NY Giants Reach New Low in MMQB's Latest NFL Power Rankings Poll

Over the past several seasons, the New York Giants have been hard-pressed to find much success whenever they step onto the primetime stage. That daunting trend reached its most humiliating echelon for the franchise as they got completely stomped on by a historically familiar foe.

With the return of quarterback Jaxson Dart from a two-game stint on the concussion protocol, there was at least some optimism for the Giants' chances to duke it out against one of the hottest teams in the NFL, the New England Patriots, in Week 13.

Instead, the cross-conference affair quickly turned into a physical street fight, with the Patriots delivering the majority of the blows in the 33-15 defeat that dropped New York to a 2-11 record for the second straight year and extended their losing streak to seven games, tying the league's longest.

Dart, who has been the subject of frequent criticism for the lack of willingness to protect himself from unnecessary hits on the field that have landed him in the blue tent several times this season, was the main recipient of said blows as he took a couple more nasty ones from the Patriots while putting it all on the line to keep the Giants offensive drives moving.

At the same time, the night became just as ugly when the rest of the Giants' roster didn't seem to come prepared to throw any of their own punches at the opposition.

The defense's inability to put serious pressure on a partially injured Patriots offensive line was the catalyst for another outing where they allowed a whopping 8.1 yards per play through the air and put the Giants offense in a fast 17-0 hole.

In the special teams department, it was just one mishap after another for the only phase of the Giants coaching staff that has yet to be altered by any dismissals.

The unit allowed two returns of at least 39 yards, including a 94-yard punt return to the house by Marcus Jones in the first quarter, and followed it up with a botched field goal attempt by Younghoe Koo that ended up a 13-yard sack.

From a lack of physicality and smarts to mind-blowing mistakes on the gridiron, the loss on Monday Night Football might have marked the darkest point the Giants organization has experienced in recent history, a history littered with dysfunction and constant turnover.

Connor Orr of SI.com seems to believe that is the case more closely for the 2025 season, and he reflected that sentiment in his latest MMQB NFL power rankings poll, where he dropped the Giants to their lowest standing of the year at No. 30, ahead of only the Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders.

Dec 1, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Harold Landry III (2) sacks New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

"The next head coach of the New York Giants will definitely make a high-profile mention in his opening press conference about keeping Jaxson Dart from putting his body in harm's way," Orr said in his brief analysis of New York's latest utter display.

While it is easy to understand why Dart, who finished with his worst passing line since he took over the offensive huddle from Russell Wilson in Week 4, garnered the most attention for the daring hits he took, the rookie gunslinger is hardly the only glaring issue the Giants have to own up as they enter the bye week and the final stretch.

The emphasis will always remain on Dart as he is regarded as one of the crown jewels of the franchise's future, and there is the looming fear that his tendency to play too aggressively could put an early cap on the prime of his professional career, as has happened to other promising quarterbacks before him.

Beyond maintaining the long-term health of their budding prodigy, the Giants have been an abject disaster from top to bottom that might not be salvageable by the current regime, which is still represented by general manager Joe Schoen, whose job is also in limbo.

As much as we can hand them some kudos for finally making some progress in select roster positions, such as quarterback and the offensive line, all the preseason hype for other areas, such as the once vaunted defensive front, has fizzled away and left the Giants with the 30th-ranked defense that has cost them almost a half dozen games this fall.

With each passing week, the confidence in Schoen's ability to draft quality talent also goes under the microscope as many of his chosen prospects have flopped during his tenure.

None has been more at the forefront this fall than Abdul Carter, the No. 3 pick who holds just 1.5 sacks in his first 12 games and was once again a huge topic after he was benched for the first two defensive series against the Patriots by what Mike Kafka said was a "coach's decision".

Carter, who also sat for a series against the Packers after reportedly missing a team walkthrough period leading up to that game, has now created distractions through two infractions in a three-week window.

The repetition of his mistakes and immediate reaction to the consequences are leading some to wonder if there is a leadership problem in the locker room as well.

The cherry on top of it all is that the Giants will likely have a busy offseason restocking their coaching staff, which has already seen two interim coaches, and it feels not far off before special teams joins the mix as that unit continues to spiral out of control under coordinator Michael Ghobrial.

Again, no part of the team showed up ready to answer the bell as the Patriots ran them out of Gillette Stadium in such a humiliating fashion.

The bye week needs to be a period of reflection and serious adjustments for the Giants if they want to finish the final four-game stretch with a couple of extra victories.

The way it looks now, it might be that second win on their record that stands as the long factor keeping the Giants from becoming the true basement dwellers in the league order.

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