5 Things That Went Right for NY Giants in 2025 Season

When it comes to judging the New York Giants and their performance on the gridiron this season, it all goes back to that old saying in the sport: "You are what your record says you are."

The Giants were a 4-13 football team in 2025. Even that's more of a gracious standing given they won two games in the final two weeks against a Las Vegas Raiders team that was arguably the one franchise worth than them, and the Dallas Cowboys, whose defense was abysmal and who clearly were content with letting their division rival hurt their ultimate draft selection with a victory.

They were barely able to eclipse their three-win total from the previous season, a sign in and of itself that suggests the organization still has a way to go before they are climbing up to the pinnacle of the NFL landscape again, one that they haven't seen in nearly 15 years.

Not all was lost in what was deemed another tumultuous campaign for Big Blue, which is now in the midst of an important head coaching search and period of finding ways to improve its roster for 2026.

There were actually a few things that stood out as positive takeaways from the season that could inspire hope amongst the fanbase and entice a prospective coaching candidate to come and build on the foundation that's been laid.

In the spirit of looking at the Giants' latest journey through rose-colored glasses, these are the five biggest elements that went in the team's favor throughout the 2025 season.

The Offensive Line Improvement

New York Giants offensive linemen John Michael Schmitz and Greg Van Roten — Sep 7, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; New York Giants guard Greg Van Roten (74) and New York Giants center John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61) huddle before the game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Images | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Before the start of this season, the Giants had repeatedly run into a wall trying to find answers to their poor offensive line protection. They finally established the right core in the second year under the tutelage of offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo.

The strangest part was that the Giants retained all five of their starters from 2024 and were fairly quiet in addressing the position group via the draft, with the lone selection being offensive tackle Marcus Mbow out of Purdue in the fifth round as a viable depth piece.

Even with the versatile addition of Mbow, there were still questions about the depth of the group, which has been marred by repetitive injuries to key pieces like Andrew Thomas and bereft of quality talent on the reserve side, with failed players such as Evan Neal, Joshua Ezeudu, and James Hudson III.

Both of those issues were less prevalent this season thanks to the starting five meshing together in year two and staying relatively healthy for the long haul. The Giants’ first line of blockers missed only a combined five games this fall after three of those players had eight missed games by themselves last year.

Thomas, who had his most available campaign since 2022 with 13 starts, was the most important person in that equation and provided quarterback Jaxson Dart with the elite pass protection that he needed to shine in his early development in the pros. He finished fifth in the NFL with an 87.2 pass blocking grade and allowed just one sack and 13 pressures in 448 snaps.

The irreplaceable presence of the All-Pro left tackle was felt in the early going when the Giants’ offensive line struggled to give veteran gunslinger Russell Wilson, whose prime years as a mobile arm were behind him, proper time to dish the football to a healthy group of playmakers.

Soon after Thomas returned and Dart took over the reins in Week 4, the Giants’ pass blocking shot up and would eventually finish the season ranked 11th in win rate after hanging near the basement of the league (No. 26) at the end of the 2024 campaign.

The unit allowed 45 total sacks on the season, which was only a slight drop from the 48 sacks that opponents totaled last season, but much of that could be attributed to having a rookie quarterback in Dart who was learning when to get rid of the football early and not impact the success of his offense.

As the Giants turn towards the offseason, the hope is that they can find some extra beef to supplement the impressive year that their initial line put forth down the stretch of 2025 and remain the critical component that makes the rest of the team’s offense thrive.

It’s impossible to succeed in the modern game without a consistent and reliable offensive line, and the Giants have been fighting to achieve that reality for years. The leadership of Bricillo has worked wonders in just a short time, and there is an expectation to continue that growth with a fully healthy group again in 2026.

Wan'Dale Robinson's Record Year

Dec 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (17) runs with the ball after a catch in the second quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Despite Russell Wilson getting to start in the first few weeks of the season, there was a lot of excitement in the Giants’ building and the fanbase to eventually see what Jaxson Dart would look like having a true No. 1 receiving threat in his huddle in Malik Nabers.

