This season will mark the 10th anniversary of the New York Giants’ last Super Bowl championship team from 2011. The mantra that carried the Giants through their postseason run that year was “All In”, referring to the total commitment required from each player to achieve their ultimate goal. Perhaps “All In” should be Big Blue’s mantra for this season, too, although more due to an investment of material assets in line with the term’s poker etymology.
General manager Dave Gettleman and the Giants organization have pushed all their chips to the middle of the table, and success is non-negotiable for many of New York’s principal actors to stay on in 2022. Despite an unexpectedly low salary cap due to COVID-19, the Giants made multiple big-money signings in free agency, pushing cap hits to future years. They doubled down on their belief in young signal caller Daniel Jones, choosing to trade back and take a receiver in a quarterback-rich draft.
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2021 represents an inflection point for Gettleman’s tenure in New York. A winning record will mean everyone involved keeps their job, and the Giants will continue on their current track. Another season of six wins or less, however, and Jones, Gettleman, and possibly even head coach Joe Judge will be shown the exit. To preview this important season for Big Blue, let’s make a win-loss prediction for each game on their schedule, followed by a final record prediction.
Week 1 vs. Denver Broncos: Loss
The Broncos represent a solid litmus test for Big Blue right away. They have one of the strongest rosters in football, but their mediocre to below average quarterback play keeps them from being a true power. A win over Denver could show the Giants to be, at least, a pretty good team. Unfortunately, the pass-rushing of duo of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb will likely be too much for New York’s shaky offensive line to handle.
Week 2 at Washington Football Team: Loss
Big Blue has managed to consistently pull out close victories over their division rivals from D.C. the last couple of years. With Ryan Fitzpatrick serving as an upgrade at quarterback, along with their other offseason improvements, this will be the year Washington finally topples the G-Men. The Football Team will take this one on their home field.
Week 3 vs. Atlanta Falcons: Win
This should be the game the Giants’ offense spreads it’s wings. Atlanta’s defense figures to be among the league’s worst. Veteran quarterback Matt Ryan can still lead a potent passing attack, but New York’s strong secondary will keep them in check.
Week 4 at New Orleans Saints: Loss
It’s still uncertain where this one will actually be played, as Hurricane Ida has forced the Saints to relocate for the first quarter of the season. Despite a cap squeeze this offseason compelling the Saints to release many quality players, they still have a proven and talented, if thin, roster. Quarterback Jameis Winston is somewhat of a wild card, but he’ll give New Orleans’ offense a new downfield element. They’ll emerge victorious here in a competitive affair.
Week 5 at Dallas Cowboys: Loss
Just like last season, the Giants will travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys in Week 5. Even with injury concerns at offensive line and quarterback for the ‘Boys, this game comes early enough in the year to likely precede any serious attrition. Quarterback Dak Prescott and his array of offensive weaponry will be difficult to stop, and the Cowboys should take this one at home.
Week 6 vs. Los Angeles Rams: Loss
With their blockbuster trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Rams have been one the NFL’s buzziest teams this offseason. Los Angeles will have to endure some personnel losses on defense, and last season’s wunderkind defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is now heading up the crosstown Chargers. But the offensive boost supplied by Stafford can offset any defensive regression. The Rams should be able to come into New Jersey and leave with a win.
Week 7 vs. Carolina Panthers: Win
Carolina’s new quarterback Sam Darnold is just the kind of young, mistake-prone signal caller New York’s defense can exploit. Factor in the Panthers’ sub-par offensive line, and Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham could have a field day dialing up hidden coverages and fabricated pressure schemes. Chalk Big Blue up for a sloppy home win in this one.
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Week 8 at Kansas City Chiefs: Loss
The Giants will travel to Kansas City to take on the defending AFC Champions on Monday Night Football. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes should have another MVP-level season, and pass catchers Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce remain the most dynamic duo in football. Any outcome other than a Chiefs victory would be stunning.
Week 9 vs. Las Vegas Raiders: Win
The Raiders have been one of the NFL’s worst run organizations recently. A string of poor drafts and free-agency whiffs have left this roster woefully talent deficient. Quarterback Derek Carr and tight end Darren Waller ensure a level of competency that keeps them from the league’s basement, but Big Blue has enough talent to outduel them at home.
Week 11 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Loss
In a cruel arrangement by the NFL’s schedule makers, the Giants will play two road games in a span of four weeks on Monday night against each of last season’s Super Bowl participants. The second of them comes against Tom Brady and the defending champion Buccaneers. Tampa Bay is the favorite to hoist the Lombardi Trophy once again, and their roster is the NFL’s best, hands down. The Giants will be lucky to keep it close in this one.
Week 12 vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Win
Big Blue will have to wait until late November to take on their division rivals from Philly. The Eagles are in clear rebuilding mode, and will likey be the NFC East’s bottom dwellers. New York will happily take advantage of a bad Eagles team to get a much needed victory.
Week 13 at Miami Dolphins: Loss
The Dolphins are the extra AFC team the Giants will play to account for the new 17th game. Funnily enough, Miami can be seen as New York’s inter-conference counterpart. Both teams have good defenses led by strong secondaries, but could potentially be held back by bad offensive lines and young, unproven quarterbacks. This should be a closely contested game, but we’ll give Miami the edge at home.
Week 14 at Los Angeles Chargers: Loss
Led by uber-talented second-year quarterback Justin Herbert, the Chargers are a trendy pick to emerge as a contender this season. Barring injury, which has been this team’s bugaboo the last couple of years, it’s hard to make any counter-argument. Los Angeles has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, and should be able to overwhelm the Giants at home.
Week 15 vs. Dallas Cowboys: Win
At this point in the season, the Cowboys’ veteran offensive line will likely have some injury issues. Dallas’ porous defense isn’t good enough to hold the fort if their offense experiences any backslide. The Cowboys have been a notoriously sloppy team in recent years, and have a reputation for fading late in seasons. We’ll give Big Blue a cold-weather December victory over their visitors from Texas.
Week 16 at Philadelphia Eagles: Win
As mentioned above for the Giants Week 12 matchup, the Eagles will be one of the league’s worst teams. New York having to travel to Philadelphia to play them this time around shouldn’t be enough to change the result. Expect Big Blue to sweep the Birds this season.
Week 17 at Chicago Bears: Win
The Bears are another team similarly built to the Giants. They have a good defense potentially held back by bad offensive line play and a young quarterback. Except they have even more questions on both sides of the ball. Unless rookie quarterback Justin Fields is an absolute superstar right away, this team won’t be very good. The Giants should get a road win here to help their playoff hopes and their draft position (New York owns Chicago’s first-round pick next year) all at once.
Week 18 vs. Washington Football Team: Win
New York and Washington are about as evenly matched as you can get. They should be vying for poll position in the NFC East standings all year long. The season series between these teams has a home-and-home split written all over it. We gave the Football Team the win back in Week 2, so let’s hand the Giants a victory here to close out their season with a four-game winning streak.
Final Record Prediction: 8-9
– Ryan Cuneo is the Managing Editor of Full Press Giants. He covers the New York Giants. Like and follow on Follow @ryan_cuneo Follow @FullPressGiants and Facebook.