Giants Among Biggest Surprises in MMQB’s Mid-season NFL Power Rankings

The New York Giants have come a long way, baby.

Ranked 29th in MMQB’s Preseason Power Ranking Poll, the Giants are, at the mid-year mark, up 17 spots this week, making them the second biggest riser behind the Seattle Seahawks (up 20).

The low preseason ranking is understandable, given the Giants’ revolving door at head coach ever since Tom Coughlin resigned after the 2015 season. With yet another first-time head coach in Brian Daboll, to join Ben McAdoo (2016-2017) and Joe Judge (2020-2021), there was understandably some trepidation on the part of the MMQB crew as to how things would work out, just as there was doubt as to whether quarterback Daniel Jones, entering his fourth season, would pan out.

The X-factor, though, has been the addition of general manager Joe Schoen who, like Daboll, comes from the Buffalo Bills organization. The Giants moved away from recycling in-house candidates from a tree whose branches dried up years ago, and brought a fresh and modern voice in Schoen to finally fix what had become an annual underwhelming roster. Toss in a solid coaching staff that Daboll lets do their jobs, and the 6-2 Giants have clearly outperformed even the harshest critics' wildest dreams.

At the midyear point, the Giants, who at one point this season made it into the top 10, currently rank 12th on the MMQB’s latest power ranking poll.

Year 1 under Brian Daboll has seen the Giants turn things around more quickly than anyone could have expected. We had them 29th before the season—29th! This team has made us look silly, and we’re not alone. We will see how sustainable it is with five division games in the final seven weeks, including two against the Eagles.

The MMQB’s point is well taken about the second half of the season, which will not be easy for the Giants. According to Tankathon, New York has the fourth-hardest remaining schedule strength (.587), their toughest remaining games being two against the Eagles and one against the Cowboys and Vikings.

The Giants, who aspire to make the postseason for the first time since 2016, have five very winnable games left on their schedule, including this weekend against the Texans, the following weekend against the Lions, two against the Commanders, and one against the Colts. Wins in those five games would give the Giants 11 victories, which should be good enough for a postseason berth, even if they drop the other four games.

The big question, though, is sustainability. The Giants receiving corps has been a mess since Week 1, with Jones only throwing over 200 yards twice in eight games. The run defense has been porous. And if you take a closer look, the Giants have often benefitted from the mistakes made by their opponents, something that they can't always count on against better competition, and especially against teams that figure out how to ebb the flow of their running game.

Regardless, Giants fans have to be pretty happy with what the team has accomplished despite the challenges of having an awful salary cap situation and once again ranking in the top three most injured teams (second, behind Seattle) in the league.

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