Last year, the Giants were one of the most surprising success stories in the NFL.
This season, like most sequels, was designed to disappoint.
Entering last season, the Giants had hired their fourth head coach in six years and brought back a below-average quarterback, whose fifth-year option the team had declined.
The season ended with Brian Daboll as Coach of the Year, with the team’s first playoff appearance in six years, with the team’s first playoff win in 11 years, with Saquon Barkley and Dexter Lawrence as Pro Bowlers, with Daniel Jones playing like the face of a franchise.
It was easy to enjoy because it was unexpected. Even the angst could be placed in the context of the success coming ahead of schedule.
Naturally, expectations rose this summer. There is no other option. You don’t bring back the same core and add supporting pieces, only to anticipate regression.
But it was always the more likely path.
Last season, the Giants went 2-7 against teams with winning records. They finished the regular season with a minus-6 point differential. In going 9-7-1, they won eight games by one possession — excluding the 31-24 Wild Card win at Minnesota — then learned how far they were from contention in a 38-7 blowout loss to the Eagles.
The first month of this season has been a reminder to all who chose to forget.
A 40-0 loss to the Cowboys. A 20-0 deficit to the lowly Cardinals, before earning their lone win. A 30-12 loss to the 49ers. A 24-3 home loss to the Seahawks. Barkley on the sideline. Evan Neal lashing out at fans.
The Giants (1-3) will be double-digit underdogs the next two weeks (at Miami, at Buffalo), and could finish the rest of the season without being favored in another game. Home games against the Commanders, Jets and Patriots are the best opportunities. None is a good opportunity.
Blame can be assigned all around. Most goes to the head coach and the quarterback. That’s how it works.
Daboll, like Ben McAdoo, made the mistake of succeeding too soon, of raising the bar higher than his overachieving roster could clear in consecutive years.
Jones was a $40 million-per-season gamble the Giants felt forced to take. There were no options more appealing — or justifiable — than investing in their former first-round pick, in his mid-20s, coming off a career year in a new system.
“We do feel Daniel can play,” co-owner John Mara said at the start of last season. “We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up since he’s been here. We keep changing coaches, keep changing coordinators, keep changing offensive line coaches. I take a lot of responsibility for that. But let’s bring in the right group of coaches now and give him some continuity and try to rebuild the offensive line and then be able to make an intelligent evaluation of whether he can be the franchise quarterback or not.”
They wouldn’t consider the possibility that this season would look like Jones’ first three seasons. They wouldn’t use the franchise tag on Jones, limiting the Giants’ ability to surround him with better talent.
But even with upgrades in the huddle, Jones is on pace for his worst quarterback rating, fewest passing yards per game and most interceptions of his career, having already thrown more picks in four games (six) than he did all of last season (five).
And a team that locked itself into Jones with $92 million guaranteed has 13 more games to determine whether it needs to take another first-round swing in one of the deepest drafts for quarterbacks in years.
The Giants are on the clock.
Three days into David Stearns’ reign as the Mets’ president of operations, Billy Eppler ended his two-year run as general manager.
Eppler resigned from the position Thursday amid an ongoing MLB investigation into alleged improper uses of the injured list, The Post exclusively reported.
When MLB informed the Mets of the investigation, Eppler chose to quit in order to avoid becoming a distraction to the team’s front office.
“I wanted David to have a clean slate and that meant me stepping down,” Eppler said in a statement. “I hope for nothing but the best for the entire Mets organization.”
In his first season with the Mets, Eppler helped build a roster that produced the second-highest win total (101) in franchise history. This year, he helped Steve Cohen set nearly half a billion dollars ablaze as the most expensive team in the history of the sport finished 12 games under .500.
Eppler, 48, attended Stearns’ introductory press conference earlier this week and was expected to work under the former Milwaukee executive.
“Billy and I have had, I think, a really nice relationship going back years as competitors, talking to each other, whether it’s about transactions or just about industry events,” Stearns had said. “I have a lot of respect for the experience he has in this game, the experience he has in New York, and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
On Saturday, each of the four MLB Division Series matchups will begin. If you missed the Wild Card round, you didn’t miss much.
Every matchup ended in a sweep. The games were decided by an average of 3.6 runs. The moments will be wiped from memories before pitchers and catchers report next season.
This round has the potential to be so much more. It isn’t difficult to envision any combination of four teams advancing to the LCS.