However, all that came to a jarring halt in Dart’s first start, when Nabers, who was coming off the heels of a record-setting rookie campaign, tore his ACL against the Chargers and instantly pulled that partnership out of the picture for the rest of Dart’s debut.

While Dart did establish a good rapport with his tight ends and fellow rookie Cam Skattebo in the backfield, who also saw his first year cut short by injury, the real name that stepped up and became the Giants’ X-factor was Wan’Dale Robinson in the midst of a contract year.

Short of his 2022 rookie season was also capped by an unfortunate ACL injury, Robinson had spent the next two years as a second or third option in the Giants’ receiving corps given the team was flushing a lot more targets towards their vertical threats in Nabers, Darius Slayton, and a sprinkle of Theo Johnson who was on pace to be one of the brighter young tight ends in the league last season.

With Nabers gone and Slayton having a downward year following his contract extension in the spring, the window was swung open for Robinson to become the face of the passing game, and he certainly ran off with it.

The slot receiver finished as the lead producer for New York, rallying 92 catches on a career-high 140 targets for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns.

Both of those latter markers were also career-highs and the first time that Robinson has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in his NFL tenure.

It wasn’t just the volume that he produced on the field, but the consistency and ability to make some stunning plays happen in space that is bound to have caught people’s attention as his major offseason looms.

The 25-year-old had 10 games in which he caught at least five passes and 8 in which that translated into at least 50 receiving yards for the aerial attack.

Add it all up, and Robinson became just the third Giants receiver to surpass 1,000 yards in the past decade, joining Odell Beckham Jr. and Nabers, and offered the franchise their second consecutive year with a 1,000-yard pass catcher.

More importantly than his contributions on the field, Robinson took advantage of the moment to become a leader and voice for the rest of the locker room amid the Giants’ nine-game losing skid, where many of their embarrassing losses were not on the hands of the offensive side of the ball.

Robinson was a rare bright spot for the Giants, who didn’t offer many reasons to watch their games on Sunday, and he has deserved a nice pot that should come his way in free agency this offseason.

The Giants would be smart to retain his services as they look to keep a solid core around Dart as he continues to grow into the franchise quarterback they believe he can be.

Defense Improves Under Charlie Bullen

New York Giants outside linebacker Abdul Carter with linebackers coach Charlie Bullen — Outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen with first round draft pick Abdul Carter during practice at Giants Rookie Minicamp. | Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the glaring failures from the Giants’ 2025 season was the unfulfilled promise of their restocked defense under defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, which was expected to be among the most talented and impactful in the entire league.

Through the first 12 weeks of the season, that simply wasn’t the case. Bowen’s unit was not as efficient at getting to the opposing quarterback despite having four different premier pass rushers to play with, including Brian Burns (16.5 sacks) and rookie addition Abdul Carter, whom they spent their No. 3 pick in the draft to bring a plug-and-play piece to the mix.

More importantly, the defense was not getting it done against the run and was on the cusp of setting a historic record for the highest average yardage allowed per rush, which capped off at 5.3 yards per carry by the end of the season.

After coughing up more than a few potential victories due to late-game collapses, the decision was made to move on from Bowen and give an opportunity to outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen to steer the defensive ship in the interim. It’s fair to say that his brief stint was deserving of kudos.

As soon as Bullen took over as defensive coordinator, there seemed to be a positive shift in the Giants' defense's attitude and overall production on the field. That change helped them avoid landing in the basement, finishing 26th in points and 28th in total yards allowed.

Bullen took it upon himself to design creative, exotic looks and blitz packages to get more of his weapons involved in the pass rush.

One of his strategies was getting Abdul Carter more reps as an off-ball linebacker, so that when the gaps opened up from the defensive tackles up front, he could shoot through the hole and get a direct lane to the quarterback.

