Four NFL teams, including the Giants, entered Week 7 of the season having to prove to their fans that they are not as bad as they looked and performed over the first six games.
These four teams dragged records of 1-5 into a home game and were underdogs, seemingly more likely to fall to 1-6 than rise to 2-5.
All four of these teams successfully constructed a speed bump to slow the roll on their descent into irrelevancy.
The Giants beat the Commanders, 14-7, in New Jersey.
The Patriots beat the Bills, 29-25, in Foxborough.
The Bears beat the Raiders, 30-12, in Chicago.
The Broncos beat the Packers, 19-17, in Denver.
The Cardinals, also 1-5 entering the weekend, lost to the Seahawks, 20-10, but that game was in Seattle.
What does it mean, when a team after failing in five of its first six games is able to shed the losing for at least one day, rise up and win a home game?
Most likely, it means these teams remain flawed and undermanned and this was a temporary stopgap result to give the paying customers something to feel good about – until the next time their team takes the field.
The Giants want to believe their ability to end a four-game losing streak means there are better days ahead.
Their performance on defense in Week 6 deserved to produce a victory but the offense failed to produce a single touchdown in a 14-9 loss to the Bills in Orchard Park. Limiting Josh Allen and Co. is far more impressive than dominating Sam Howell, and the six sacks generated by the Giants revealed that there is an offensive line out there in worse shape than their own.
Scoring two touchdowns was an accomplishment for the Giants and there is increasing optimism that Daniel Jones will be able to return to start at quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Jets. If so, that will change the dynamic within a unit that appreciated the way backup-turned-started Tyrod Taylor got the ball out of his hands and avoided turning the ball over.
Coach Brian Daboll has said more than once that when Jones is healthy, he is the starter again. Taylor in his two starts did have Saquon Barkley to hand it to and throw it to and that made a big difference, because there was absolutely no running game without him.
Where the season goes from here is anyone’s guess.
For most of the 1-5 teams that woke up today at 2-5, the positive vibes born out of winning one game will fade away sometime soon.
Here are some observations out of the Giants’ second victory of the season:
It is not as if the Giants weathered the storm when forced to play without their top guys. They lost all three games while Barkley was out with a high-ankle sprain. They are 2-4 in the six games without left tackle Andrew Thomas. They are 1-2 without rookie center John Michael Schmitz.
Barkley is back and he has made an impact the past two weeks. Thomas is expected back this week from his strained hamstring. Schmitz is not far behind.
“We get some reinforcements back this week so hopefully we’ll have some more guys in the field,’’ said fill-in left tackle Justin Pugh, eyeing a move to his preferred left guard spot.
“I don’t want to speak for them and make a prediction that they’re going to play next week or not,’’ Barkley said. “They’re going through their rehab process, and we know that the trainers and the strength staff are going to do whatever they can to help them get back on the field as quick as possible and healthy, but it’ll be really good to get some of our best players back on the field.’’
Putting together an offensive line with Thomas at left tackle, Pugh at left guard, Schmitz at center, Ben Bredeson at right guard and Evan Neal (or possibly Tyre Phillips) at right tackle should give the Giants their best chance to stabilize things up front.
Daboll is always heavily involved in the offensive planning but last week, with his team struggling to score, he stepped up his involvement, taking a more vocal role in meetings and working more closely with players in position-specific drills.
“I think it was all positive reinforcement,’’ guard Mark Glowinski said.
“He’s heavily involved,’’ tight end Darren Waller said. “He’s a guy that’s in there and commanding the installs and the walkthroughs, his energy and his presence is always felt. As it should be. He comes in, he says certain things we just can’t let slide on offense. He’s drilling, he’s asking questions, that just is a coach you want to go behind because he says ‘That’s unacceptable.’’’
