This Giants season was supposed to be a building block. But what if it's now a launching pad for even bigger goals?
Giants head coach John Harbaugh walks the sideline during the first half of an NFL game against the Houston Texans in Houston on Sunday. Credit: AP/Gerald Herbert
Out of all the words John Harbaugh said after Sunday’s win at Houston, the Giants coach said 11 that were telling for what it meant in the moment and longterm.
“We're going to be in this thing until the end, now,” Harbaugh said.
It stressed how pivotal that game was before starting their bye week. The Giants had to make a statement not just because they hadn’t won away from MetLife Stadium this season. They needed to beat a team playing with momentum like the Texans, who entered Sunday on a two-game win streak
They also had to prove they could handle being challenged. The running backs and defense got called out by the coaching staff. Winning Sunday showed they could push back when the jabs came from inside their house, not from other teams.
“This was our best all-around, well-played football game as a team and that’s the players,” Harbaugh said Monday. “That’s what the players do.”
There’s a second takeaway from his 11-word statement. It foreshadowed what’s ahead. Yes, the goal is go 1-0 each week but they’re playing for more than just wins.
It’s Harbaugh acknowledging bigger goals are very much in play. A division title, for starters. Meaningful football games in November for the first time in three seasons.
The Giants are the only NFC East team above .500. This hot start can be sustained if they keep showing the poise and mastering of details they’ve done to win close games. Whether outsiders believe they can or not, the Giants are serious contenders in the division.
That ceiling didn’t seem possible before the season. It’s amazing it still is given the Giants’ bad injury luck. They played Sunday minus four Week One starters out with season-ending injuries, including quarterback Jaxson Dart.
The defense wasn’t just down linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, the latest to go on IR. Safety Jevon Holland and cornerback Greg Newsome II were in concussion protocol. Safeties Jason Pinnock and Ar’Darius Washington started together for the first time.
Tackles Andrew Thomas (groin) and Jermaine Eluemunor (calf) played at less than 100% healthy, laboring through injuries. J.J. McCarthy started at quarterback. He was cast off by the Vikings and presumed to be a failed first-round pick.
It was easy to see why the Giants were slotted as 10.5-point underdogs. But games aren’t decided by oddsmakers or on paper. They’re won on the field. The Giants did that with a performance Harbaugh praised as the best execution they showed all season.
It came with unlikely helpers, too. Jameis Winston getting first downs on quarterback sneaks. Tight end Thomas Fidone caught his first NFL pass for 29 yards. Rookie Bobby Jamison-Travis played 24 snaps in his first start at defensive tackle.
Add that to McCarthy’s solid play, Abdul Carter leading a strong pass rush and the run game coming alive, no wonder the win was so important. It required something from almost everyone in all phases.
“Just the overall complementary football that was on display [Sunday] was something that was very exciting,” McCarthy said. “There's obviously throws that I want back and there [are] plays the defense wants back and special teams. That's exciting because there [are] so many other areas and other ways we can get better and keep moving forward.”
This season was supposed to be a building block one. But what if it ends up a launching pad? What if the Giants can harness their resilience from close games into success over the next two months?
Three of their next four games are against sub-.500 teams. Harbaugh was right to say the Giants are in this. Every game will matter and the Giants will gladly welcome each week carrying stakes that don’t involve draft standing.
Harbaugh made that even clearer with something else he said Sunday. The next two games aren’t just the most important but “will set the direction for the rest of the season.” Those opponents? At the Eagles Nov. 8 and hosting the Commanders four days later on Thursday Night Football.
It’s not a coincidence those are divisional games. Win both and you stretch that NFC East lead out a bit more. That’s not looking too far ahead. Just setting another goal to increase the focus on mastering each day’s plan to get there.
“It's just a matter of keep growing and keep building our execution and our ability to do things the right way at a high level,” Harbaugh said. “It takes that, it's a race. It's a marathon, but a marathon is, I've been told, is a series of sprints, one after another.”
The Giants are resting from those sprints, now. But they’re indeed in this thing. It’s a new challenge to enjoy high stakes football in November yet one worth enduring after the adversity they conquered up to now.
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.
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