5 Reasons Why Giants Could Become a Playoff Team in 2026

The New York Giants' latest season didn't go to plan, but they own some elements that could power the team back to the postseason discussion in 2026.

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

While the NFL postseason has been in full swing and eight teams still have their hopes alive for a chance to pick up the Lombardi Trophy in less than a month, it’s been another year where the New York Giants are, sadly, one of the teams watching it all unfold from their couches. 

It’s been a familiar situation for the Giants, who have missed the postseason in all but two seasons since they last won the Super Bowl back in 2011. Even when they made the dance in 2016 and 2022, respectively, it was a rapid exit for Big Blue with just one victory between those two appearances. 

Like most franchises that miss the mark, the Giants have not had enough of the right pieces in place that often shape playoff-caliber teams, and they’ve been trying for most of the last decade to get all those elements in the same building to return to contention status. 

That is certainly their goal once again after a dismal season that ended with a 4-13 record and another round of coaching turnover. 

The organization has already gotten off to a hot start with their pursuit and successful landing of new head coach John Harbaugh, and the work now turns to the roster he’ll see to lead back to contention next season. 

But what if we told you that the Giants aren’t as far off from achieving their postseason dreams as one might think? 

The Giants actually have a few factors within their building that, while they didn’t all rise in 2025, are the right ones to set a positive course in 2026. 

Why not lead off with the big fish they just reeled in in Harbaugh, who leads the reasons why New York will be back in the playoff discussion a year from now.

The Head Coach

New Giants head coach John Harbaugh | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

By nailing the John Harbaugh sweepstakes and signing him to become the next head of the franchise, the Giants' recent lineage of poor head coaching decisions in the wake of their split from Tom Coughlin in 2015 seems to have finally ended. 

The Giants' ownership brass have tried to avoid the cyclical turnover that has defined their lead coaching role since the former Super Bowl-winning coach walked out the door at 1925 Giants Drive just over a decade ago. 

Still, in vain, as all four of their succession plans–Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, Joe Judge, and Brian Daboll– have failed to different degrees in bringing the organization the same stability they once enjoyed with Coughlin for 11 seasons. 

Daboll, who was fired in Week 10 after holding a 20-40-1 record in four seasons at the helm, was arguably the best coach among those four names, given he had success in year one with a roster that he mostly inherited from the previous regime and won a playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round.

However, none will bring the same level of excitement and experience that Harbaugh is set to bring to East Rutherford following his 18 well-accomplished seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, in which he earned a 193-124 record, posting eleven double-digit win seasons, 12 playoff berths, and capturing one Super Bowl title in 2012. 

Even before Coughlin arrived in 2004, it was rare for the Giants to have hired a head coach with a championship pedigree, and now they’ve found that with Harbaugh, who instantly carries name recognition in the locker room. He is a coach players will respect, listen to, and want to learn from, since he has seen it all in the NFL. 

Harbaugh is also a great personnel guy and will know which leaders to bring into the building to help set the players up for success. 

Simply put, he demands a spirit of excellence and will bring that out of a Giants franchise that has been riding a massive fall from grace since winning the Super Bowl. 

The Giants might not go from the dredges of the league to champions overnight. Still, Harbaugh's arrival will reignite the pride and winning culture that eventually led to future contention. 

The brass saw that, from the moment he was let go by Baltimore, they had to mount a full-court press to ensure he came to New Jersey and never left.

The Quarterback

Jan 4, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) looks on after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It might have been one of the few positives from the Giants’ lackluster campaign that they had finally landed the potential franchise quarterback of the future in Jaxson Dart, who made plenty of strides despite all the difficult circumstances that marred his first year in the NFL. 

Dart, who became the starter in Week 4 and threw for 2,272 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions, posted one of the best rookie resumes and singlehandedly brought a renewed sense of flash and competitiveness back to the Giants offense. 

Some of the credit for his quick early development should go to Brian Daboll, who has made his coaching career off being a strong quarterback developer. 

Still, his dismissal didn’t seem to throw any wrench in Dart’s success in the team’s system the remainder of the season. 

After Daboll was fired in Week 10, Dart, who missed the next two games due to being placed in the league’s concussion protocol, continued to do damage with his dual-threat abilities, throwing for over 200 yards three times and adding 170 yards and two more touchdowns with his legs, which gave him the highest scoring total of any rookie arm. 

What was more impressive was that he kept the Giants in mostly close games down the stretch despite losing two of his main playmakers earlier in the season, Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo, to season-ending injuries, and the late health decline along the offensive line, which was having a prosperous blocking effort up until that point. 

How much better will Dart look in his second year when he has a new, highly successful mentor in John Harbaugh and a proven offensive coordinator that most likely ends up being Todd Monken, Harbaugh’s counterpart in Baltimore? 

Nabers and Skattebo will be back at some point, with the hope of adding another talented weapon via the draft, giving Dart all the key resources a young quarterback needs to take the next step. 

Dart’s talent alone kept most of the Giants fanbase engaged in what was another lost season for the franchise. 

If he can continue growing and keep himself clean of unnecessary hits on the field, he has already shown the right traits that other winning gunslingers have owned and carried teams into the postseason.

Offensive Playmakers

Sep 28, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) celebrates with New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

One of the unfortunate parts about the Giants’ pitiful season was that fans never got a real chance to see what Jaxson Dart could do with a fully stacked arsenal before the dreaded injury bug ravaged that dream. 

There was a slight tease in Week 2, but that was with veteran Russell Wilson still in command of the starting job when he threw for 450 yards and landed three gorgeous moonballs to both Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson for touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys. 

