Resilient Giants have cultivated a will to win this season after years of wilting under pressure
Giants head coach John Harbaugh pauses before answering a question during a news conference after an NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
In John Harbaugh’s opening statement as Giants head coach, he talked about building a team that was physical and tough. One way to do that, he said in January, was being a team “that understands how to finish.”
These Giants have figured that out early. Where last year’s team crumbled with five fourth-quarter collapses, this year’s team has been closers. No matter how many hits they take in games, they’ve connected with the final punch.
The last two weeks, the Giants ended games with takeaways on goal-line stands. Both the Titans and the Cardinals took their final drives inside the Giants’ 10-yard line and came away empty.
It’s created another layer of the Giants’ identity. Resilience. That’s how rookie linebacker Arvell Reese described the defense but, really, it fits the whole team.
“We take the field proud. Ain’t nobody hanging their head down,” Reese said Sunday. “Everybody’s head [is] high, chest up and we got that win on defense mentality. Like, I can see it in everybody’s eyes. Everybody wants it. Ain’t nobody pointing the finger at nobody. They make a play, we line right back up and we still want to win.”
That’s the attitude Harbaugh wants and honestly what this team needs. The last two seasons, the Giants wilted under pressure. Toughness meant just showing up despite the constant stream of losing.
Now, this team at 3-1 is doing more than that. They’re fighting back. They’re landing punches and standing sturdy when teams try to impose their will. Back-to-back weeks of game-sealing interceptions hint at a playmaking they’ve lacked for some time.
“That’s what winning teams do. They find ways to win games,” Harbaugh said.
Resilience also means picking up the slack when key pieces are hurt. The Giants could’ve spiraled after losing Jaxson Dart and Brian Burns to season-ending injuries in consecutive weeks.
Instead, the Giants circled the wagons and rallied. Cornerback Dru Phillips said Sunday that Harbaugh’s focus on situational drills since training camp has prepared them the last two games to not panic on defense.
It’s a reminder that toughness comes from not just a mindset, but preparation and adjustment. Consider some other points from Sunday.
The run defense was awful in the first quarter giving up nine yards per carry. They allowed 81 rushing yards on the Cardinals’ first two drives and showed why talks of their improvement seemed premature.
Yet the rest of the game? They allowed 42 rushing yards on 17 carries. It was part of a defense that went from allowing 132 yards on the opening two drives to just 80 total yards on the next 10 drives.
Jameis Winston entered Sunday on a hot seat for his job. By the second quarter, he led 24 straight drives without a touchdown and the boo birds felt like vultures circling his final days as a starter.
Two touchdown passes later? The cheers returned. Winston then threw interceptions on consecutive passes to end the second and start the third. All he did the next series was march the Giants 76 yards and throw the go-ahead touchdown pass to Theo Johnson.
It wasn’t just redemption for Winston. Johnson making the catch also was a bounce-back after losing his starting job to Isaiah Likely and having issues with drops. When Winston looked for him, Johnson delivered.
“I think it’s kind of character reflecting probably more than anything,” Harbaugh said. “It comes through in those situations. Those are tough situations to face, you know, and under a lot of pressure and guys just kind of took a deep breath and locked in and played the next play. That’s hard to do.”
That mentality should help the Giants with a favorable schedule before their bye in three weeks. They face a Commanders team Sunday that could get quarterback Jayden Daniels back but has struggled this season. They host a beatable Saints team in two weeks and an 0-4 Texans team on the road Oct. 25.
What seemed like a hopeless year without Dart for now has changed. Credit the Giants for being resilient and not folding after a month. Credit players like Banks, who’s on track to turn his career around after two rough seasons.
Most of all, credit the Giants for being better at finishing games than last year. They’re not imposing their will as total bullies in Harbaugh’s image. But being mentally tough, they’re still turning into a team that Harbaugh wants.
The fight’s not over by a long shot with 13 games left. The Giants are earning more trust that they can finish a few more rounds strong than fade as they have in the past.
“Last year, we lost the close ones,” Phillips said. “This year, we can win these close ones. It’s all about being in that moment.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
More Giants
