’s game against the Raiders that Andre Brown was activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, and was immediately placed at the top of the running back depth chart.
Brown ran for 115 yards in his first action of the season, as the Giants escaped a Manning pick-six, and a Jurrell Jernigan fumble on the opening kickoff to win, 24-20. New York made mistake after mistake, yet still walked out with a win.
Even though he’s played just one game, Brown is 39 yards away from leading the team in rushing. That’s how anemic Big Blue’s rushing attack has been this season.
The Giants do have some tough games left on the schedule against the Chargers in San Diego, the Seattle Seahawks at home and the Lions in Detroit. Who knows what kind of breaks the Giants will have going into those games?
In the end, the fact that this team can even be mentioned in the same sentence as “playoffs” is a disgrace, and it is a reflection on how unbelievably bad the NFC East is this year. Wins are wins, however, and fans have a reason to be excited...
Even though the team has no business making the playoffs.
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By Lucas Frankel of Standing O Sports