No. 1 Orioles vs. No. 5 Rangers: Sportsbooks are ignoring the seeds and Baltimore’s 11-win edge in the regular season, listing this series as a coin flip. The Rangers, who outscored the Rays 11-1 during a two-game beatdown in Florida, are counting on Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and the American League’s highest-scoring offense to protect a suspect bullpen. The Orioles, who won 100 games for the first time in 43 years just two seasons after losing 110 games, will play their first postseason game in seven years. Baltimore is deep and balanced, but numerous notable players — including stars Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson — will be making their first appearances in the playoffs.
No. 2 Astros vs. No. 3 Twins: Despite their least impressive full season since 2016, the defending champs are shooting to make a record seventh straight trip to the ALCS. The core of MLB’s most-hated franchise (Jose Altuve, Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez) will meet former teammate Carlos Correa and a Twins lineup that tied for the league high with 233 home runs in the regular season. Following a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays, the Twins enter with house money, no longer carrying the pressure of representing a franchise without a postseason win in 19 years.
No. 1 Braves vs. No. 4 Phillies: The most intriguing matchup is a rematch of last year’s NLDS, in which the 87-win Phillies upset the 101-win and defending champion Braves. Atlanta returns to the playoffs as the World Series favorite following a 104-win campaign, led by MVP favorite Ronald Acuña Jr. and one of the most prolific lineups in league history, featuring the first-ever foursome with at least 35 home runs each. The Phillies finished 14 games back of the Braves, but again look capable of another run to the Fall Classic after a slow start to the season. With Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, the Phillies don’t feel overmatched.
No. 2 Dodgers vs. No. 6 Diamondbacks: On paper, it is the most lopsided LDS matchup, but the Dodgers — a 100-win team that took its past five games against the 84-win Diamondbacks by a combined score of 30-9 — rarely coast through the postseason. A shaky rotation, led by ever-unreliable Clayton Kershaw, can only depend on Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman to do so much. If the Diamondbacks cause havoc on the basepaths, and get as many as four starts out of Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, the Dodgers could be in trouble again.
AP
Fortunately, there is no shortage of football alternatives outside New York. Here is a look at this weekend’s top games:
No. 3 Texas (5-0) vs. No. 12 Oklahoma (5-0), Saturday, noon ET, ABC: In a battle of the only ranked teams in the Big 12, the winner will become the most probable team in the nation to reach the College Football Playoff. Last year, the Longhorns won the most lopsided game, 49-0, in the history of the storied rivalry. This year, Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel will be under center to duel with Texas’ Quinn Ewers.
No. 11 Alabama (4-1) at Texas A&M (4-1), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS: The winner takes control of the SEC West. The past two meetings have come down to the final plays. The Aggies upset top-ranked Alabama on a last-second field goal in 2021. Last year, Jalen Milroe threw three touchdowns in his first start before the Crimson Tide’s game-winning goal-line stand against the Aggies.
No. 20 Kentucky (5-0) at No. 1 Georgia (5-0), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN: Vegas lists the Bulldogs as two-touchdown favorites. Anyone who has watched the two-time defending champs struggle in SEC play is aware that Georgia’s 22-game winning streak is in jeopardy. The Wildcats arrive off a 33-14 win over Florida in which running back Ray Davis ran for 280 yards and scored four touchdowns.
No. 10 Notre Dame (5-1) at No. 25 Louisville (5-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC: The Fighting Irish have played two of the most thrilling games of the season in consecutive weeks. Another could come against the Cardinals, who are 5-0 for the first time since 2013 under first-year coach Jeff Brohm.
Jaguars (2-2) at Bills (3-1), Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network: Buffalo is coming off the most impressive performance of the season, taking down previously unbeaten Miami, 48-20. Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars have a built-in edge for the game in London, becoming the first team in NFL history to play consecutive weeks outside the country.
Ravens (3-1) at Steelers (2-2), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET: Pittsburgh will struggle to put up points against Baltimore’s top-five defense, but recent history favors the Steelers, who have won five of the past six matchups. The Steelers are the lone team Lamar Jackson has thrown more interceptions (six) against than touchdowns (four) in his career, with the Ravens quarterback also fumbling six times and being sacked 16 times in five career starts.
Eagles (4-0) at Rams (2-2), Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET: Philly is due to go down. Three of the Eagles’ four wins have come by six points or fewer — against a trio of opponents (Patriots, Vikings, Commanders) who have combined to win four games this season. This battle of the past two NFC champions could feature the season debut of star receiver Cooper Kupp, who missed the season’s first month with a hamstring injury.
Cowboys (3-1) at 49ers (4-0), Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC: This classic rivalry doubles as one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. San Francisco has knocked Dallas out of the playoffs each of the past two seasons, holding the high-powered Cowboys offense under 20 points in each game. Expect another low-scoring slugfest as these dynamic defenses pressure a pair of quarterbacks (Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy) who enter with several questions.
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