Not long after Wilson was benched and Dart came into the picture, the key pieces started dropping to injuries, first with Nabers in Week 4 with an ACL tear and   Skattebo with his dislocated ankle in Week 8. 

Dart at least had a fun rushing duo building with Skattebo, but it wouldn’t last long before the lead ball carrier was out of the mix. 

Nabers. Meanwhile, was supposed to be that electric No. 1 receiving option who just came off a record-setting rookie season and could stretch the field, make big catches, and boost the confidence and strong arm of Dart in making flashy plays all over the field that would put the Giants offense over the top. 

Despite losing those two key guys, the Giants still had a bunch of other players step up and show they can be meaningful contributors to the future offense, such as Wan’Dale Robinson, who led the team with 1,014 yards and four touchdowns, Isaiah Hodgins, Theo Johnson, Daniel Bellinger, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. 

They were all critical to the Giants' offense, finishing 17th in total points and 13th in total yards, both being their best league-wide marks since the 2022 season. 

That season was the first under Brian Daboll when New York won nine games and made the playoffs, signaling this current group isn’t far off in talent when fully healthy and could do something special next season with the right leadership. 

The biggest question is whether Nabers, who wouldn’t fully commit to a Week 1 return, will be available at the start of the season. 

Robinson is also a free agent this offseason and is expected to draw some competitive offers from other teams looking to snatch him away from the Giants after his career campaign in the slot. 

If all comes back and the offensive line can maintain the consistent blocking they had this season, the Giants’ offensive huddle could be a sneaky good one in 2026 and be a catalyst for powering them back to the postseason.

Talented Defensive Core

Dec 14, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) celebrates a fumble recovery with teammates during the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Giants’ defense was supposed to be the backbone of their team in 2025, but it can still be that as the franchise aims for greater heights next season.

The defensive side of the ball’s promise was derailed by inconsistent playmaking from a few key members and injuries that tested their depth. 

The Giants expected more out of main gap stuffers like Dexter Lawrence (0.5 sacks), Kayvon Thibodeaux (2.5 sacks), and rookie Abdul Carter. Still, even the secondary was a huge problem with their poor coverage metrics that fueled some of the team’s ugliest collapses.

Beyond the talent factor, there were many questions about the play-calling and the overall defensive system run by Shane Bowen, leading to his dismissal in Week 12 and the elevation of Charlie Bullen to the interim defensive coordinator role.  

As soon as Bullen took over, the Giants’ defensive performances began to sharply improve over the final four weeks of the season. New York got itself out of the league basement and finished 26th and 28th in total points and yards allowed, respectively. 

Their struggles against the opposing run game (32nd in yards allowed per attempt) still lingered till the end, but they weren’t allowing teams to surpass 200 yards on the ground anymore. 

They were even flipping over multiple possessions with eight total turnovers in the same span of time. They only had seven turnovers in the first 12 weeks before Bullen was called upon. 

On the passing rushing front, there were even improvements in the contributions of guys like Carter, who maybe just needed to see one impactful outing to get his head on straight and ignite that monster that he was at Penn State. 

Carter finished with four sacks, but led all rookie edge rushers with 66 total pressures, including 18 quarterback hits and a 14.7% win rate. 

One can’t forget how dangerous a foundational piece that the Giants have in Brian Burns, who led the team with 16.5 sacks, the fourth-most in a single season, and will continue to be one of the loudest voices in the locker room that will demand excellence from his unit and the rest of the team heading into 2026. 

Like the offense, the Giants' defense isn’t too far off from being a playoff-caliber element of the organization. 

They just need a few extra pieces at linebacker and the secondary, and the right leader at defensive coordinator to make the most of the different talents that make up the group. 

If one remembers, the Giants fell back on their defense in their two recent Super Bowl runs, meaning it’s always been the right formula for them to have an elite defense that makes the big plays with the game on the line.

Draft Capital

New York Giants General Manager Joe Schoen | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Once the windstorm from the John Harbaugh head coaching agreement has subsided and the Giants have their new leader in the building, one of the looming priorities will be how to improve the current roster through free agency and the draft to make it a contender next season.

The Giants did put a small dent in their draft capital for April by winning their last two games of the season against the Raiders and Cowboys, which knocked them down from the No. 2 pick to No. 5. 

Still, they will hold some premier capital from the jump to pursue one of the highest-ranked prospects at one of their passions of need. They could even explore the possibility of moving down the board again to garner more valuable assets before their first turn arrives.

It’s uncertain what other picks the Giants will fall into beyond the fifth spot, as the rest of the seven-round board has to be filled out by the results of the remaining postseason games. 

Still, general manager Joe Schoen and Harbaugh should have the proper resources they need to make some splashes and achieve another good class for the franchise. 

Depending on which way they decide to go, some of the Giants’ big needs could be wide receiver, as Wan’Dale Robinson’s free agent return is in limbo as of now, offensive tackle for the same reason with Jermaine Eluemunor, or the secondary, with Cor’Dale Flott also testing the open market and injuries plaguing the unit this past season. 

Schoen has been criticized for most of his draft selections since he became GM, but he had some solid hits last year with Abdul Carter, Jaxson Dart, and Cam Skattebo, who figure to be cornerstone players way beyond his tenure. 

If he can manage to repeat some of that success in the team’s 2026 class, he’ll surely boost the roster with extra talent that we’ll be speaking about as factors in the Giants’ pursuit of the playoffs.   

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