One could attribute that to the sharp improvement Carter showed in the final few games of the season, after it looked as if he would be ruled a massive bust as a No. 3 overall pick who led the FBS college level in sacks last fall. Carter finished with the best pass rush win rate among Giants edge rushers (14.7%) and had four games with at least one sack, five pressures, and forced two turnovers.

The turnover factor was also alive and well for the rest of the Giants' defense, which forced two in each of the final four contests after having just seven total in the first 12 games to help secure two late victories and jolt the unit up to 25th in the league in that category.

Both on and off the field, it felt like Bullen was ready to take on the challenge of improving with his players, and they clearly latched onto his leadership quickly, praising his impact down the stretch.

Bullen might get a few looks at full-time defensive coordinator roles outside of East Rutherford, and deservedly so, as he was the captain in resurrecting what could have been a historically awful defense for New York.

Tyrone Tracy Leads the Run Game

Jan 4, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

With the arrival of Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo in the draft, the Giants were starting to bring back memories of the old-school, pound the rock style of rushing that characterized some of their great ball carriers of the recent Super Bowl era, such as Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, who were both players who weren’t shy from taking contact.

The duo was one of the main difference makers in what was arguably the Giants’ most impressive win of the season at home against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6, when they combined for nearly 160 yards rushing and four total touchdowns that throttled a weakened Eagles defensive interior and ended their longstanding woes on the primetime stage.

Two weeks later, Skattebo was tragically lost for the remainder of the season after suffering a dislocated ankle in the rematch with that same Eagles squad, leaving the Giants scrambling for answers to replace the guy who had been pacing them in ground production and taking some of the pressure off of Dart to make things happen with his bold legs.

Luckily, Tyrone Tracy Jr. was the member of the backfield who walked up to the plate and took on the heavier load for the offense. He reclaimed the starting role that he owned in the 2024 season and put forth another strong stat line that entered him into the franchise history books.

Tracy became the third player in Giants history to tally over 1,000 scrimmage yards in each of his first two seasons, notching 176 carries for 740 yards and two touchdowns on the ground while adding 36 receptions for 288 yards and another two scores with his hands.

Not only did Tracy’s skill set impact both phases of the offense, but he also maintained a consistent rushing output that the Giants have been missing since the days of Saquon Barkley.

He posted eight straight games with at least 10 carries in the second half of the season and turned them into 70+ rushing yards in five of them.

As much as he was very serviceable to the offensive game plan down the stretch, the run game wouldn’t have turned around as it did without the efficient blocking up front. The Giants ranked 18th in run-block win rate, and their ability to get leverage at the initial level of the defense boosted ball carriers to an average of 4.3 yards per carry.

By the end of the season, New York was joining the top company in attempts (2nd), yards (5th), and rushing touchdowns (4th), and punched in 22 total scores that marked the third-highest ground total in a single season in franchise history.

It was hard to find those same results in the first year without Barkley manning the backfield, and it’s why the Giants can tip their hats to Tracy and company keeping the offense away from being one-dimensional and fighting for wins at the tail end of the season.

Finding Ben Sauls

Dec 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; New York Giants kicker Ben Sauls (30) kicks a field goal in the third quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After a couple seasons that were dragged through a carousel at the kicking position, the Giants might finally have a long-term solution brewing with rookie leg Ben Sauls who impressed during his brief stint handling those special teams duties.

While it’s hard to erase the eyesore that has been the team’s handling of one of the easiest positions on the roster under Joe Schoen’s leadership as the general manager, the quick rise of Sauls might help alleviate the near weekly annoyance that the role was becoming to the fanbase in that span.

The Giants made a big mistake recommitting to the veteran Graham Gano for another three years back at the start of the 2023 season, albeit he was flashing his usually reliable leg and only missed one game in the three seasons prior to earning a new deal.

Since then, Gano’s career has been derailed by several lower body injuries coinciding with his growing age at 38 years old.

They say that Father Time is undefeated, and the Giants had two seasons of losing their kicker to nagging ailments to know that it was likely time to move on before the last year of his deal and find a younger and healthier replacement.

