It has been a long time since playoff-caliber teams looked at their schedule and had to worry about the New York Giants.
That, however, could come to an end in 2026.
Fox analyst Greg Olsen said recently on Colin Cowherd’s podcast that the Giants are his sleeper team this year. Olsen believes that the Giants are primed to take the NFL — or at least the NFL media — by surprise and come away with a 10-win season.
I think you look back on last year’s team the way they lost some of those games, the endings
to the games, the management, the bad breaks we talked earlier on.
How do you have a magical run?
There is an element of luck. There is an element of certain games just bouncing your way.
And some years, it seems like you get all the breaks and you win all the close games. And then other years, no matter what you do, no matter how much you study game management and time out usage, you just can’t find a way to finish a game.
It felt like that was the case with the Giants last year.
And of course, they had a ton of their young offensive talent get injured. They got to keep Jaxson Dart healthy, figure out how to run him and not [get hurt] so that’s going to be something they’ll monitor. I love their draft, I love the pieces that they added.
I think their defense is better than they performed last year. I think the talent there is better than the outcome.
And some years, it seems like you get all the breaks and you win all the close games. And then other years, no matter what you do, no matter how much you study game management and time out usage, you just can’t find a way to finish a game.
It felt like that was the case with the Giants last year.
And of course, they had a ton of their young offensive talent get injured. They got to keep Jaxson Dart healthy, figure out how to run him and not [get hurt] so that’s going to be something they’ll monitor. I love their draft, I love the pieces that they added.
I think their defense is better than they performed last year. If they can get that thing straight, I think the talent there is better than the outcome.
Chris’ thoughts
I’ll admit my bias right up front, since I predicted the Giants to finish with a 10-7 record back when the schedule came out.
Like Olsen, I think the Giants were better than their record says they were a year ago. I believe that they probably should have been a 7-9 win team if it weren’t for a injury, poor coaching, and bad luck. And if that’s the case, then predicting that improved coaching, adding a pair of Top 10 picks, and getting players back healthy amounting two two more wins isn’t that outlandish.
Utimately, that’s what Olsen is saying here. The Giants have Their Guy in Jaxson Dart, and they can far exceed expectations with better coaching and in-game management. On the defensive side of the ball, better coaching should raise the level of play and get them producing up to their talent level.
Does that mean the Giants will hit double digit wins this year? No, of course not. However, there’s evidence that the conditions are right for them to finally take the next step and get off the “rebuilding” hamster wheel. That might not mean the Giants are world beaters right away, but they’ve already shown they can compete with playoff caliber teams. The next step is showing they can close out those games.
Greg Olsen thinks they’re a team that can surprise some folks and win those games, and I tend to agree.
