As the New York Giants prepare for their first preseason game on Thursday against the Detroit Lions, Giants fans hope for much better results in 2024 than what they saw last season. New York had sky-high expectations in 2023 after making the playoffs and winning a playoff game in 2022. But 2023 was a complete disaster as the New York Giants had yet another 1o-plus loss season last year going 6-11.
2024 could be another challenging season for New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll and company as the Giants said goodbye to a couple of star players Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney. Despite making some improvements to their roster on both sides of the ball, the playoffs may not be in the Giants sight yet again in 2024. How will the team fare?
Daniel Jones’ Durability
2024 is going to be a crucial year for Quarterback Daniel Jones. After getting a new contract worth $160 million, Jones saw his 2023 season cut way short as he played in just six games as a neck and season-ending torn ACL sidelined in for 11 games last season. So, it is safe to say that the Giants want results out of their signal-caller this season.
It is not just last season where Jones had an injury-riddled season, durability for the former sixth overall pick has been a problem. Jones has played a full regular season just once back in 2022 as he enters his seventh season in the NFL. From neck injuries to knee injuries, and hamstring and ankle problems, Jones quite simply has had a hard time staying on the field for the New York Giants. If his 2024 season gets cut short again due to injury, the playoffs will not be in the New York Giants sights this year.
Troubles In The division
Beating teams in your division is essential if you want to make the playoffs. But for the New York Giants, it has been a problem doing just that in the ultra-competitive NFC East. “Big Blue” has had issues in competing well against the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles in particular over the last several seasons. If those struggles continue, it will be another reason why they won’t be playoff-bound.
Despite going 3-3 last year in the division which was a major improvement from a season ago in 2022 when the Giants went 1-4-1, three of those losses weren’t pretty. The Giants got embarrassed in Week 1 of last season against the Cowboys at home 40-0 and got crushed yet again against the very same Cowboys in Arlington losing 49-17 in Week 10. New York also suffered a loss to the Eagles on the road on Christmas 33-25 as the Giants have not won in Philly since 2013. That is hard to believe.
While the Giants did beat the Washington Commanders twice last year and as well a season finale win over the Eagles at home, both those teams got a lot better this offseason. Plus, the Cowboys have simply had the Giants number winning their last six head-to-head matchups. The NFC East is a tough division and it does not seem like the Giants did enough to be much more competitive against the elite teams in the division. That will be another reason they will miss the playoffs yet again.
The Departure Of Saquon Barkley
Even though the Giants drafted star Wide Receiver Malik Nabers out of LSU with their first-round pick, as well as having some potential dangerous playmakers on offenses, Running Back Saquon Barkley is hard to replace. When the New York Giants selected him second overall back in 2018, he has since become one of the league’s best running backs. Now playing the rival Eagles, his departure is a big reason why the playoffs are unlikely for the New York Giants this season.
In his six seasons with the New York Giants, Barkley was undoubtedly their best player on offense. The former Nittany Lion rushed for over 5,000 yards and had 35 touchdowns. His best season came just two years ago in 2022 where he rushed for 1,312 yards which was fourth in the NFL as well as placing first in the NFC in rushing yards. It was simply remarkable he was able to put up those numbers considering the fact he was doing this with a bad offensive line. The New York Giants made the playoffs just once during Barkley’s tenure in New York.
Now with Barkley playing for the Eagles who have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, a loaded offensive unit and a brilliant offensive-minded head coach, the New York Giants will have their hands full for sure. Especially since they will be going up against Barkley and the Eagles twice for the next three seasons. Say what you want to say about how the addition of Devin Singletary at the running back spot may be a nice addition, the loss of Barkley will be felt and will ultimately lead the Giants to miss the playoffs.
