5 Things We Hope to See in Giants’ Remaining Four Games

The New York Giants' bye week officially ends tonight with the conclusion of Monday Night Football, and the players and coaches are back at work for the remaining four games of what’s been a disastrous, forgettable season.

While the fanbase is probably counting down the days until these dreadful displays of Giants football stop infiltrating their television screens–sad when you think about it, because every offseason the excitement for the season to start builds to a crescendo–here’s a look at some of the hopes/expectations for Big Blue over these last four weeks.

No More Major Injuries

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers was injured in the Giants Week 4 game. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

We’re at a point in the season where a major injury could put a key player or two at risk of not being ready for Week 1 of the 2026 campaign–just look at the unfortunate situation in Indianapolis where old friend Daniel Jones suffered a torn Achilles.

The normal bumps and bruises are going to happen during the game, and there has yet to be a proven way to keep players fully protected from more serious injuries.

The Giants, per SIS data, have seen their players miss 192 games this season (and counting). That’s the sixth most in the NFL.

It’s a double-edged sword because you don’t necessarily want to see guys making business decisions out there. Still, at the same time, you also don’t want guys (cough, cough, Jaxson Dart, cough, cough) trying to play Superman on runs early on in the game, regardless of the score.

Jaxson Dart's Continued Growth

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart has been a bright spot for Big Blue. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Let’s be real. Other than maybe Brian Burns on defense, quarterback Jaxson Dart is the only reason why people remain engaged with a product that just hasn’t been good enough.

Last week, in his first game back from a two-game concussion-related absence, Dart only rushed four times, none of them of the designed variety, given how the game spiraled out of control early.

This coming week, when the Giants host the Commanders, will interim head coach Mike Kafka, who, remember, is now fully in charge of the offense’s weekly game plan dial back on the designed runs or go all out to do whatever it takes to win?

Again, it’s a double-edged sword. There’s the urge to protect Dart from himself, but at the same time, if you’re trying to win games–and the Giants are, despite calls from some that they should tank the rest of the year to keep the first overall spot in the draft order–why would you want to extract part of your offense which has otherwise been working?

Dart, per the Locked On Giants podcast, has averaged 4.8 yards per carry on design runs, 0.43 EPA (expected points over average). Given those metrics, is it enough to keep throwing in a few designed runs into the mix, or to pull them all together and let the running backs do the heavy lifting the rest of the way?

Darius Alexander’s Development

New York Giants defensive tackle Darius Alexander has been slow to develop into an NFL defensive lineman, but the talent is there. | John Jones-Imagn Images

The Giants' defensive line has been one of the team’s biggest surprises, and not in a good way.

The unit has been below pedestrian at best, and that includes Dexter Lawrence, who, in the post-Aaron Donald era, looked like the best interior defensive linemen in the league, but who this year has seen his magic wear off faster than the coating on a silver-plated item.

But there is a glimmer of hope, albeit a small one. Third-round pick Darius Alexander, who got off to a slow start due to his having missed all of the spring and some of the summer, is being counted on to become the Robin to Lawrence’s Batman moving forward.

The youngster out of Toledo has been in on 81 run defensive snaps this season, posting 13 total tackles and three tackles for a loss. That needs to improve.

Perhaps with a full offseason of NFL-quality weight training and the chance to start over in a defensive scheme that has to be better than what former defensive coordinator Shane Bowen ran, maybe come this time next year, we’ll be talking about how this rookie defender is among the most improved players on the team.

Fewer Dropped Balls

New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson leads the team in dropped passes this season. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Giants, entering Week 14, had 18 drops, tied for the eighth-most in the NFL. Per the Locked On Giants podcast, that breakdown per down is as follows:

3 on first down
8 on second down
6 on third down

The drops on first and second down have been huge: on first down, the Giants have missed an average of 15.33 yards per attempt on those drops, and on second down, 11.67 yards per attempt.

That’s a lot of offense that has been left out on the field due to a bad case of butterfingers.

Improved Team Discipline

The Giants have drawn too many of these this season. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Ahead of Week 14 games, the Giants, per NFLPenalties.com, were the fourth-most penalized team in the NFL, averaging 7.38 penalties per game. They also lost 818 yards on penalties, which is also the fourth most in the league.

The Giants have 52 penalties on offense for 364 yards (second) and 36 penalties on defense for 416 yards (second). Not good.

The Giants have had 31 presnap penalties, tied for first with the Bears, a team that is still in the hunt for a postseason berth. The difference between the Giants and the Bears is that the latter has proven capable of overcoming mistakes, whereas the former has not.

Final Thoughts

The New York Giants need to start laying down the seeds for a stronger foundation now. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

It’s too late for the Giants to salvage the 2025 season. However, they do have the second-easiest remaining strength of schedule (.317), with all four of their remaining opponents–Washington, Minnesota, Las Vegas, and Dallas–falling into the “easy category.

As much as fans might want to see the Giants tank the rest of the way, it’s not going to happen. But whether the team has enough left to muster any wins, let alone competitive, cleaner football, is another story.

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