NY Giants' Jaxson Dart, Abdul Carter and Crew Eye a Grand Finale

One more time. One more chance. One more opportunity to leave a good impression after what has been a very disappointing season for the New York Giants (3-13).

There's no question that this team has underachieved, having lost six games in the final five minutes of regulation or in overtime.

But those games are gone, and they've got a chance to end the year with back-to-back wins, having dispatched the Las Vegas Raiders going into Sunday's home game against the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys.

It's more than likely they'll need strong games from first-round picks Jaxson Dart and Abdul Carter, conduits of the team's future, to send off the season with a victory and a better vibe for 2026.

Dart has accelerated his expected rookie curve and performed at a solid level for most of the season since he was named the starting quarterback in Week 4. Carter, meanwhile, navigated some lackluster work-related habits before locking in and becoming a force since Week 13.

Interim head coach Mike Kafka has seen more than enough to believe that the arrow is pointed up for both players.

"I think the growth, I think you learn so much faster from year one to year two," he said. "You have that full season, you're in the NFL style, you kind of know how things operate. You've built somewhat of a framework of a routine on how you want to prepare yourself, whether it's your body, your mind, or getting ready for OTAs.

"And you now have a little bit longer offseason. It's not like right from your college season to a bowl game to prepping for the combine, prepping for pro days. Then you get drafted, and you're thrown right into rookie camp and right into OTAs. It's kind of like a never-ending cycle, that rookie season.

"And then on top of that, it's a long season, right? It's more games than you've ever played in your career, in your life. So, that ends up being a long year.

"Now you have time after this season to go through, kind of refine the things that you want, how you want to operate in the offseason, and now you have some time to kind of look back and really dissect yourself and really can make some more steps to improvement."

How many players and coaches do you think can create a positive and hopeful narrative in the season finale vs. the Cowboys? Big Blue Breakdown podcast host Paul Dottino discusses the possibilities and takes video and audio calls from the fans on the Big Blue Breakdown Live podcast.

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