Not long after electing to stick with the established guy with the hopes he was over the injury spell, it returned in Week 4 when Gano injured his groin during pregame warmups before the Giants’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers that forced him out of the game and left the Giants with no real place kicker on the active roster.

Gano would make a return in Week 8, but only to give the Giants two more starts before his neck started acting up and it was the swan song of what could potentially be his last season wearing the blue. The next two choices in Jude McAtamney and Younghoe Koo were flunked badly as well, leading to one last resort in Sauls as the unproven guy on the practice squad.

To their surprise, Sauls was flawless in his three appearances for New York. He got eight chances to take a shot at the goalposts and hit on all of them, including 5-of-5 from distances of 30+ yards. Five of his boots helped the Giants put up 34 points in consecutive games against the Raiders and Cowboys to close out the season with a two-win streak.

For a rookie kicker like Sauls, he should receive some extra commendation for jumping into the role in what weren’t the easiest environments to play in. Even for a nontraditional lefty leg, he was able to over the windy conditions at MetLife Stadium twice and a domed road affair in Las Vegas and execute at the perfect rate.

It remains to be seen whether the Giants part ways with Gano during the offseason to create cap space, or if they pursue another experienced kicker to step back in front of Saul in the position order. He certainly made a case in his short tryout that he is capable of winning the job full-time and he could be an option in the back of the team’s mind if they don’t run into someone better

After a couple of seasons that were dragged through a carousel at the kicking position, the Giants might finally have a long-term solution brewing with rookie leg Ben Sauls, who impressed during his brief stint handling those special teams duties.

While it’s hard to erase the eyesore that has been the team’s handling of one of the easiest positions on the roster under Joe Schoen’s leadership as the general manager, the quick rise of Sauls might help alleviate the near-weekly annoyance that the role was becoming to the fanbase in that span.

The Giants made a big mistake recommitting to the veteran Graham Gano for another three years at the start of the 2023 season, even though he was flashing his usually reliable leg and had missed only one game in the three seasons before earning a new deal.

Since then, Gano’s career has been derailed by several lower-body injuries coinciding with his growing age at 38 years old. They say that Father Time is undefeated, and the Giants had two seasons of losing their kicker to nagging ailments to know it was likely time to move on before the last year of his deal and find a younger, healthier replacement.

Not long after electing to stick with the established guy with the hopes he was over the injury spell, it returned in Week 4 when Gano injured his groin during pregame warmups before the Giants’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers, which forced him out of the game and left the Giants with no real place kicker on the active roster.

Gano would make a return in Week 8, but only to give the Giants two more starts before his neck started acting up, and it was the swan song of what could potentially be his last season wearing the blue. The next two choices in Jude McAtamney and Younghoe Koo were flunked badly as well, leading to one last resort in Sauls as the unproven guy on the practice squad.

To their surprise, Sauls was flawless in his three appearances for New York. He got eight chances to take a shot at the goalposts and hit on all of them, including 5-of-5 from distances of 30+ yards. Five of his boots helped the Giants score 34 points in consecutive games against the Raiders and Cowboys, closing out the season with a two-game win streak.

For a rookie kicker like Sauls, he should receive some extra commendation for jumping into the role in what weren’t the easiest environments to play in. Even for a nontraditional lefty leg, he was able to overcome the windy conditions at MetLife Stadium twice and a domed road affair in Las Vegas and execute at the perfect rate.

It remains to be seen whether the Giants part ways with Gano during the offseason to create cap space or if they pursue another experienced kicker to step back in front of Saul in the position order. He certainly made a case in his short tryout that he is capable of winning the job full-time, and he could be an option in the back of the team’s mind if they don’t run into someone better.

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The Offensive Line Improvement

Wan'Dale Robinson's Record Year

Defense Improves Under Charlie Bullen

Tyrone Tracy Leads the Run Game

Finding Ben Sauls

More New York Giants Coverage