Five Losses That Defined the Giants Season

Before we get to the main topic, I wanted to say a few words about yesterday's win in Vegas. If nothing else, we now know for certain that the Giants are NOT the worst team in the NFL. Quite the contrary, the team I saw on that field executed on offense and made enough plays defensively to convince me that with the right coaching staff in place, they could have a winning record next season. 

Yes, I know it was only the Raiders, who, along with the Jets, are two of the worst teams in all of sports, but Big Blue has shown throughout the year that they can hang with the best in the league. Now that they no longer have the number one pick to worry about, we can put this whole Fernando Mendoza nonsense to bed. The Giants have their quarterback and he put on quite a show yesterday. Hopefully, Joe Schoen, or whoever the next GM winds up being, will realize that and use next year's draft to fortify the many needs this team has.

As for the fans who were hoping the Giants would lose to secure that number one pick, I honestly don't know what to say. Imagine rooting against your team. I've been a fan of this team since the days of Joe Pisarcik, which means I've endured a lot of losing seasons. Not once did I ever root for them to lose. Winning these last two games would mean the world for a roster that is still relatively young and has some pretty good talent on it. If you can't see that, I feel sorry for you.

Now onto the main course. I will list each loss in chronicle order, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know which one was the worst.

Week Two at Dallas: Coming off a lackluster performance in Washington, the Giants, with Russell Wilson under center, had their most impressive offensive performance in over a year. Wilson threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns; the last one a 48 yard strike to Malik Nabers to put the Jints up 37-34 with 25 seconds left in regulation. All New York had to do was stop the Cowboys from getting into field goal range.

But in what would become a pattern all season long, Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen elected to rush only three, and Dak Prescott navigated his team to the Giants 46 yard line, where Brandon Aubrey kicked a game-tying 64-yard field goal to send it into overtime. Dallas eventually would win on another Aubrey field goal.

Week Five at New Orleans: This was Jaxson Dart's second career start. The previous week he had beaten the Chargers at MetLife 21-18. Two touchdown passes from Dart to Theo Johnson put New York ahead 14-3 with 13 minutes left in the second quarter. Victory seemed inevitable.

That's when the wheels came off. Dart threw two picks. The Giants as a team turned the ball over five times; the last one resulting in an 86-yard fumble recovery that put the Saints up 26-14. It was a painful reminder that counting your chickens before they hatch is not a good strategy for winning. 

Week Seven at Denver: The pièce de résistance of the 2025 season. Fortunately, I was at a wedding when this travesty happened or I would've thrown something at my TV. Dart had arguably his best game as a pro, throwing for 283 yards and three touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the NFL. 

New York led 19-0 after the third quarter, and 26-8 with ten minutes to go in the fourth. The Broncos scored 22 unanswered points to take a 30-26 lead with 1:51 left in regulation. Dart then put the Giants up 32-30 with 37 seconds remaining. 

Once again, Bowen elected not to pressure Bo Nix, who managed to get his team into Giants territory, where Will Lutz kicked a 39 yard field goal to win the game as time expired. That Bowen wasn't fired immediately after the game just underscores how incompetent this franchise is.

Week Ten at Chicago: The Giants had lost three games in a row going into the Windy City, but that didn't stop them form taking a 17-7 lead over the Bears two minutes into the third quarter. Once again, Dart was impressive, going 19-29 for 242 yards and two rushing touchdowns. 

However, with just over five minutes to go in the third and the Giants deep in Bears territory, Dart was hit and fumbled the ball at the Chicago 21 yard line. He suffered a concussion on the play and would not return. With Wilson at the helm, New York's offense stalled and the Bears rallied for a 24-20 win.

Week Twelve at Detroit: The final nail in this hellscape of a season. With Dart still in concussion protocol and Mike Kafka replacing the fired Brain Daboll as head coach, the G-Men jumped out to a 27-17 lead over the Lions early in the fourth quarter, thanks to Jameis Winston throwing for 366 yards and two touchdowns.

But, and stop me if this sounds familiar, the Giants defense couldn't hold the lead. Jahmyr Gibbs had the game of his life, rushing for 219 yards and two touchdowns; the latter coming in overtime. Not one Giant defender touched him as he raced 69 yards for the winning score. 

There you have it: five losses that defined the Giants season. While it's unlikely that New York would've won all five of those games with a competent defensive coordinator, they, no doubt, would've won at least three of them. While 6-11 is nothing to brag about, it's a helluva lot better than 3-14.