2024 Giants and NFL Preview

It was only a year ago that the New York Giants, fresh off an improbable 9-7-1 2022 season, were thought of as genuine playoff contenders. Like so many of the Big-Blue faithful, I not only drank the Kool-Aid, I was dispensing it to as many people as possible. A record of 10-7 was more than reasonable given their schedule, I wrote.

Boy, how wrong was I? A humiliating opening night loss to the Dallas Cowboys set the tone for what became a train wreck of a season. Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones both went down with injuries; the offensive line, which had shown much improvement the previous year, reverted to its Swiss cheese form; Brian Daboll quarreled with his coaching staff and at times looked more like John McVay than the offensive guru who turned Josh Allen into a star. There was some discussion that John Mara was so displeased by what he saw that he considered firing Daboll after the season. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.

Who could've figured that a season in which every conceivable break went their way was not a very good barometer for predicting future success. Turns out, 2022 was just a mirage; nothing more, nothing less. The painful fact is that this team is far closer to the bottom of the standings than the top.

Ok, lesson learned. Now what?

Well, for starters, I don't expect Big Blue to be any worse this season than last. In fact, if Jones can stay healthy - a big if - they might surprise a few people, especially if first round pick Malik Nabers turns out to be the stud everyone thinks he is. But can Jones get him the ball? That's the question. The bigger question, however, is will this team struggle to score points without Barkley in the backfield?

The offseason addition of OLB Brian Burns should solidify a front seven that, on paper at least, is actually pretty good. The secondary, however, remains a huge question mark, as does the offensive line. With respect to the latter, it seems we've been saying that a lot since 2017.

Then there's the schedule. The Giants host the Minnesota Vikings week one, then travel to Washington to play the Commanders. Both games are winnable. After that, however, the schedule gets considerably tougher for the G-Men. The Browns in Cleveland, the Cowboys at home, the Seahawks in Seattle, then the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife, before going to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers. A record of 3-5 would be quite an accomplishment for this group. Thankfully, in the second half, they play the Carolina Panthers on the road, and the Commanders and Indianapolis Colts at home. They should go 3-0.

Last year, the incurable optimist in me got the better of my judgment. This time around, I'm going into the season with both eyes wide open and understandably skeptical. As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy.

Prediction: 7-10 (Third in the NFC East). Not great, but hardly decrepit. In fact, all things considered, very realistic.

Below are my predictions for the 2024 NFL standings and postseason.

NFC East:

Eagles

Cowboys

Giants

Commanders

NFC North:

Packers *

Lions

Bears

Vikings

NFC South:

Falcons

Buccaneers

Saints

Panthers 

NFC West:

49ers

Rams

Seahawks

Cardinals

AFC East:

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Patriots

AFC North:

Bengals

Ravens

Browns

Steelers

AFC South:

Texans

Jaguars

Titans

Colts

AFC West:

Chiefs *

Chargers

Broncos

Raiders

* Number one seed

NFC Wild Cards:

Cowboys

Rams

Lions

AFC Wild Cards:

Dolphins

Ravens

Chargers

Conference championships:

NFC: Packers over the 49ers

AFC: Chiefs over the Texans

Super Bowl:

Chiefs over the Packers